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Pierre de la MESANGERE

Carle VERNET & Philibert-Louis DEBUCOURT & Jean-Baptiste ISABEY & Louis-Marie LANTE & DUTAILLY

Le Bon Genre : Suite des 116 planches [précédé de] Observations sur les modes et les usages de Paris pour servir d'explication aux 115 caricatures publiées sous le titre du Bon Genre depuis le commencement du dix-neuvième siècle

chez l'éditeur, boulevard Montmartre, no 1 , Vassal et Essling Imprimeurs, Paris [1801-1827] ; 1827 (pour le texte), reliure : 41,2x27,8cm ; planches : 40,5x27,3cm, 24 pp., 116 pl., relié.

 
Complete set of 115 copper-engraved plates with an additional plate (116 plates), all printed on either laid or wove paper, all hand-colored with wa­tercolor. Two entirely different plates 39 follow each other, in first issue: Les Ti­tus et les Cache-folies was published in the 1817 and 1822 sets, and the other La Politicomanie appeared in 1827. This is the most complete series, which also in­cludes the 11 new plates published from 1818 to 1822, numbered 105 to 115.

According to Vicaire, the plates were probably all printed between 1801 and 1822, and only the text preceding the plates was reprinted in 1827.
3/4 long-grained red half morocco, smooth spine elaborately framed in gilt lengthwise, gilt tooled center of spine, gilt lettered title at head of spine framed in gilt, marbled boards, marbled paper endpapers and flyleaves. Minor brown spots are mainly confined to the 24 pp. of text, with very few on the plates, mainly on the margins and versos.
A rare and famous collection of costumes, genre and entertainment scenes from the French First Empire and Restoration eras, with very wide marginsand magnificently hand-colored at the time.Averitable encyclopedia of thrills, pleasures and pageantry,published by Pierre de la Mésangère, leading fashion editor at the turn of the century.Thiscopy includestwo versionsof plate 39, bothof whichare extremely scarce.
 

 
These magnificent copper-engraved prints by Georges Jacques Gatine, Schenker and others were based on drawings by the greatest paint­ers of Parisian fashion: Carle Vernet, Philippe-Louis Debucourt, Jean-Bap­tiste Isabey, Louis-Marie Lanté, Dutailly. They were initially sold as a supplement to the successful magazine Le Journal des Modes, before being published as a collection. Some plates bear the en­graver's name, and several the drafts­men's.
This gallery of figures is singularly rep­resentative of a period of upheaval in French history in terms of material, but also moral and intellectual values – de­picting a frivolous and daring part of feminine society, eager to please and well-versed in the games of love. The ensemble perfectly combines social satire with the refinement expected of fashion engravings. It includes the famous portraits of the extravagant­ly dressed Directoire women called “Merveilleuses” and “Incroyables” – representations that have henceforth served as a reference. From beautiful silhouettes reclining on Greek-style beds to provocative and undressed courtesans, everything is designed to illustrate the finery of these pretty co­quettes, often followed by a host of suitors and servants. Dresses, hats and furs rub shoulders with elegant male figures in frock coats and even a few transvestites (Trois grâces parisiennes, no. 16). Many of the scenes have a clear erotic connotation, especially the salon games, featuring suggestive embraces and positions.
Dancing takes pride of place: no fewer than twenty plates feature fashionable ballroom dances (“Danse du Schall” named after the popular scarf, qua­drille figures such as “La Poule”, “La Trénis”, or more daring ones like “La Sauteuse”), ballets, or even the fa­mous tightrope dancers, Ravel and Fo­rioso... The movement of the characters is reflected in the drapery of the large Empire muslin gowns and hair flowing in the wind.
Among the dozens of hand-colored plates, a great many are devoted to lei­sure and entertainment activities avail­able at the beginning of the 19th century. Gastronomy, games of skill, sports, ac­robatics, circus tricks, music and even real sensational attractions: several plates depict the very first Parisian roll­er coaster, installed in Belleville, then at the Odéon for the 1817 Carnival. Clowns, pierrots and masked figures are seen dancing in front of the structures and hurtling down steep slopes on small carriages. Another revolutionary inven­tion, the magic lantern, forerunner of the cinematograph, is the subject of a beautiful plate (no. 31). These views are a visual testimony of the great perform­ers seen in Paris during the French 1st Empire: the Indian jugglers of Pall Mall (2 plates), the Italian “Grimacier” (mak­er of grotesque facial expressions), the one-man-orchestra, or Jacques le Po­lyphage who swallowed all sorts of ob­jects and animals, as well as the famous duo of acrobatic dogs. Figures are seen eating ice cream, drinking lemonade, playing blind man's bluff...
The abundance of details, finesse of execution and humor exuding from the scenes make this a perfect set. This copy hails from the prestigious library of Princess Eugène Murat who assembled a premiere collection of books on fashion and costume.
Provenance: Lebeuf de Montgermont (sale 1913, no. 264); Princess Eugène Murat (sale 1921, no. 26); Marcel Lecomte.
Carteret, p. 100 (our copy). Colas, 2240; Vicaire, I, 842.

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