For the first three volumes, first edition, complete with all 84 parts published between February 1842 and October 1843 of this "admirable publication printed on thick vellum paper [...] one of the finest of the 19th century, justly esteemed and comparable to the beautifully illustrated books of the 18th century" (Carteret), (see Carteret III, 143–153; Vicaire II, 234–248).
The first three volumes are bound in full violet morocco, spines with five raised bands bordered with gilt pointillé tooling, compartments richly gilt with double gilt frames, gilt rolls on caps, covers framed with quintuple gilt fillets, gilt monogram MG at the corners, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns framed in gilt dentelle, double gilt fillets on board edges, all edges gilt. Splendid bindings signed by Dunezat, active between 1870 and 1895.
Illustrated by Charles François Daubigny, Ernest Meissonier, Anthelme Trimolet, Adolphe Steinheil, Gustave Staal, Emy, Louis-Léopold Boilly, Charles Edouard de Beaumont, among others.
Texts by Marc-Antoine Desaugiers, Fabre d'Églantine, Pierre-Jean Béranger, André Chénier, Florian, Sedaine, Constance de Salm, Jean-Joseph Vadé, etc., set to music by various composers, including André Grétry, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Étienne Nicolas Méhul, and François-Adrien Boieldieu.
The complete collation is as follows: 1) 5 preliminary leaves (half-title, engraved title-frontispiece, list of songs, introduction by Delloye) and 28 parts of 4 unnumbered leaves each (28 songs, each including a 2-page note, 4 pages of text with illustrations, and 2 pages of music—i.e., 4 unnumbered leaves per song); 2) 5 preliminary leaves and 27 parts of 4 unnumbered leaves each, except for La Parodie de la Vestale, which includes 10 unnumbered leaves; 3) 5 preliminary leaves and 28 parts; 4) 2 unnumbered leaves, engraved frontispiece, xxiv and 224 pages.
The general series wrappers were not bound in this copy, which shows several first-issue points.
Enclosed: bound in violet half morocco with corners, Chansons populaires des provinces de France. Notices by Champfleury. Piano accompaniment by J. B. Wekerlin. Paris, Lécrivain et Toubon, booksellers, 1860, 2 unnumbered leaves, engraved frontispiece, xxiv and 224 pp.
Binding in violet half morocco with corners, spine with five raised bands bordered with gilt pointillé tooling, richly gilt compartments framed in double gilt fillets, marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, a few scuffs to board edges and extremities, all edges gilt, an elegant unsigned binding likely attributable to Dunezat, active between 1870 and 1895.
A very handsome set, perfectly bound.
