First edition.
Contemporary full speckled brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Brown sheep title label. Headcap torn away. Loss to upper joint at head. Upper joint split at tail with loss. Library label at head. Corners very much bumped.
Illustrated first edition. Faerno's verses appeared for the first time in 1564, and Perrault's version in 1699. This edition gives for the first time Faerno's original text followed by Perrault's translation. It is illustrated with a frontispiece by Claude du Bosc representing Aesop among animals, and 100 unsigned headpieces (9 x 11 cm). The preliminary leaves contain some poems by the neo-Latin poet and some letters.
Full aubergine morocco binding from the late 19th century signed Chatelin in the frieze. Richly ornamented spine with raised bands. Title, date and place in gilt. Central framing à la Du Seuil with fleurons in the corners and 4 large fleurons inside the rectangle. Triple fillet frame. Rich interior frieze with fleur-de-lys. Gilt edges. Red peacock-tail paper slipcase with blue felt interior. Perfect freshness of the paper.
Sumptuous copy lavishly bound in a master binding.
Superb work of fables very close in its illustration to emblem books. The book is moreover catalogued as such in several collections of emblems, as emphasized by the art historian Mario Praz, although it is not strictly speaking one.
19th-century engraved bookplate of A. Hornung.
The rare first edition of these two volumes published two years apart, the continuation of which would never see the light of day. With one frontispiece and one large folding genealogical chart.
Copy with the arms of Louis XV stamped on the boards, and his cipher repeated on the spine, a presentation copy.
Contemporary full marbled brown calf bindings. Spine with raised bands decorated with Louis XV's cipher repeated four times with angular fleurs-de-lys. Red morocco title and volume labels. Armorial boards. Triple gilt fillet frame on boards. Headcaps restored. Several splits along the upper joint of volume I and volume II. Corners and certain areas of the leading edges restored. Lacking the right corner of the first endpaper. Very faint dampstain trace in margin extending onto text from page 217 to the end; from page viiij to xxxviij in margin; similarly on the rear endpapers of volume II. Despite the mentioned defects, a rare copy with the arms and cipher of Louis XV.
The work contains a long introduction that clarifies Chevalier d'Arcq's project as a historian. His critical method of examining texts is scrupulous, he rejects what is not proven and openly aligns himself with the most reliable hypotheses. This method and his work were praised by Le Journal des scavants which reviewed the first book in 1756 then the second in 1758, with numerous compliments, notably on the author's elegant style and his way of creating a vividly colored narrative from stark facts. Beyond history and geography, the author seeks the essentially military aspect and shows how wars, between victories and defeats, have shaped the geography of peoples, and precipitated the end and birth of kingdoms. Volume I deals with Greater and Lesser Armenia (Cappadocia, etc.), the second with the kingdoms around Pontus (Phrygia, Paphlagonia, Heraclea, Pergamon...). Although the work treats a rare ancient history and its reading is fascinating, the book did not meet with success, and the editorial project was not carried through to completion.
First edition of these two works.
Full marbled calf binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title label. One lack at head, same at foot. Upper joint open at head and foot. 3 corners slightly bumped. Lacking the lower margin of pages 97 to 128.
First edition.
Publisher's binding in full boards, smooth spine, front cover illustrated with a reproduction of a gouache by Joan Miro.
Texts by Alain Jouffroy, Robert Lebel, Jacques Dupin...
Work illustrated with numerous color and black illustrations as well as 1 original color lithograph specially executed for the XXe Siècle magazine by Joan Miro.
Handsome copy despite a stain at the foot of the spine.
Publisher's wraparound band included.
First edition.
Publisher's binding in full flexible boards, smooth spine, front cover illustrated with an original lithograph by Giuseppe Capogrossi.
Texts by Alain Jouffroy, André Verdet, Jacques Lassaigne, Jean-Clarence Lambert...
Work decorated with numerous illustrations in color and black and white as well as 2 original color lithographs by Wifredo Lam and Marino Marini.
Small light stains on the spine, handsome interior condition.
First edition.
Publisher's binding in full boards, smooth spine, front cover illustrated with a reproduction of a work by Giorgio de Chirico.
Texts by Alain Jouffroy, Robert Lebel, Patrick Walberg, Julien Clay...
Work decorated with numerous illustrations in color and black and white as well as 1 original color lithograph specially executed for the magazine XXe Siècle by Franco Gentilini.
Small tears on one joint and on the edges, handsome interior condition.
First edition.
Work complete with its 49 plates hors-texte including 6 in color.
Spine and boards of the chemise lightly and marginally discolored and sunned as usual.
