Charles Gosselin

Composite edition combining seven volumes from the very first collected edition with others from various reissues published between 1836 and 1852. Volumes 15 to 30 (1839-1852) each include an engraved title with a vignette and two illustrated plates; the earlier editions, covering volumes 1 to 15 (1830-1836) did not contain illustrations.

Half polished calf bindings in Restoration style. Smooth spines decorated with a central panel richly gilt in grotesque design, gilt and blind-tooled motifs at head and foot of spine, also ruled in gilt. Small tear to the spine-ends of volumes 5 and 9. Volumes 25 and 26 show some surface loss to the leather on the boards.

A handsome...

Rare first edition of the French translation (not recorded by Sabin or Cordier).

Contemporary half calf bindings, spines with four raised bands ruled in gilt and adorned with blind-stamped typographic ornaments and gilt fillets, gilt Greek-key rolls at foot, marbled paper boards showing some scuffing with losses to paper at a few corners, marbled edges.

Some foxing.

The Scottish naval officer Basil Hall [Edinburgh 1788 – Gosport 1844], son of geologist and antiquary Sir James Hall, undertook numerous voyages as a Royal Navy officer to the East Indies, the seas of China, Japan, and Korea, the coasts of South America, the United States, and Canada, publishing detailed and...

Edition translated by Defaucompret. Each volume has an engraved title with a vignette and at least 2 steel engravings per work, the animated scenes are by Tony Johannot, the views are English engravings. 28 folding maps heightened in colors, including a large map of Scotland, at the end of the History of Scotland.
Half navy blue shagreen binding, slightly later, ca 1850. Spine with raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and thick and thin fillets, in blind and gilt. Spine uniformly and slightly darkened. Author, volume number and title gilt. Volume 1: trace of dampstain to one corner of p. 300 to the end. Volume 4: broad yellowing on title page to p.30. Volume 7: trace of...

First edition of the French translation by A. J. B. Defauconpret. Illustrated vi­gnette on the title page of each volume, with two illustrations in each volume (60 in total) by Louis Marckl after Noël Bertrand.
Green half shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands elaborately framed in gilt and blind, spine-ends stamped with a gilt rosette bearing cabbalistic signs, marbled paper boards, marbled endpa­pers and pastedowns, speckled edges, contemporary bindings.
Spines slightly lightened, some corners slightly dulled, more pronounced foxing on some volumes, a tear not affecting text to pp. 303-304 of vol. 2, a restored tear and a marginal lack of paper not af­fecting text to pp...

First edition, limited to 1,100 copies, divided into four fictitious editions within the same year, in order to create the illusion of commercial success. These were subsequently reissued with a new title-page bearing an edition statement and the author’s name, together with a volume designation on the half-titles (cf. Clouzot). Our copy carries the designation “third edition.” Contemporary bookplate traces on the upper pastedowns. Expert restorations to headcaps and joints, with a tiny loss at the foot of the lower joint of vol. I. A clean copy, entirely free of foxing.

Contemporary half chocolate calf bindings...

Edition translated by Defaucompret. Each volume has an engraved title accompanied by a vignette and at least 2 steel engravings per work (all on strong laid paper), the animated scenes are by Tony Johannot, the views are English engravings. 23 folding maps heightened in colors.
Contemporary half morocco binding with long grain in wine-lees color. Smooth spine decorated with rocaille tools. Marbled edges. Spines have become uniformly blonde. In volume II, a small lack to the lower joint at head. Pale scattered foxing, but the set relatively fresh, with paper remaining white, as well as the engravings.

Important critical edition, with all the author's prefaces for the...

First edition of the French translation.

Our copy is issued in its original state, preserved in a blue paper temporary wrapper and housed within a double chemise and slipcase in navy half-shagreen, smooth spine, marbled-paper boards; a modern binding signed by Devauchelle.

A rare and appealing copy.

Recorded in the CCF only at the BnF.

Sole edition of this theatrical jeu d’esprit, which bears little relation to China despite the purported setting of the action: "La scène se passe à Pé-King, l’an du monde 100, 857, et de Con-Fou-Tsée 6550". In reality, it is a play about the destructive nature of gambling, for which there was no real need to summon China as a...

First illustrated edition, partially original, published a few months after the exceedingly rare first edition.

Scattered foxing.

Full navy blue shagreen bindings, smooth spines, covers framed with a gilt fillet and a black fillet, white moiré silk endpapers and pastedowns, occasionally lightly soiled at the margins, all edges gilt. English-style pastiche romantic bindings, late 19th century.

Illustrated with numerous wood-engraved vignettes and 81 full-page plates engraved on wood (47 wood-engravings) and steel (34 steel-engravings) after the leading artists of the period, including Honoré Daumier, Célestin Nanteuil, Anthelme Trimolet, Gustave Staal...