Desenne

Second edition of the first two volumes of the novel and first edition of the rare sequel published in 1788 (exchange of letters between Zélie and her friend). On the 3 title pages: By Madame D... The first edition of the first 2 volumes, 1786-1787.
Binding in full speckled blonde calf for the first 2 volumes, in speckled blonde sheep for the supplement. Red morocco title and volume labels. Rubbing. Scuffing to boards. Good copies.
The only work and novel by Marguerite Daubenton, wife of the famous naturalist. The novel appears to be inspired by the Aethiopica of Heliodorus of Emesa. The story tells the life of Zélie, her arrival in the Sumatra desert following a shipwreck and her...

Third edition statement, the first having appeared in 1789. Fine printing.

Contemporary full marbled blonde calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with 3 compartmentalized fleurons. Roulette at head and foot. Black morocco title-label. Triple fillet frame on boards. Edges gilt. Head slightly worn. One corner slightly bumped. Rubbing. A lack along the lower joint at foot. Despite some defects, a high-quality binding.

First edition of the two series published respectively in 1835 and 1836. 36 steel engravings for the first volume and 40 for the second, totaling 76 engravings engraved by various English engravers and printed on strong paper, under tissue guards. A large title vignette and a frontispiece in the second volume, both dated 1836, therefore could not have been part of the first.
Green half morocco signed Boutigny. The second volume, although using the same tools (and the same endpaper), and coming from the same workshop, is in a noticeably different binding (bound two years later), in navy blue half shagreen, the ensemble being ultimately more aesthetic than if the color were similar...

First edition.
Publisher's full red boards, smooth spine decorated with a cartouche and gilt typographical motifs, boards framed with gilt fillet and decorated with a medallion and typographical motifs in blind, edges gilt.
Contributions by M. de Boinville, E. Gonzalès, G. Molé, T. Coffinier, M. Aycard...
Work illustrated with 19 steel engravings.
Some light foxing.
Rare copy presented in romantic boards of pleasant freshness.

First French edition. The original edition appeared in Geneva in 1791. Illustrated with 3 plates, a frontispiece and two folding: a hemispheric map and an astrological one.
Contemporary full marbled sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title label. Upper headcap worn. Rubbing to joints and edges.
Famous work by the philosopher Volney in which personal memories, philosophy and reflections alternate. While the general subject is a questioning of the disappearance and ruin of empires (Volney begins his book with a meditation on the collapse of Palmyra), the work addresses multiple related themes: origins of religious cults, symbolism, worship of stars. The book excels...

First edition of these two pamphlets. Rare.
Stitched without covers, under glassine paper. One gathering detached in the first pamphlet.
The Observations are a defense of the Count of Saint-Priest, who in 1789 was the first Minister of the Interior, against the calumnious attacks of Mirabeau. Saint-Priest would resign to the king in 1790, following Necker. Le Songe d'un anglais was written in the aftermath of the indictment of Louis XVI, imprisoned for 4 months. In his dream, the author attributes to the British sovereign words of indignation and the acts he would implement against France.