Dubochet

Honoré de BALZAC & Honoré DAUMIER & Charles Constant Albert Nicolas d'Arnoux de Limoges Saint-Saëns dit BERTALL & Paul GAVARNI & Tony JOHANNOT & Célestin NANTEUIL
œuvres complètes de H. de Balzac
[Complete Works]

First collective edition sold as the Works, comprising – as well as numerous texts published for the first time – a new version of the Human Comedy, reviewed and revised by Balzac.
This is also the first illustrated edition.
Contemporary half blue...

First illustrated edition with 39 wood engravings hors-texte, and 200 wood vignettes in-text, all after drawings by the author, and drawings by Best, Leloir, Regnier...
Full glazed brown morocco binding early 20th century signed Petitot. Raised band spine decorated with compartments composed of series of fillets. Gilt title and date. Triple fillet frame on boards. Elaborate interior decoration. 4 endpaper leaves of handsome brown marbled paper. Some rare foxing on very white paper, except for the browned half-title. The tissue guards have been preserved and remain in fine condition. A small rub to spine, likewise along one edge, but very handsome copy, rare in this condition.
NB...

Œuvres complètes de Balzac [enriched with] handwritten letter signed by Balzac
First edition, one of the extremely rare copies all with the Furne address, including the last three volumes, complete with all its first print plates, set in an elegant, strictly contemporary, uniform binding. Our copy is also complete with the portrait of Balzac, on the frontispiece of the Comédie humaine and the biographical preface by George Sand which is most often missing.

“First collective edition under the title of Oeuvres, presenting a...

First collective edition under the title of Œuvres as well as first illustrated edition (Clouzot), including several texts in first edition, including the last part of Splendors and misery of courtesans, the third part of Lost Illusions, David Sechard; The museum of the department, the reverse of contemporary history, etc.
The book was originally intended to contain only 17 volumes, but the publisher Houssiaux, following the previous editors, completed them with the last three volumes which here constitute volumes 18, 19 and 20. However, our copy is mixed and has some notable peculiarities: thus the volume 1 is at the date of 1846, the volume 2 also
Binding half brown...