Jean-Pierre Claris de FLORIAN
Galatée, roman pastoral ; imité de Cervantes
Chez Defer de Maisonneuve|Paris 1793|27 x 36 cm|relié
With a charming illustration by Monsiau, engraved by Colibert and Cazenave, four figures printed in colors. A large paper copy with figures in proof.
Blue paper covers, Bradel binding. Title-piece to spine.
Tiny transparent spots, a small repaired tear to one plate not touching image.
Stamp of Letolle, a Parisian bronze foundry, to title.
€1,000
DESTOUCHES
Oeuvres
Arkstée & Merkus|Amsterdam • & Leipzig 1755-1759|9.50 x 15 cm|5 volumes reliés
Edition illustrated with a portrait of the author engraved by Fokke, 24 figures engraved on copper by Fritsch after Aartman and a copperplate fleuron repeated on the first four titles. Copy entirely ruled.
Later bindings in full red morocco, signed Bauzonnet-Trautz. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and dotted lines. Boards framed with triple gilt fillets. Double gilt fillet emphasizing the leading edges. Gilt dentelle framing the doublures.
Some rubbing and spine slightly faded, otherwise handsome copy.
€800
Claude-Privas de MORENNE
Oraisons funebres et tombeaux. Avecques les Cantiques, Quatrains, & autres Poëmes, tant François que Latins
Pierre Bertault|Paris 1604|11 x 17.50 cm|4 parties reliées en un volume
The very rare first collected edition, first in parts, of the works of Claude de Morenne (1550-1606), preacher to King Henri IV and Bishop of Sées.
Contemporary cream-colored supple vellum, spine with fillets and little gilt fleurons, double gilt fillet frame to covers, all edges gilt.
One tiny wormhole to top edge.
This collection is dedicated to Secretary of State Villeroy and contains, as well as various Funeral Orations and Eulogies (124 ff.), the Cantiques spirituels (77 pp.), the Quatrains (20 pp.) and les Poemes divers (104 pp.). Engraved ex libris with the initials PR and a device of Notre Dame protecting France with the genealogy of the French kings.
A very good copy.
€1,500
COLLECTIF
Recueil de plusieurs pièces d'éloquence et de poésie présentées à l'Académie françoise pour les prix de l'année 1691
Veuve de J. B. Coignard et Jean-Baptiste Coignard fils|Paris 1691 [1693]|9 x 15.50 cm|relié
Collection of poetic pieces, known as the French Academy Collection, which notably contains two important texts by Charles Perrault: the reprint of La Marquise de Salusses (pp. 121-172), a tale initially published in the same collection in 1691, and the second edition of La Chasse (pp. 549-578).
Contemporary binding in full speckled sheep. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons as well as a red morocco title label. Gilt roulette on the leading edges. All edges speckled red.
One wormhole on the spine and one corner restored.
€500
Evariste PARNY
Opuscules
Manoury|Londres, [London] • et se trouve à Caen 1787|7.50 x 12.50 cm|2 volumes reliés
Counterfeit of the Cazin 1781 edition of these erotic pieces, Madagascan songs and literary miscellanies. According to the permission placed at the end of the second volume, this fourth edition would have been printed in 1,500 copies. It is illustrated with 2 engraved title-frontispieces, bearing the mention "Fifth edition", and 5 figures etched by Coulet. Copy on blue-tinted laid paper.
Later (19th century) bindings in full blue morocco, decorated in Du Seuil style, signed Allô. Spines with five raised bands richly decorated with compartments, fleurons, fillets and gilt dentelles. Six-fold frame of gilt fillets and corner fleurons on boards. Gilt fillet emphasizing edges and headcaps. Wide gilt dentelles framing the marbled paper pastedowns. All edges gilt. A few very minor scuffs and boards slightly dulled, otherwise a handsome copy.
The Chevalier de Parny (1753-1814) was born on Île Bourbon (present-day Réunion). He stayed in France as a seminarian then officer, before returning to his native island, which permeates his Madagascan songs.
From the library of Léon Rattier, with his bookplate.

€500
Alexis PIRON
Oeuvres complettes, publiées par M. Rigoley de Juvigny
de l'Imprimerie de Lambert|Paris 1776|12.50 x 19.50 cm|7 volumes reliés
The most complete collective edition of Alexis Piron's works, edited by Rigoley de Juvigny. Portrait of the author at the beginning of the first volume, engraved by Augustin de Saint-Aubin after Caffieri. As very often, the eighth volume (being the Œuvres badines) is not present. A well-margined copy.
Contemporary green morocco. Spine richly gilt with dentelles and gilt fleurons, red morocco title and label volumes. Triple gilt fillet frame to covers. Gilt roulette frame to pastedowns. All edges gilt.
Spines lightly and uniformly sunned, a few scratches. Occasional light spotting, but otherwise a very good copy.
€1,800
COLLECTIF
Recueil des plus belles pièces des poëtes françois, tant anciens que modernes, depuis Villon jusqu'à M. de Benserade
par La Compagnie des libraires|Paris 1752|8 x 13.50 cm|6 tomes reliés en 3 volumes
Famous anthology of poetry, known as the Recueil de Barbin because the notices it contains are thought to have been composed by François Barbin, son of the bookseller who first printed it in 1692. This precious collection was the first to grant an important place to Medieval poets, which was a great novelty at the time.
Near-contemporary bindings (circa 1810) in full tawny calf. Smooth spines richly decorated with compartments and gilt fillets, as well as emerald morocco title and volume labels. Covers framed with multiple gilt dentelles and roulettes. Gilt fillet highlighting the edges and headcaps. Gilt roulette framing the pastedowns. All edges gilt.
One corner bumped, light rubbing to the binding.
Attractive copy in decorative early 19th-century binding.
€550
Antoine DANCHET
Les Tyndarides, tragédie
Pierre Ribou|Paris 1708|9 x 16.50 cm|relié
First edition of this tragedy in 5 acts.
Contemporary binding in morocco, all edges gilt.
Quelques very tiny foxing.
De la bibliothèque Bernard Jean, with his ex-libris.
€600
Vincent VOITURE
Les Oeuvres de Monsieur de Voiture
Chez la Veuve F. Mauger|à Paris 1706|9 x 16 cm|2 volumes reliés
Edition illustrated with a frontispiece and a portrait of the author.
Later binding (early 19th century) in full light calf. Smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, decorative borders and fleurons. Gilt fillet framing the boards. All edges marbled.
One corner slightly bumped and some rubbing, otherwise a fine copy.
The work contains the author's letters and various poems. Voiture (1597-1648) was throughout his life a gallant and courtier, brilliant in salons and fond of games. His epistolary talent made prose fashionable in France for a long time, and his poetry excels in the mannered and precious tone, even though he knew how to be trivial when necessary. He is an essential figure of the literary scene of the early 17th century, a true Molière character. Voiture is above all a style, not only in his letters (Lettres amoureuses) and his poetry but also in his prose, see for example the delightful Métamorphoses. His works were in the image of the man, gallant, teaching beautiful language and fine manners to the habitués of the Hôtel de Rambouillet. His fame was very great during his century and he remains an emblem of the 17th century.
€180
Gabriel-Charles de LATTAIGNANT
Chansons et autres poésies posthumes de M. l'Abbé de L'Attaignant
Chez La veuve Duchesne|à Paris 1780|9.50 x 16 cm|relié
First edition.
Contemporary binding in full marbled blonde sheep. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, as well as a red morocco title label. Gilt roulette on the edges and headcaps. All edges red.
Lower tail joint cracked for a few centimeters and some rubbing. Foxing mainly on the first and last leaves.
Lattaignant (1697-1779) was considered the great songwriter of his time (J'ai du bon tabac...); besides numerous songs, he is the author of light and gallant poetry of which Le mot et la chose is the most famous piece. In this respect the dedications of the songs or poems are very eloquent and summarize quite well the gallant and libertine spirit of this era. Voltaire, whom he admired, wrote this song for him: L'Atteignant chanta les belles ; Il trouva peu de cruelles, Car il sut plaire comme elles [...] The work contains annotations on each piece, which specify the subject and circumstances.
€200
Antoine HAMILTON
Oeuvres mêlées en prose et en vers
Chez Je. Fr. Josse|à Paris 1731|9 x 16 cm|2 tomes reliés en un volume
First collected edition; two additional volumes would be added in a new collected edition in 1749.
Contemporary full blonde calf binding. Spine with five raised bands richly decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, with a camel morocco title label. Blind fillet and corner fleurons framing the boards. Gilt roll on edges and headcaps. All edges red. Title page lightly browned at outer margin, same for the last leaf. A small corner lack on page 103 of the first part.
Antoine Hamilton is primarily the author of the Mémoires du comte de Grammont, which Etiemble (author of the anthology of 18th-century authors in the Pléiade collection and rediscoverer of 18th-century authors like Crébillon fils) considers one of the masterpieces of the period. His tales were also appreciated, such as Fleur d'épine or Le bélier. Despite the work accomplished by Etiemble, and the complete rehabilitation of Crébillon fils, Hamilton remains fully to be rediscovered.
€250
Joseph FIEVÉE
La Dot de Suzette, ou Histoire de Mme de Senneterre, racontée par elle-même
à Paris An sixième (1798)|10 x 16.50 cm|relié
First edition, published anonymously, with frontispiece.
Contemporary half camel sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons, with blonde morocco title label. Speckled paper boards. All edges speckled blue. Some rubbing and one corner slightly bumped. Fresh interior.
Story of a young girl born in Saint Domingue and her thwarted loves during the Revolution told by herself. This novel by Fiévée, journalist and later secret agent under the Empire, was very successful under the Directory.
€250
Joseph VASSELIER
Poésies de Vasselier [suivies des] Contes de Vasselier
de l'imprimerie d'Egron • S. n.|à Paris • et à Londres [London] 1800|12.50 x 21 cm|2 parties reliées en un volume
Vasselier's Poésies appear to have had several editions at the same date, this one is considered the first. Unsigned portrait of the author as frontispiece.
Near-contemporary binding, Restoration period, in full brown calf signed Thouvenin. Spine with five raised bands richly decorated with gilt dentelles and fillets, as well as blind-tooled fleurons in the compartments and a black morocco title label. Blind dentelle, black fillet and gilt cornerpieces framing the boards. Joints slightly cracked. Foxing on the endpapers, frontispiece and opening and closing leaves.
Works of a minor Lyonnais poet of the late 18th century in the tradition of Grécourt, apparently director of the Post Office; Viollet Le Duc describes him thus: "His style is pure and elegant", "his tales, though too free, are nevertheless quite charming".
€250
Antoine-Marin LE MIERRE
Oeuvres : Les Fastes ou les usages de l'année [Ensemble] Pièces fugitives
Chez P. Fr. Gueffier|à Paris 1779 et 1782|12.50 x 18.50 cm|2 volumes reliés
First edition for both works bound together.
Near-contemporary bindings signed at foot "Descham"; in red morocco for the spines and green for the boards. Smooth spines decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons as well as a signature at the bottom of each volume. Gilt roll-work framing the boards. Gilt rolls on the edges and headcaps. Fine gilt dentelles framing the marbled paper pastedowns. Some worming, mainly at the foot of the spines. Elegant copy combining two colors.
Descriptive and didactic poetry in imitation of Ovid's Fasti, The Fastes are this author's most famous work, who was also a playwright, and whose versification skills opened the doors of the French Academy to him. The author relates various customs connected to each day. The Pièces fugitives gather various pieces.
€350
TACITE, Jean-Nicolas LALLEMAND
C. Cornelii Taciti quae exstant opera. Recensuit J. N. Lallemand
Barbou frères|Lutetiae Parisiorum [Paris] • (Paris) 1793|9 x 16 cm|3 volumes reliés
New edition of Tacitus's works in Latin and reprint of the 1760 edition, illustrated with three frontispieces by Ch. Eisen engraved by L. Lempereur, as well as three vignettes engraved on the title pages. This edition forms part of the collection of Latin authors published by Barbou, who had made it his specialty.
Contemporary full blonde calf bindings. Smooth spines decorated with compartments featuring floral motifs and numerals, as well as black morocco title and volume labels. Double fillets and gilt floral motifs framing the boards. Gilt roulettes decorating the leading edges and headcaps as well as the pastedowns. All edges gilt. Marginal tear p.125 of the second volume. In the third volume, p.367 annotated 667, and p.417 annotated 317.
Handsome copy. Very elegant set.
€350
Jean-Baptiste de GRECOURT
Oeuvres complètes
Imprimerie de Chaignieau ainé|Paris L'an V - 1796|12 x 18.50 cm|4 volumes reliés
New edition, handsomely illustrated with a portrait frontispiece engraved by Dupréel and eight figures hors texte by Fragonard fils, engraved by Dambrun, Duparc, Giraud le jeune, Pauquet, Lingée, Dupréel. Cohen does not record this edition.
Late 19th-century full blonde calf bindings, signed Petit successeur de Simier. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons as well as green morocco volume labels. Boards decorated with triple gilt fillets. Leading edges and headcaps decorated with double gilt fillets. Gilt dentelles framing the pastedowns. All edges gilt. Very handsome copy, in a highly decorative set.
Author of playful poetry, often libertine and light, well-crafted and amusing, which enjoyed great success, his works were first collected in 1711, then in 1746, shortly after his death in 1743. They saw many reissues. The fourth volume consists of attributed pieces. A good example of this poetry: "Le bègue. Un bègue voulait d'une dame/ Les bonnes graces acquérir,/ Et lui prouver l'ardente flamme/ Dont l'amour le faisait mourir. / Etant au bout de sa harangue,/ Ne pouvant plus mouvoir sa langue,/ Il eut recours à son outil;/ Puis le montrant et des yeux et du geste:/ Madame, excusez-moi, dit-il,/ Le porteur vous dira le reste." ["The stammerer. A stammerer wanted to acquire/ A lady's good graces,/ And prove to her the ardent flame/ With which love made him die. / Being at the end of his harangue,/ Unable to move his tongue any longer,/ He resorted to his tool;/ Then showing it with eyes and gesture:/ Madam, excuse me, he said,/ The bearer will tell you the rest."]
Bookplate. A. Jouffray. A L'Aventure.
€900
MARTIAL D'AUVERGNE, Benoît de COURT
Les arrets d'amours, avec L'Amant rendu cordelier, à l'Observance d'Amours
Chez François Changuion|à Amsterdam 1731|11 x 17.50 cm|relié
New edition prepared by Lenglet Du Fresnoy, with his notes and a glossary. A handsome title vignette. The last early edition.

19th-century binding in red half morocco with corners, signed Bauzonnet. Spine with five raised bands richly decorated in the grotesque style. Double gilt fillet on the boards. Top edge gilt on deckled edges. Spine somewhat faded. Some marginal worming, otherwise a handsome copy.

Ex-libris of the L. Pasquier library pasted on the first endpaper.

€600
François-Auguste PARSEVAL GRANDMAISONS
Les Amours épiques, poëme en six chants
imprimerie de Dentu|à Paris 1806|13 x 20 cm|relié
Second edition with some parts in first edition, the first edition of 1804 had 2000 fewer verses. A title vignette.
Contemporary full camel blonde calf binding, signed R.P. Thouvenin. Spine with five raised bands decorated with stippling, fleurons and gilt fillets, as well as a blue morocco title-label. Gilt pointillé stamps, roulette and cold fillet framing the boards. Gilt dentelle framing the marbled paper pastedowns. All edges marbled. Head damaged, joints slightly rubbed. A large dampstain in the lower margin affecting the first leaves.
A collection composed of imitations of the great epic poets, from Antiquity or the Renaissance, consisting of a succession of tableaux. The author thus supposes that in the Elysian Fields, the great epic poets (Homer, Milton, Ariosto...) have gathered to sing and versify about the famous loves of Andromache and Hector, Renaud and Armida, Adam and Eve... This poetic vein, into which numerous poets of the Empire threw themselves, Millevoye or Baour Lormian, in their desire to resurrect epic poetry, left the impression of a serious crisis in French poetry.
€250
Evariste PARNY
Porte-feuille volé, contenant Le Paradis perdu, Les Déguisemens de Vénus, Les Galanteries de la Bible
Au Magazin de Librairie|à Paris 1805|9 x 14 cm|relié
First edition published anonymously.
Contemporary binding in half blonde calf. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and dots, and a green morocco title-label. All edges gilt.
A collection of light and humorous poetry, and gently libertine. Le paradis perdu is a satire of Milton's eponymous work; Les déguisemens de Vénus, an imitation of the Greek poets; Les galanteries de la bible are pleasant sermons in verse.
€150
Mathieu de MONTREUIL
Les Oeuvres de Monsieur de Montreuil
Chez Thomas Iolly|à Paris 1666|8.50 x 14.50 cm|relié
The rare illustrated first edition, with a frontispiece portrait of the author engraved by Picart. Collected edition, prepared by the author himself, containing his correspondence and poetry.
19th-century full emerald morocco binding signed Cuzin. Spine with five raised bands richly decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons. Triple gilt fillet framing the covers. Wide gilt dentelle framing the pastedowns. All edges gilt.
Montreuil's work belongs to précieux literature, consisting essentially of fictional letters addressed to ladies and damsels and madrigals. Mathieu de Montreuil assiduously frequented Parisian literary salons, like Benserade, his style is gallant and light, yet without affectation. Though he followed an ecclesiastical career, he was never actually ordained as a priest.
€750
Claude Emmanuel Lhuillier CHAPELLE, François Le Coigneux BACHAUMONT
Voyage de messieurs Bachaumont et La Chapelle
Chez Pierre de Coup|Amsterdam 1708|9.50 x 16 cm|relié
New edition, after the 1696 first edition.
Contemporary binding in full speckled brown calf. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons and a red morocco title label. Boards stamped with armorial device. Edges and headcaps decorated with gilt roulettes. All edges gilt. Worming to spine, tail headcap largely damaged (with loss), three wormholes on lower board, one corner bumped.
Some manuscript brackets in margins and a contemporary pen gift inscription at end of volume. Two library stamps on title page and first endpaper.
This gallant and playful travel narrative immortalized the two companions, as multiple editions were published over two centuries. This journey is written in charming prose interspersed with light and fairly simple poetry that takes the opposite approach to classical travel narratives. It was profoundly successful.
€300
Comte de TRESSAN
Histoire de Gérard de Nevers et de la belle Euriant sa mie
l'Imprimerie de Didot jeune|Paris 1792|8.50 x 13.50 cm|relié
New illustrated edition with 3 plates (of 4) by Moreau. Handsome edition from the Didot presses printed on laid paper.
Contemporary binding in full red morocco. Smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets, friezes and fleurons. Gilt roll in frame to covers. Gilt roll on leading edges and headcaps. All edges gilt. Spine slightly faded, otherwise a handsome copy.
The Histoire de Gérard de Nevers was written around the middle of the 15th century, and forms the prose rewriting in Burgundian circles of the Roman de la Violette by Gerbert de Montreuil (1227-1229). The Count of Tressan, who had made a specialty of exhuming medieval manuscripts and publishing medieval romances, himself adapted and modernized this version. It had the effect, like other literary works published by Tressan, of a reconsideration of medieval literature, and a renewed interest in the Middle Ages.
€500
Pierre BOURET
Recuëil de Poësies diverses
S. n.|s. l. 1733|12 x 20 cm|relié
New edition.
Later red morroco by (19th century), Jansenist spine in six compartments, large gilt dentelle frame to pastedowns, all edges gilt.
Spine and joints slightly rubbed.
€500
SALLUSTE [Caius Crispus Sallustius]
C. Crispi Salustii quae exstant
F. Changuion • J. Catuffe • H. Uytwerf • P. Gosse • A. Moetjens • A. van Dole • J. Néaulme • Steph. Néaulme • |Amsterdam, • La Haye [The Hague] • et Utrecht 1742|23 x 28 cm|2 volumes reliés
Highly esteemed edition, provided by Sigibert Havercamp. His text, revised from several manuscripts and from the editio princeps, includes numerous notes. Deluxe paper copy.
Bindings (contemporary, very slightly later) in full dark blue morocco signed Anguerrand, smooth spines decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, as well as red morocco title labels, volume labels, date and place labels. Triple gilt fillet and fleurons framing the boards. Wide gilt dentelle framing the pastedowns. All edges gilt. Spines somewhat faded and some rubbing, otherwise fine copy. Interesting detail that traces the life of this copy: the spines were updated to contemporary taste at the end of the 18th century; the title labels, in red morocco, were changed, some moved and the compartments, originally plain, were overworked with tooling from this same period.
It appears to be the copy that figured in the catalogue of the Lamoignon library of 1791 (II, n°4292).
€1,500
Mathurin RÉGNIER
Satyres et autres oeuvres
Chez Jacob Tonson|à Londres [London] 1733|25 x 33 cm|relié
New edition, ornamented with a frontispiece engraved by L. Cars after C. Natoire, with head- and tailpieces and initial letters, engraved by Nicolas Cochin and L. Cars after Natoire and Bouché, all in first printing. The text is set within a beautiful red frame and printed on deluxe paper, with careful typography.
Contemporary full blonde calf binding with scale pattern. Spine with five raised bands richly decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, and a blonde morocco title label. Triple gilt fillet framing the covers. Fine gilt dentelle framing the doublures. All edges marbled. Foot headcap partially damaged with half missing, exposing the partially unstitched headband. Two corners slightly bumped.
Handsome full-margined copy preserved in an elegant contemporary binding.
The historical remarks are by Claude Brossette, from the 1729 edition; they have been expanded with notes by Lenglet-Dufresnoy.
€700
Jean-François de SAINT-LAMBERT
Les Saisons, poëme
S. n.|Paris 1775|-|relié
Seventh edition, illustrated with a frontispiece, a fleuron on the title and 4 figures by Moreau le jeune, 4 delightful vignettes by Choffard, for Les Saisons, and 2 figures by Moreau le jeune for the Contes, Poésies fugitives and the Fables orientales. Our copy is enhanced with separate pulls of the title fleuron and Choffard's vignettes.
Nineteenth-century binding in full midnight blue morocco. Spine with five raised bands decorated with pastoral fleurons (vine, wheat and pruning hook, game and hunting horn...) as well as gilt compartments. Triple fillet and gilt geometric dentelle framing the covers. Wide gilt dentelle framing the marbled paper pastedowns.
Upper joint rubbed.
From the libraries of Francis Kettaneh and Irwin Laughlin, with their bookplates.
€1,200
Nicolas RAPIN
Les Oeuvres latines et francoises
Pierre Chevalier|Paris 1610|16 x 23.50 cm|relié
First edition of this poetic collection divided into three parts, comprising Latin poetry, French verse imitations of Horace and Ovid, sonnets, odes, tombeaux and the two books of Vers mesurez by Nicolas Rapin (c. 1535-1608). The third part, composed of 47 leaves, contains various pieces of prose, some Latin poetry and six pieces in French verse on Rapin. The general title is decorated with a vignette engraved on copper with the arms of France and Navarre.

Later binding (c. 1860) in full blonde shagreen, spine with four false raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and a green title label, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, decorative gilt board-edges, edges gilt.

According to the author's wishes, this edition was established by his friend Gillot and under the direction of Scévole de Sainte-Marthe. It can be found either at the address of Pierre Chevalier, or at that of Olivier de Varennes.

From the library of Léon Laurent Pichat, director of the Revue de Paris, with his bookplate. Lacking the 4 leaves of table.
€1,300
Felix MINUCIUS OCTAVIUS, J. GRONOVIUS
Octavius cum integris Woweri, Elmenhorstii, Heraldi & Rigaltii notis [...] Caecilius cyprianus. De idolorum vanitate & Julius Firmicus Maternus De errore profanarum religionum
apud Cornelium Boutestein • Samuelem Luchtmans|Lugduni Batavorum [Leiden] • (Leyde) [Leiden] 1709|11.50 x 20 cm|relié
New edition. One title vignette. Title page in red and black.
Later full green morocco binding attributable to Derôme. Smooth spine uniformly sunned (turned blonde) decorated with 5 small lozenges, fillets. Triple fillet frame on boards. Interior border. Edges gilt. Handsome copy.
Felix Minutius (second half of the 2nd century A.D.) is one of the first, if not the first Latin Christian apologists. He is exclusively known for being the author of the present text: Octavius, which is an apology of Christianity in the form of a dialogue between a pagan and a Christian (reminiscent of Cicero's Tusculanae), in a vigorous and elegant style. The edition adds several texts to the Octavius, especially Firmicus's De errore profanarum religionum. Edition richly and diversely annotated by Geverhart Elmenhorst, Desiderius Heraldus, Nicolas Rigault's Observations on the history of the early Christians under the Roman Empire, and on the historians relating what concerns the early Christians.
€500
Charles SOREL
Recueil de pieces en prose, les plus agreables de ce temps. composees par divers auteurs
Chez Charles de Sercy|1658|8.50 x 14 cm|relié
The rare first edition of this collection in which all the works have been chosen by Charles Sorel. Lacking the frontispiece. A second part will appear in 1662.
Contemporary limp full vellum binding. Smooth spine with later black ink title. Lacking endpapers. Book partially detached from the binding and held only by a few stitches.
Charles Sorel composed this collection of gallant pieces in prose whose authors have not been identified; one can distinguish more than 18 pieces on love, banter and gallantry, testimonies to a literary genre now disappeared, precious literature, of a certain frivolity, and which owed much to the literary salons of the time. One will note the following pieces: L'origine & le progrés des rubans; leur défaite par les princesses jarretieres & leur rétablissement en suite; Dialogue des yeux & de la bouche; La carte du royaume d'Amour; Discours de l'ennemy d'amour, & des femmes. Avec la réponse par Erophile; Relation grotesque, burlesque, comique, & maccaronique, des amours & transformations de Vertumne pour la belle Pomone nymphe neustrienne, avec leur genealogie. Et la mort pitoyable de ce pauvre pendu d'Iphis, miserable amant de la cruelle Anaxarete. Le tout fidelement extrait des Metamorphoses reformées... (we know that this last work is by Sorel himself, who never ceased to criticize Ovid in several of his works).
€300
JUVÉNAL, PERSE
Satyrae. Cum annot. Th. Farnabii
Jean Blaeu|Amsterdam 1630|9 x 16 cm|relié
First Amsterdam impression of the Satires annotated by Thomas Farnabe, first published in London in 1612. It is decorated with a handsome engraved title-frontispiece, unsigned.
Nineteenth-century binding in full straight-grained green morocco, triple gilt fillet, small cornerpieces connected by a fillet, spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons with red mosaics, gilt board-edges. Spine very lightly faded, a few very minor rubbing marks and a small marginal tear without loss on page 77, otherwise a fine uncut copy.
Bookplate (19th century) pasted on front pastedown.
€350
François VILLON
Les oeuvres de François Villon. - Les Repües Franches le Franc Archier de Baignollet. Le dialogue de messieurs de Mallepaye, et de Baillevant. - Lettre a Monsieur de ***, en lui envoyant la nouvelle édition des Oeuvres de François Villon
de l'imprimerie d'Antoine-Urbain Coustelier|Paris 1723|10 x 16 cm|3 parties reliées en un volume
New edition.

Contemporary binding in full blonde calf. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons as well as a red morocco title-label. All edges red speckled.
Leaves of the first part entirely browned, due to paper of inferior quality compared to the rest of the volume.

Famous edition from the collection of French poets published by Coustelier. The works follow in this order: Les Repues franches. Le Franc Archier de Baignollet. Le Dialogue de messieurs de Mallepaye, et de Baillevant, Lettre à Monsieur de ***, en lui envoyant la nouvelle édition des Œuvres de François Villon et Le Petit Testament de F. Villon, thus titled without the author's consent, as he states in the second book. According to the "notice to readers" the first part, (that is to say in our edition the second and third), was published following Clément Marot's edition, with the difference that various readings drawn from editions anterior to the latter have been placed in the margins. The footnotes marked with letters are by Clément Marot, those marked with numbers are by another hand.
€1,000
Nicolas BOILEAU DESPREAUX, LONGIN [PSEUDO-LONGIN]
Traité du Sublime ou du merveilleux dans le discours, traduit du grec de Longin par M. D***.
Chez la Veuve de Claude Thiboust et Pierre Esclassan|1694|9 x 16 cm|relié
First bilingual edition, decorated with a frontispiece by Ertinger. Title page in red and black. Bilingual edition with the translation on facing pages.
Contemporary full blonde marbled calf binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with 5 compartmentalized fleurons. Binding with monogram stamped on covers, a B within a D. Upper joint cracked at foot. One lack at head. Rubbing. One corner very bumped.
Blue stamp on title page and library label: Domus Acheolana Societatis Jesus.
Treatise on the rhetoric of elevated discourse, the work enjoyed great success in Boileau's translation where it took its place in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns.
€400
Jean-François SARASIN
Les oeuvres
Chez Nicolas Le Gras|à Paris 1685|9 x 17 cm|2 volumes reliés
New edition, after the rare first edition published in 1656.
Owner's name on the upper cover: Le Mis D'Estampes. The d'Estampes family was an illustrious family which knew both its apogee and decline in the 17th century.
Contemporary full brown sheep bindings. Decorated spine with raised bands. Brown morocco title and volume labels. Joints restored. Headcaps restored, the decorative fillets at head and foot are therefore not identical on the two volumes. 3 corners slightly bumped.
Posthumous edition prepared and published by Mesnage, with whom Sarasin was familiar, as he was with Mademoiselle de Scudery (dedicatee), Scarron and Pelisson. A rather rare writer, he wrote two excellent historical narratives in prose: l'Histoire du siège de Dunkerque (1649) and la Conspiration de Walstein (1651) in a very elegant style. Among his poetry we distinguish La pompe funèbre de Voiture, les Fragments épiques de Rollon conquérant, la Guerre espagnole, and La Défaite sur les boutz-rimés. The edition additionally contains Le discours de la tragédie, and many pieces in prose and verse. Pelisson's discourse on Sarasin's works has been placed at the beginning of the work.
€400
Georg BUCHANAN
Poemata quae extant
Ex Officina Elzeviriana|Lugduni Batavorum [Leiden] • (Leyde) [Leiden] 1628|5.50 x 11.20 cm|relié
First Elzevier edition. With title-frontispiece. Minuscule printing.
Later full black sheep binding signed Thouvenin at foot (one of Thouvenin's earliest bindings, in the style of Bozerian his master). Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 small fleurons. Series of fillets at head. Title and date gilt. Gilt fillet frame on boards. Roulette on edges and interior border. Gilt edges. Spine very slightly faded. Handsome copy.
These works of Buchanan contain a paraphrase of the psalms, the tragedies Jephthah and Baptist, followed by translations of Euripides' Medea and Alcestis; the work also contains Franciscanus & fratres; Elegiarum liber; Sylvarum liber; Hendecasyllab[o]n liber; Iamb[o]n liber; Epigrammatum libri iii; Miscellaneorum liber; De sphaera mundi lib. v. Buchanan was one of the most important neo-Latin poets, although a native of Scotland, he resided for a long time in France and even taught Montaigne in Bordeaux. This Elzevier edition deals with Buchanan's literary production; one will not find his historical writings, even his Sphaera is a poem against Copernican ideas. It should be noted that he was undoubtedly a rebellious spirit, whose free ideas brought him numerous troubles and travels.
€500
Jean François de LA HARPE
Tangu et Félime. Poeme en IV chants
Chez Pissot|[Paris] 1780|11.50 x 19 cm|relié
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece and 4 fine figures by Marillier engraved by Ponce, De Ghendt... and printed on strong paper. Rare copy entirely ruled, even for the figures.
Full navy morocco binding ca 1860 signed Arnaud. Raised-band spine decorated. Title and date in gilt. Triple gilt fillet frame on boards. Rich interior border. Edges gilt. Minor traces of rubbing to upper joint at head. Very handsome copy.
La Harpe drew the substance of his poem from an Arab tale, which was taken up by the Provençals in the romance Fortunatus, then at the beginning of the 18th century: Les aventures d'Abdalla.
19th-century ecclesiastical armorial bookplate, gold on red ground, with the inscription Abbatia Janduriarum, Leon rattier.
€550
Pierre-Joseph ARTHUYS
Benjamin ou reconnoissance de Joseph, tragedie chrétienne en trois actes et en vers
Chez Cailleau|à Paris 1749|13.50 x 21.50 cm|relié
First edition.
Full blonde calf binding from the late 19th century signed Bauzonnet. Smooth spine decorated with two mirrored fleurons, fillets on the headcaps. Blind-stamped title. Triple fillet frame on the boards. Rich interior border. Very handsome copy.
Father Arthuys, a Jesuit, dramatized one of the most famous and touching stories from the Bible: Joseph was sold by his brothers as a slave in Egypt and became, by saving the pharaoh, master of Egypt as tax farmer. Benjamin is one of Jacob's sons, Joseph's brother by the same mother, Rachel. Before all his brothers, Joseph reveals himself. The tragedy was titled Christian although it is set before Christianity, in order to present this famous story as belonging to Christian drama.
€250
Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde DESHOULIERES
Oeuvres choisies de Madame Deshoulieres
De l'Imprimerie de P. Didot l'aîné|à Paris 1795|9.50 x 15.30 cm|relié
Fine edition published by Didot printed on laid paper with figures before letters, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait by Rochard and 3 figures by Marillier engraved by Pouce, de Ghendt. This charming edition is said to have been limited to 100 copies.
Full ripe orange morocco binding, late 19th century, signed David. Raised spine handsomely decorated, with roulettes at head and foot. Brown morocco title and volume labels. Triple fillet frame on covers. Rich interior border. Edges gilt. A very slight tear to outer edge.
Very handsome copy in a rare shade, perfectly executed in a master binding.
€850
Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde DESHOULIERES, Antoinette Thérèse DESHOULIERES
Poësies de madame et mademoiselle Deshoulieres
Chez François Foppens|Bruxelles [Brussels] 1708|9.70 x 15.70 cm|relié
New edition after the original published in 1688 (a second volume was added later).
A handsome frontispiece portrait in medallion and a title vignette repeated in volume II. Title pages in red and black. Full red morocco binding late 19th century signed Thompson. Spine with raised bands decorated. Title and date gilt. Triple fillet frame on covers. Rich interior border. Edges gilt. Light rubbing at tail and lower edge. Scattered foxing. Handsome copy, perfectly executed. Madame Deshoulières was regarded as the foremost poetess of her time, and became moreover the first female academician. She held one of the most brilliant salons of the period, she was a refined and remarkably cultured mind, taking close interest in the sciences. Her poetry reflects the gallant spirit of the 17th century, but also its morality; the volumes bringing together songs, epistles, idylls, tragedies and occasional pieces. She was a précieuse, moving in the circle of Luxembourg with the Duchess of Montpensier and in a circle of libertines. The edition of her Poësies contributed greatly to her contemporary literary fame.
€800
Charles-Gilbert Terray MOREL DE VINDÉ
Zelomir
Chez Bleuet jeune|à Paris 1801|7.50 x 13.50 cm|relié
First edition, a small octavo edition with the same pagination having appeared on the same date. Fine typographic printing by Didot on deluxe laid paper. 6 figures by Lefèvre in double state, and engraved by Godefroy.
Full blonde morocco binding, late 19th century, signed R. Raparlier. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Title and date in gilt. Triple gilt fillet frame on boards. Gilt edges. Wide interior borders. Restoration to first compartment over 1cm. Rubbing to headcaps, joints and corners. Light tears to front board. Loss of gilding to fillet frame on rear board. Handsome copy nevertheless.
Small adventure novel set in the Middle Ages at the time of the first crusades, in Bellegrade, Hungary; the author begins with a critique of the barbarism of feudal times, which only the virtue and heart of women redeemed from brutality. Notable is the critical vision of history, a post-revolutionary perception of events.
Bookplate, Remusat's armorial stamp with his motto: Boute et ne doute
€500
LUCAIN, Guillaume de BREBEUF
La Pharsale
Chez Antoine de Sommaville|à Paris 1659|8 x 13.80 cm|relié
A reprint by the same publisher of the original published in 1657; it is very handsomely illustrated with a medallion portrait of Lucan supported by two eagles, a frontispiece and 10 very lively copperplate engravings (shipwreck, battles...) engraved by François Chauveau. All the plates, apart from the title-frontispiece, are before the letter. This second edition certainly benefited from the very first remaining prints.
Full raspberry red morocco binding from the end of the 19th century signed Petit. Raised band spine with blind compartments. Blind fillet frame on the covers. Gilt title and date at foot. All edges gilt. Rich decorative gilt board-edges. A stain on the third compartment and trace of dampstain at bottom of upper cover. Handsome copy, fresh, with particularly well-inked plates.
It is through this work that Brebeuf established his reputation as a poet. This is not a translation, but a free recreation based on the original, in continuous verse, although the author did not deviate from Lucan's plan, with the first eight books dealing with the wars between Caesar and Pompey and the last two with the expeditions to North Africa. Brébeuf sought to equal his illustrious ancient model and fully succeeded in this challenge, which earned him criticism from Boileau.
€850
Edme BOURSAULT
Ne pas croire ce qu'on voit, histoire espagnole. Par feu M. Boursault [Ensemble] Le marquis de Chavigny
Chez Le Breton|à Paris 1739|9 x 16.20 cm|relié
New edition, rare, like the original published in 1670 of these two novels.
Copy with the arms of the princes of Bourbon Condé, azure with three fleur-de-lys or, with a bend gules, having presumably belonged to Louise-Anne de Bourbon Condé, known as Mademoiselle de Charolais, daughter of the legitimized daughter of Louis XIV, Mademoiselle de Nantes.
Full blonde marbled and glazed sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated with 4 tools with small corner tools and rolls. Red morocco title label. Arms stamped on boards, triple gilt fillet frame. A yellow stain on some leaves at end of work. Joints finely restored. Handsome copy.
Boursault is better known and remembered as a playwright, although posterity has often retained only his role as critic of Molière's L'école des femmes and his unfortunate participation in the theatrical quarrels of the 17th century. The author nevertheless worked in numerous literary fields, notably the novella and novel, with a free and light pen. Ne pas croire ce qu'on voit is a work largely inspired by Calderon and very freely translated, La marquise de Chavigny being a narrative made of amorous adventures, embedded stories and letters; it should be noted that one of the episodes anticipates Sade's Les crimes de l'amour. It should be noted that the action of the works is contemporary with the author, which is altogether quite rare. Boursault, anecdotally, also wrote a historical novella entitled Le prince de Condé, so it is no coincidence to find works by Boursault with the arms of the princes of Condé.
€900
Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de RACAN
Les Bergeries de Mre Honorat de Bueil, chevalier, sieur de Racan. Dédiées au Roy. Cinquième édition, reveuë et corrigée
Chez Toussainct du Bray|à Paris 1632|11 x 16.80 cm|relié
Fifth edition, the last revised and corrected by the author. Printed in italics.
Contemporary full brown grained sheep binding. Smooth spine attractively decorated. Red morocco title-label. Foxing. Handsome copy.
According to Louis Arnoult, Racan, (Histoire anecdotique et critique de sa vie et de ses œuvres. Paris, A. Colin. 1896), this is the best edition of the Bergeries. It is preceded by numerous pieces: the epistle to the king, the ode to the king, various sonnets to himself, letter to Malherbe. Racan composed this dramatic pastoral when he fell in love with Catherine de Thermes, alias Arthénice, in 1619. Caught up in the turmoil of war, being himself a soldier, he would not return to his work until much later. He is considered the most brilliant pupil of Malherbe, whom he met in 1605.
€800
Jacob CATS, Caspar BARLEUS
Faces augustae a Casparo Barleo et Cornelio Boyo
Apud Johannem Elsevirium|Lugduni Batavorum [Leiden] • (Leyde) [Leiden] 1656|17 x 22 cm|relié
New edition, and first Elzevier, after the original published at Dordrecht in 1643. Dedication to Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia. Title-page in red and black.
Binding in full worn yellow temporary cardboard. Red morocco title-label. Rubbing exposing the cardboard at joints, headcaps, corners and edges. External edges and corners bumped
Collection of poetry on marriage composed for the future wedding of Elizabeth of Bohemia. This queen, then aged 25, had studied philosophy from her earliest youth - Descartes, whom she had chosen as her master, dedicated The Principles of Philosophy to her with this praise: "The first and most learned of his disciples" - and feared that her approaching nuptials would harm her studies. The work contains 14 poems in verse on marriage, all in a rather satirical and comic vein (the union of Adam and Eve, polygamy...), 9 by Caspar Barleus, 4 by Boyus and one by Cats, who undertook to produce the edition. This is followed by a section consisting of philosophical dialogues on the virtues of marriage and weddings. As a historical note, Elizabeth's union was a failure, and the Queen of Bohemia chose to end her days as an abbess in a Protestant monastery. The whole forms a quite remarkable curiosity.
€350
Paul SCARRON
Le Virgile travesty
S. n.|à Paris 1668|8 x 13 cm|relié
New illustrated edition which is joined to the Elzevier collection, illustrated with a repeated frontispiece and eight charming plates (four in each volume) unsigned.
Nineteenth-century binding in full chocolate morocco, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, date at foot, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, gilt dentelle framing the doublures, all edges gilt. Ex-libris from the library of Don Joannes Baptista Moens (1855) mounted on the doublures of both volumes.
Spine sunned, otherwise a handsome copy.
Very fine edition of this satire of the Aeneid, a masterpiece of seventeenth-century burlesque literature, in which the author deployed all his verve and surpassed through his talent the simple burlesque framework; it contains the eight books of Virgil Travestied including the apocryphal eighth. The first Elzevier edition of 1651 contained only the first five books.
€1,200
Jean-Louis GUEZ DE BALZAC
Les Oeuvres diverses du Sieur de Balzac
Chez Daniel Elzevier|à Amsterdam 1664|7.50 x 13.50 cm|relié
Elzevirian edition illustrated with a handsome unsigned frontispiece title, after the first Elzevirian edition of 1651; the original collected edition dating from 1644 in Paris.
Near-contemporary full vellum binding. Spine with four raised bands decorated with a red morocco title label. All edges speckled red. Handsome copy, well printed.
The Elzevirian editions consecrate the success of the work of Guez de Balzac and the great renown of the author at that time. The various works are composed of the different discourses, dissertations and letters of the writer.
€300
Nicolas CLENARD
Institutiones ac meditationes in graecam liguam
Typis Wechelianis • apud Haeredes Ioannis|Hanoviae [Hanau] • (Hanovre) [Hanover] 1617|17 x 24 cm|relié
New edition, the very first edition having appeared in 1530. Printer's device on title page. Two other different parts, with continuous pagination, with two respective title pages: Meditationes graecanicae in artem grammaticam (p.273) and In Clenardi et ante signani grammaticam anno MDLXXXX ex officina Wecheliana editam.
Contemporary full vellum binding. Smooth spine with blind fillets. Blind frames on boards with a central fleuron and corner fleurons. The work is completely detached from the binding. The first cover is largely detached from its board. First gathering loose, held only by one stitch. Paper entirely browned.
Famous work which enjoyed immense popular success of this Greek grammar by the philologist Nicolas Clénard, whose master was Henri Estienne.
€250
SÉNÈQUE
Opus tragoediarum aptissimisque figuris excultum. In quo tria millia errata atque inversa loca exemplorum depravatione & librariorum incuria diligentissime ad veterem lectionem nunc primum reformata. Cum expositoribus luculentissimis Bernardino Marmita & Daniele Gaietano
Per Bernardinum de Vianis|Impressum Venetiis [Venice] • (Venise) [Venice] 1522|21 x 31 cm|relié
Very rare post-incunabula edition of Seneca's tragedies, illustrated with 10 woodcut figures in-text (6.5 x 8 cm), at the head of each of the ten tragedies. Numerous initials in black or criblé. Text of the tragedy in a central column with commentaries distributed around it, in Roman type. Title within a large engraved floral border. The editio princeps of Seneca's tragedies is considered to be that of 1484 in Ferrara (Andreas Gallicum).
Colophon: "Impressum Venetiis per Bernardinum de Vianis de Lexona Vercellensem. Anno Domini M.D.XXII, die VI Novembris."

Contemporary full vellum binding, with a raised-band spine remade in old vellum (18th or early 19th century). Manuscript title in black ink. Lacking the endpaper before the first title leaf. Front board detached from the visible sewing. Last leaves frayed at right margin. Lack to edge on lower board. A copy of fine freshness, except for the title leaf, slightly faded.

Edition prepared by Girolamo Avanzi who brought together his own commentaries on Seneca's Tragedies (which initially appeared in 1507 in Venice), and those of Daniel Galetanus and Bernardino Marmitae from the 1498 edition of the same Tragedies of Seneca. This professor of philosophy and philology worked in Padua, he prepared several editions of ancient texts, notably Catullus, Ausonius... He was Aldus Manutius's assistant in preparing editions of several ancient texts.

Ten tragedies by the author have come down to us, two of which pose problems regarding their attribution, Octavia and Hercules Oetaeus. The Trojan Women is an adaptation of Euripides' Troades. Seneca's theater contains no scenic dramaturgy or intrigue, it is a theater where, as in Euripides - to whom the author is very close -, the word is sovereign and commands the tragic outcome. The plays thus appear as a succession of declamations where action is absent, Seneca concentrating his writing on the internal tragedy of his characters after the irremediable act that precipitated them into madness, thus Medea after her crimes, or Hercules after his infanticide. The influence of this writing would be great at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, notably in Garnier.
€3,000
Diego ORTUÑEZ DE CALAHORRA, Antoine René de Voyer d' ARGENSON
Histoire du chevalier du soleil, et de son frère Rosiclair, et de leurs descendants
Chez Pissot|à Amsterdam • & se trouve à Paris 1780|9.50 x 17 cm|2 volumes reliés
First edition of the translation and abridgment by the Marquis de Paulmy and Contant d'Orville.
Armorial copy of the Rohan Chabot family, certainly, given the date of the edition, of Louis-Antoine de Rohan-Chabot, known as the Chevalier de Rohan. 2 mascles and two chabot fish crowned in the corners. We know that the library of Cardinal de Rohan (famous!) bore mascles on the spine as a stamp.
Contemporary full glazed blonde calf bindings. Smooth spine decorated. Title label and volume label in brown morocco. 3 scratches on the upper cover of volume II, without consequence. Cracking of upper joints with very slight leather loss. Fine copy.
Le chevalier du soleil is a translation of the Spanish chivalric romance by Diego Orthunez de Calahorra, the first part of which appeared in 1555; the later sequels, second and third parts, are not by the author. Interesting preface by the Marquis de Paulmy, famous medievalist of the time, who affirms that the Amadis cycle is a sequel to the Chevalier du soleil. A table of contents allows one to trace the chronology of each character. The Marquis de Paulmy and his colleague Contant d'Orville did not merely translate Le chevalier du soleil; they compiled not only the sequels to the Histoire du chevalier du soleil, but also the last 21 Amadis romances, and the Roman des romans by Duverdier, which allows one to follow the destiny of all the characters of Spanish romance chivalry across two books. More strange seems the introduction of music in scores and songs by Philidor and Grétry celebrating chivalry, testimony to the 18th century's perception of romance chivalry.
€900
Edward MOORE, Horace WALPOLE
Le monde par Adam Fitz - Adam. Ou feuilles périodiques sur les moeurs du temps
De l'imprimerie d'Elie Luzac, fils|à Leyde [Leiden] 1757|10 x 16.80 cm|2 volumes reliés
The rare first edition. Translation by Gaspard Joel Monod. A sequel was planned, which never appeared, probably due to lack of success.
Armorial copy with the coat of arms of Emmanuel-Félicité de Durfort, Duke of Duras stamped on the boards
Contemporary full blonde glazed and marbled calf bindings. Spines with raised bands decorated with the rampant lion device of the Duke of Duras. Red morocco title label, black sheep volume label very rubbed. Headcap of volume II split. Crack to upper joint with loss to headcap. Surface wear to upper joint at tail of volume I, and to lower joint at tail of volume II. 3 corners bumped. Despite the mentioned defects, a handsome copy.
Edition in volumes of articles published in the eponymous periodical in 1753 and 1754. The collective assembled around Edward Moore brings together Horace Walpole, the Earl of Chesterfield, George Lyttelton, and Soame Jenyns. The latter followed the verve and satirical vein deployed in The Spectator in a new periodical, intended particularly to mock English manners and universal folly, in the tradition of Swift.
€950
Frances SHERIDAN
Memoires de Miss Sidney Bidulph, extraits de son journal, et traduit de l'anglois
Aux dépens de la Compagnie|à Amsterdam 1762 - 1768|9 x 16 cm|5 volumes reliés
Rare first French edition, comprising the first three volumes published in 1762, and the continuation published in 1768. Title pages printed in red and black. Translation by J. B. Robinet. The novel is attributed in the preface to the author of Pamela, Richardson; Frances Sheridan is the true author according to Barbier.
Near-contemporary half marbled blonde sheep bindings. Smooth spine decorated with fillets. Beige morocco title and volume labels. Speckled brown paper boards. Tail of volume 2 split. Crack to upper joint at head and tail of volume 1, to lower joint of volume 2, to upper joint at tail and lower joint at head of volume 4, to upper and lower joints at tail of volume 5. Corners bumped. Handsome set nonetheless.
A sentimental novel of great moral complexity, The Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph, composed of diaries and letters, throws a young woman into matrimonial bonds, and describes the difficulty for a woman to live according to her own principles, crushed as she finds herself under society's moral conventions.
€500
POMPEIUS GRAMMATICUS, Marcus Flaccus VERRIUS
De verborum significatione lib. XX notis et emendationibus Andreas Dacerius
Sumptibus Hugutanorum|Amstelodami [Amsterdam] • (Amsterdam) 1699|19.80 x 25.80 cm|relié
New edition by André Dacier, after the original Parisian edition of 1681, illustrated with a handsome frontispiece bearing the Dauphin's arms, and a title vignette with the arms of the same; a title headpiece with the dauphin's arms repeated. Title page in red and black.
Contemporary limp vellum binding. Smooth spine with title in black ink. Boards blind-stamped with multiple frames and angular fleur-de-lis tools. Spine soiled with a lack at foot. Good copy, rather fresh, printed on good paper.
Festus was a grammarian of the second century A.D. who compiled an abridgment of the encyclopedic dictionary of his contemporary Verrius (lost work) of which only fragments survive (letters M-V) but which provides useful and precious information about his era. His manuscript was edited in the 15th century then rediscovered during the Renaissance, Scaliger produced a critical edition in 1584 which Dacier follows. The celebrated French philologist provides an abundantly annotated edition with extensive footnotes.
This edition belongs to the collection of works produced by Dacier "in usum Delphini", for the use of the Dauphin, whom Dacier served.
€500
Joseph de LA PORTE
La France littéraire
Chez La veuve Duchesne|à Paris 1769|10.50 x 17 cm|2 volumes reliés
New edition with some parts in first edition and extensively expanded. Supplements would appear later to complete the list of dead and living authors, notably in 1778.
Contemporary bindings in full marbled and glazed blonde calf. Smooth spine decorated. Title-label and volume label in red morocco. Light lack at head of volume I. Slight rubbing. Volume label of volume II discolored. Handsome copy.
Complete title: La France littéraire, contenant, I. Les Académies établies à Paris et dans les différentes villes du Royaume. II. Les Auteurs vivans, avec la Liste de leurs ouvrages. III. Les Auteurs Morts, depuis l Année 1751 inclusivement, avec la Liste de leurs ouvrages. IV. Le Catalogue alphabétique des Ouvrages de tous ces Auteurs.
Red stamp on title page of both volumes: Charles Marie de la Condamine. Scientist and member of the Académie des sciences since 1730, he participated in numerous discoveries during his travels. Copies from his library are justly sought after.
€500
Eilhard LUBIN
Florilegium hoc est Veterum graecorum poëtarum epigrammata comprehensa libris septem
S. n.|In bibliopolio Commeliniano [Heidelberg] • [Heidelberg] 1604|16 x 22 cm|relié
The rare first edition.
Contemporary vellum binding. Darkened spine bearing a title label (lacks). Traces of ties. Several gatherings protruding.
An anthology of Greek quotations translated by Lubin and grouped in thematic chapters (Mulieres, In virtutem, In infantes...).

€550
Guillaume COQUILLART
Les poesies de Guillaume Coquillart
De l'imprimerie d'Antoine Urbain Coustelier|à Paris 1723|9.50 x 16 cm|relié
The finest early edition. The volume forms part of the collection of French poets published by Coustelier (Racan, Cretin...). Bibliothèque Viollet Le Duc, p. 88: "Most correct edition of all those made of Coquillart's works". The text is however less correct than in the 1857 edition (Charles Héricault), according to Brunet.
Contemporary polished blonde calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label (with loss). Headcaps lightly worn. Crack at foot and head of upper joint. Corners bumped.
Poet from Reims who died in 1510, whose poetry was mainly intended for clerks and students during performances of the famous Basoche of Paris; his verses were then declaimed during shows as they displayed undeniable comic and satirical talent and a license that could not be permitted in all circles.
Late 19th-century bookplate with library number: Ex Schaedis Doct. D. T. B. In secundis voluptas. Label Edition de l'Empire. Alger.
€450
Abbé Charles COTIN
Oeuvres galantes
Chez Etienne Loyson|à Paris 1665|8.50 x 14.80 cm|relié
Second edition, rare, augmented with the second volume which appears in first edition and illustrated with two unsigned title-frontispieces. The first volume alone had initially appeared in 1663. Note that the most important pieces had appeared under the name "Oeuvres meslées" in 1659.
Full wine-red morocco binding from early 20th century, elegant pastiche of a contemporary binding. Smooth spine decorated with gilt title and date. Triple fillet frame on covers. Gilt edges. Spine infinitesimally and uniformly lightened. Handsome copy.
Abbé Cotin is an essential figure of 17th-century literary salons, and Molière caricatured him as Abbé Trissotin in "Les femmes savantes". He invented a game for these same salons, the riddle poem of which "Les énigmes de ce temps, et les bouts rimez" are testimony. He was the fashionable poet of this era, eagerly supplying gallant and light poetry of which "L'uranie" dedicated to Marguerite de Rohan is a model. The works also contain "Les épigrammes", "Les amours du jour et de la nuit", various prose pieces, notes and other letters, all bearing the seal of gallantry, light libertinage and good-natured humor.
€900
Nicolas BOILEAU DESPREAUX
Oeuvres
Chez David • Chez Durand|à Paris 1747|11.20 x 18 cm|reliés
New edition and first given by Saint-Marc, with his remarks and commentaries. It is illustrated with a portrait by Rigaud, engraved by Daullé, 5 fleurons on the titles by Eisen and engraved by Boucher, 39 vignettes by Eisen and engraved by Avéline, by La Fosse unsigned, 25 unsigned tailpieces and 6 figures by Cochin for Le lutrin.
Contemporary full marbled and glazed calf bindings. Spine with raised bands decorated. Red morocco title label, and beige morocco volume labels. Joints of volume I cracked at head. Lower joint of volume III cracked at foot. Joints of volume V cracked. Restorations to headcaps and joints of the 5 volumes. Paper uniformly yellowed.
Saint-Marc's first edition is one of the best critical editions of Boileau's work. Saint-Marc did not purely abrogate the contribution of different editions, but used them judiciously to create his own. He restored Brossette's commentaries, and gathered the various notes from previous editions. Saint-Marc's notes and commentaries constitute a large part of the work and accompany the text very intelligently, without vain erudition.
19th century armorial bookplate of A. Aubaret.
€550
Jacques PINON
De anno Romano. carmen
Apud Sebastianum Cramoisy|Lutetiae Parisiorum [Paris] • (Paris) 1630|10.20 x 16 cm|relié
Statement of second edition, expanded with some pieces.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Beige morocco title label. One corner slightly bumped. Handsome copy.
Jacques Pinon, who died in 1641 and was Dean of the Counselors of the Parliament of Paris, was a neo-Latin poet, who should not be confused with his son, of the same name and Abbot of Condé, who was himself a poet. The author was closely associated with Nicolas de Bourbon, distinguished poet and his contemporary. The work includes the poem De anno romano, the commentary that follows is very instructive and filled with erudition; the varia poemata occupy another third of the book.
Large 18th-century engraved bookplate of Richard de Ruffey, with the motto Quo justio, quo editior.
€800
Jacques BERNARD
Nouvelles de la république des lettres
Chez David Mortier|à Amsterdam 1715|6.50 x 13.50 cm|relié
Statement of second edition, the first edition having appeared in 1705. Each volume contains a trimester, and a title page for each month. The set thus comprises the months from January 1705 to June of the same year. General title page in red and black.
Armorial copy with the arms of the Riquet de Caraman family.
Contemporary full glazed blonde calf binding. Richly decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label and volume labels.
The Nouvelles de la république des lettres was a monthly publication published from March 1684 to June 1718 (with a notable interruption from 1711 to 1715). This gazette was inaugurated by Pierre Bayle (11 volumes until February 1687), then continued by Le Clerc, Larroque, Barrin, Bernard. This review provided reviews of published books, in sciences, history, literature or other fields.

We thank Mr. Jérôme-Paul Carré for identifying the armorial device on the binding.
€300
Abbé BANIER
Explication historique des fables, ou l'on decouvre leur origine & leur conformité avec l'histoire ancienne
Chez François Le Breton|à Paris 1715|9 x 17 cm|3 volumes reliés
New edition, partly in first edition and expanded with a third volume, after the first published in 1711 in two volumes; it is illustrated with a title-frontispiece by Scotin engraved by Delamonce.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label, and brown morocco volume label. Head-caps worn. Tail-cap of volume I split. Overall rubbed. 10 corners slightly bumped.
Endowed with the thesis that poets were the first historians, Abbé Banier undertakes to decipher the historical meaning of mythology and the true sources of fables. The work became a classic and enjoyed great success. The whole is written in the form of dialogues, a fashionable form at the time. Numerous footnotes. The third volume adds the study of several myths: that of Hercules, of Jason and the golden fleece, of Theseus, of the Trojan war, and an explanation of Ovid's metamorphoses.
€250
Alexander POPE
Histoire de Martinus Scriblerus, de ses ouvrages & de ses découvertes
Chez Paul Knapton|à Londres [London] 1755|9 x 16.50 cm|relié
First French edition in Pierre Henri Larcher's translation.
Contemporary full marbled calf binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Red morocco title label. One tear with slight loss to the third compartment. Good copy.
Martinus Scriblerus was originally a literary club whose members (Pope, Swift, John Gay, Arbuthnot...) gathered around the satire of knowledge and erudition.
Scriblerus means scribbler. The texts were written collectively and by different hands, but always under the fictitious name of Martinus Scriblerus. The club was founded in 1712 and closed in 1745. The work therefore establishes the biography of the illustrious scholar Martinus Scriblerus with all the satirical and humorous verve typical of 18th-century English literature.
€450
Étienne François de LANTIER
Contes en prose et en vers, suivis de Pièces fugitives, du poème d'Erminie, et de Metastase à Naples
Chez F. Buisson|à Paris 1806|12 x 20 cm|2 volumes reliés
Statement of second edition, illustrated with three figures engraved by Tardieu. The first edition appeared in 3 vols. 18mo, the same year.
Full marbled brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red long grain morocco title-label and volume labels. A tear with loss at head of first volume. Rubbing. 2 corners slightly bumped. Headcap of volume II partly worn away.
Collection of light and gallant tales by François de Lantier. Verses he wrote for Madame du Barry earned him a pension from Choiseul and a position in Dresden. He is the author of the voyages d'Anténor. Of his tales, he himself wrote in his preface: "it is better to write fairy tales than political dreams and to have a small clandestine commerce with the Muses, than to bear the burden of public affairs on one's back."
Viollet Le Duc bookplate; from the library of Laurent de Crozet; Laurent de Crozet bookplate. Jules Bobin manuscript ownership inscription. (Interesting provenance chain...)
€350
Madeleine-Angélique de GOMEZ
Les journées amusantes
Par la compagnie|à Amsterdam 1766|9.50 x 16.50 cm|8 tomes reliés en 4 volumes
Eighth edition statement, illustrated with eight unsigned frontispieces. Les journées amusantes were originally published from 1722 to 1731. Title pages in red and black.

Contemporary full blonde sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Lacks to upper joints at head of volumes I and IV. Lack to headcap of volume III. Tail headcap of volume IV split. Some corners slightly bumped. Despite the noted defects, the set is in good condition overall.

A prolific author, Madame de Gomez achieved great favor in Europe with Les journées amusantes, which were undoubtedly one of the bestsellers of the period. These journées are similar in structure to Boccaccio's Decameron and to Marguerite de Navarre's Heptameron. Composed of 18 days within which six narrators tell stories. What characterizes the writing of the Journées amusantes is the encyclopedic and erudite richness, characteristic of the work, which ultimately worked against it over time; it aimed, with a certain deliberate archaism, to pay homage to 17th-century French gallant literature.
€400
Charles de Marguetel de Saint-Denis SAINT-ÉVREMOND
Oeuvres meslées
par La Compagnie des libraires|à Paris 1697|8.50 x 16.20 cm|5 volumes reliés
New edition. The privilege being dated 1697, it is not known whether this new edition differs from the one published by Barbin in 1693, Barbin himself being part of the Compagnie des libraires.
Contemporary full glazed brown sheep binding. Richly decorated spine with raised bands. Beige morocco title and volume labels. Head of volume I slightly worn, that of volume V split. Tail caps of volumes I and IV partly lacking. Wormholes on the spines of volumes IV and V. Some gatherings yellowed. Despite the mentioned defects, a copy with an attractive appearance.
Charles Marguetel de Saint-Denis, seigneur de Saint-Évremond (1614-1703), was a moralist and libertine critic, whose rigor and critical independence announced the Enlightenment philosophers, and was perhaps the first author to make criticism a profession. He paid little attention to his writings which circulated mainly in manuscript during his lifetime. This edition, which collects various pieces by the author, including numerous letters, critiques, historical research and poetry, is due to the abbé de Raguenet, who completed the collection with maxims by La Rochefoucauld (pp. 297-326 Vol. IV), a piece by La Fontaine, a letter by Corneille... The literary success of Saint-Évremond led writers to attribute numerous works to him, such as these maxims by La Rochefoucauld, substantially different from recent editions by the same author.
€550
Otto MELANDER
Jocorum atque seriorum, tum novorum, tum selectorum, atque imprimis memorabilium
Hartmanni Palthenii|Francofurti [Frankfurt am Main] • (Francfort) [Frankfurt am Main] 1617|7 x 16 cm|relié
A fairly rare new edition, following the original published in 1603 by Dyonisius Melander and considerably expanded by his son Otto Melander. Printer's device on title page.

Half black shagreen binding ca 1850. Spine with raised bands decorated with rolls on the bands and fillets. Date at foot. Title page yellowed.

Collection of anecdotes and amusing stories with 1749 entries; one will encounter many famous figures. This type of collection, originally derived from serious compilations of maxims and sentences from the Ancients, was very popular at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, some are frankly ribald and bawdy, others more serious and historical like that of Melander, but always oriented toward the amusement and entertainment of the reader.

Bookseller's label: Joseph Boudot Lamothe. 84, rue Bonaparte. 75006 Paris.
€400
[Teofilo FOLENGO as] Merlin COCAÏE
Opus Merlini Cocaii poetae Mantuani Macaronicorum
Apud Horatium de Gobbis|Venetiis [Venice] • (Venise) [Venice] 1581|8 x 15 cm|relié
New edition, after the first collected edition published in Venice in 1564. Illustrated with 27 woodcut title vignettes. It contains Zanitolla, the 25 books of Baldus, the Moscheide (on the battle of flies against ants), epistolarum.

Contemporary full limp vellum binding. Smooth spine. Later title label. One hole at tail. Title page and p.7 restored in margin with antique paper. Three wormholes, from title page to p.70.

The macaronic genre created by the author himself is a burlesque and fantastical poetry written not in Latin, but in low Latin, a slang Latin mixing the dialect of Mantua and Italian. The author's pseudonym means Merlin the cook, and the macaronicorum is a dish of macaroni. This defrocked monk tells us the story of Baldus and his nomadic adventures. The episode of the giant Fracasse and the rogue Cingar probably served as a source of inspiration for François Rabelais, who was notably inspired by the life of the monk Folengo and his burlesque style, practicing excessive enumeration and generalized mockery. Folengo died in 1544. Folengo's works form one of the most original creations of Italian Renaissance literature.
€1,200
Jean-Baptiste-Louis GRESSET
Oeuvres
Chez Edouard Kermaleck|à Londres [London] 1772|9.50 x 16.50 cm|relié
New edition.
Full brown marbled and glazed sheep binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Red morocco title and volume labels. One lack at head of volume II. Good copy.
This edition contains the letters of Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, Vert-Vert, the Eclogues, the Odes and various pieces, the Discourse on harmony, a tragedy and two comedies, as well as the speech delivered at the Académie française. Poet and playwright, his career began with light and playful poetry which had great success, notably Vert-Vert, his career continued after the 1740s in a more religious and serious register.
€250
Nicolas BOILEAU DESPREAUX
Oeuvres
Chez Les libraires associés|à Paris 1772|12 x 21 cm|5 volumes reliés
New edition, illustrated with a frontispiece by Picart engraved by Winkeles, 2 allegorical figures by van der Meer (the Epistle and the Poetic Art), and 6 figures after Picart re-engraved by Vinkeles for Le lutrin, 4 title vignettes by van der Meer and one by F. de Bakker. This edition also appeared in Amsterdam, published by Changuion. Picart's figures were taken from the 1718 edition, they are printed on thick paper.
Contemporary full scaled calf binding. Richly decorated spine with raised bands, head and tail rolls. Green morocco title and volume labels. Triple fillet frame on covers. Green painted edges. One tear with lack at head of volume I; headcap of volume II worn down; lack at head of volume III. Several corners bumped. Lower right corner worn. Despite the noted defects, handsome binding, with very decorative appearance. Fresh copy, with wide margins.
After the great edition of Boileau's works published in 1718 in folio format, and given the success, fine editions of this author followed one after another in 1722, 1729, 1745, with variants. This last edition, well printed, whose subtle typographical variations suggest the reduction of a folio, has been revised, and the spelling has been modernized; the pamphlet Boileau aux prises avec les jésuites has been restored, and a life of the author has been added. Finally, one cannot emphasize enough the critical quality of this edition, which takes up the abundant and judicious remarks and commentaries of Saint-Marc from the 1745 edition.
€800
LONGUS
Les amours de Daphnis et Chloé
S. n.|à Londres [London] 1779|10 x 16.20 cm|relié
New reprint of the so-called Regent edition, small quarto published in 1718. A frontispiece by Coypel and 29 figures of the Regent (Philippe d'Orléans) engraved by B. Audran. Some figures are folded. Translation by Amyot. This 1779 edition also appeared in quarto format with text pages in frames. The reprinted figures are before letters.
Contemporary brown calf binding with scale pattern. Smooth spine decorated in grotesque style. Triple fillet frame on boards. Top headcap worn. Lower joint cracked at head. One corner bumped. Scattered foxing.
€350
Giovanni Battista MANZINI
Les harangues academiques
Chez Augustin Courbé|à Paris 1640|11 x 17.40 cm|relié
Rare first edition. Printer's device on title page. Translation by George de Scuderi from delle dissertazioni accademiche. Translator's preface.
Contemporary limp vellum binding. Unlettered smooth spine. The author himself calls his Harangues "the fury of youth," expressing thereby that they break free from rules. The work contains 22 harangues, many on subjects from Greek mythology. The harangues are speeches, pieces of eloquence addressed to an audience; at the end of each harangue, the effect on the assembly is given; each harangue being preceded by an Argument, a prologue allowing the stakes of the discourse to be situated. A fitting example is that of Agamemnon having killed a sacred deer, and whose Diana demands in compensation the sacrifice of a young virgin, namely Iphigenia, his own daughter; the hero addresses the army to express his fault and his paternal feelings. These Harangues are reminiscent of the poetry contests that the Greeks organized on legends known to all.
€800
Jean-Baptiste de Boyer ARGENS
Lettres chinoises , ou correspondance philosophique , historique & critique , entre un Chinois Voyageur & ses correspondants à la Chine , en Perse & au Japon . Nouvelle édition augmentée de nouvelles lettres & de quantité de remarques. [Ensemble] Songes philosophiques, par l'auteur des lettres juives
Chez Pierre Paupie|à La Haye; [The Hague] • à Berlin 1755 - 1746|8 x 14.50 cm|6 volumes reliés
New edition (third?) and first in 6 volumes. The first edition dates from 1746. Les Songes philosophiques are in first edition.
Contemporary full speckled brown calf bindings. Smooth spines decorated. Red morocco title and volume labels. Triple gilt fillet and star cornerpieces on boards. All edges red. Three head caps and three tail caps worn. A few corners very slightly bumped.
The Lettres chinoises, inaugurated by the same author as the Lettres juives have this typical Enlightenment design of comparing the customs and habits of several civilizations; the work takes up the scheme, always humorous, of the first work of this type: L'espion de la cour de Marana, then Montesquieu's Lettres persanes. A Chinese narrator writes to his compatriots from different places in Europe (Moscow, Stockholm, Paris...). The work is always supposed to make us question the strangeness of our own thoughts and customs. D'Argens also describes several journeys to the Orient, with interesting information on the customs and institutions of Oriental countries. Like the Lettres cabalistiques or Jewish letters by the same author, the Lettres chinoises were published in periodicals.
The philosophical dreams, numbering twenty, accounts of dreams, are authentic utopias; the first tells of a land inhabited and governed by monkeys, Singimanie; the second takes a monkey and the narrator to the Changijournes, a people who continually change their clothes and fashion... In the fifteenth dream, the narrator receives a visit from Racine, and the dialogue expounds the subject matter of belles-lettres in the author's time.
€900
Pierre Laurent Buirette de BELLOY
Oeuvres complettes
Chez Moutard|à Paris 1779|12 x 20 cm|6 volumes reliés
The first collected edition, with a portrait frontispiece by Gabriel Henri Gaillard.
Contemporary full marbled calf binding. Smooth decorated spine. Red morocco title label and volume labels. Head of volume I worn, volumes V and VI partially worn. Upper joint of volume VI cracked at head. Some corners slightly bumped. Good copy.
One could hardly praise Belloy as a great dramatist despite the success of his plays, and especially the incredible national and popular success of the Siege of Calais. However, the interest of this edition on the world of theater and letters in the 18th century is important. Each of the author's plays is indeed accompanied by numerous elements, prefaces, memoirs, letters, notes and research which explain not only the public's reception, but also the quarrels with the philosophers' party, the support then disavowal of Voltaire. As a writer, Belloy seeks to revive classical tragedy, his essay on tragedy of which the public's taste was then approaching bears witness (Gluck had set Racine to music in his opera Iphigenia in Tauris); classical tragedy then became in the second part of the 18th century a nationalist literary model, a model however contemporary with the invention of a new theater, that of Diderot.
€550
Joannes Aurelius KNIPINGA
Facetiarum epigrammaticarum centuriae sex. [Ensemble] Musa miscellanea [Ensemble] Ephemeris santorum
Typis Jacobi Mesii|Antverpiae [Antwerp] • (Anvers) [Antwerp] 1672|7 x 12.50 cm|relié
First edition of these two works published on the same date, and illustrated with two frontispieces. The second title is separated from the first only by a half-title.
Contemporary rigid vellum binding. Smooth spine with title in black ink. The title is reproduced in black ink on the first cover. Rare, absent from the electronic catalogues of the Bibliothèque Nationale and the British Library
Collection of epigrams, poetry and ephemeris of the saints.
€400
Gabriel-Charles de LATTAIGNANT
Poesies de M. l'abbé de L'Attaignant
Chez Duchesne|à Londres [London] • & se trouve à Paris 1757|9 x 16.60 cm|4 volumes reliés
New edition after the collective edition of 1756, edited by abbé Delaporte; a first collective edition published under the title of Pièce dérobées in 1750 was produced by Meunier de Quelon, whose preface is found in the preliminary pieces. A medallion portrait of Garand as frontispiece. Numerous pages of sheet music with lyrics below in volumes 2, 3, 4.
Contemporary full marbled blonde calf binding. Raised-band spine decorated with 4 fleurons with roulette at head and foot. Red morocco title and volume labels. Blind-ruled frame on boards. A leather pastille covers the arms on each board. Library label at head. Handsome copy.
Lattaignant (1697-1779) was considered the great chansonnier of his era (J'ai du bon tabac...), besides numerous songs, he is the author of light and gallant poetry of which Le mot et la chose is the most famous piece. In this respect the dedications of the songs or poems are very eloquent and summarize quite well the gallant and libertine spirit of this period; at rear, a table lists the addresses and occasions that presided over the writing of the pieces. Voltaire, whom he admired, composed this song for him: L'Atteignant chanta les belles ; Il trouva peu de cruelles, Car il sut plaire comme elles [...]
€550
Edme BOURSAULT
Les fables d'Esope, comedie
Chez Nicolas Gosselin|à Paris 1700|8.50 x 15 cm|relié
Statement of third edition. The colophon bears the date 1702; indeed, the play was not performed until 1701, and the first publication, posthumous, only took place in 1702. There were in fact three different printings in 1702, one at the address of Damien Beugnié, another at that of the Widow of Clément Gasse, and the last at Nicolas Gosselin's.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Tail headcap worn. Overall rubbing. Corners bumped.
Besides the dedication which explains the author's project, the work contains a preface in which the playwright attacks the objections against his play. Boursault died in 1701, before printing. Like most of the author's comedies which were called episodic comedies (in the absence of a general plot), this one was written in verse. Certain passages that could cast a shadow on Louis XIV were censored and rewritten. Boursault often achieved great success with his plays, by virtue of a natural and satirical comic style and numerous well-turned verses, and he is an essential figure of the theater of the period, but his work did not survive time, perhaps due to its dramaturgical weakness.
€250
Giovanni Battista GIRALDI CINZIO
Euphimia
Apresso Giulio Cesare Cagnacini|in Venetia [Venice] 1583|9 x 13.50 cm|relié
Rare and unique first edition, posthumous, of this play, which was composed around 1560.
At the colophon, a different address: Apresso Paulo Zanfretti. Printed in italics. A portrait of the author in medallion on the verso of the first leaf, within a rich frame. Dedication to Dom Césare d'Este. Printer's device on title page. Brunet, II, 1607.
Full glazed blonde calf binding of the 18th century. Smooth spine decorated with 5 small fleurons. Red morocco title label. Triple fillet frame on boards. Rubbing. Spine browned.
Tragedy in verse in 5 acts written on the classical model, with chorus. Euphimia, daughter of the King of Corinth, marries Acharisto, her father's servant, while she is loved by Philone, King of the Peloponnese. Her husband will sacrifice her to his quest for power.
19th-century engraved bookplate with a lawyer's cap and the motto: Nemini servias sed legi. G. F.
€800
Jean-François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de RETZ
Mémoires du Cardinal de Retz
Chez J. Frédéric Bernard|à Amsterdam 1731|9.80 x 15.80 cm|4 volumes reliés
Edition with some parts in first edition, definitive, rare; "more complete than the previous ones and the best that was given in the 18th century"... Tchemerzine V, 396. An engraved portrait by Thomassin at the frontispiece. This would be the only edition of the Memoirs cited by de Bure in his bibliography. Title pages in red and black.
Contemporary full blonde calf binding, glazed. Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 fleurons. Title labels absent, the letters remaining visible; black calf volume labels, rubbed. Headcaps of volumes I and II worn, volumes III and IV frayed; tailcap of volume I partially missing. Joints of volume I cracked, cracked at head and foot for volume II and for volumes III and IV. One gathering of the table detached. Corners bumped.
Paul de Gondi wrote his memoirs at the request of his friends, during his exile, around the age of sixty (circa 1675 - 1677), and composed the autobiography of a politician in an era of civil war, the Fronde. Not content with being a historical testimony of the first order, the work stands among the literary monuments of the 18th century and of memoirs and other autobiographies, through its lively, precise style, that of a man of action and intrigue with remarkable intelligence and political ambition always alert (always ready to ally with those who betrayed him the day before). His memoirs would constitute a revenge and his last resort of ambition. At the end of volume IV, a long mazarinade dedicated to the Prince de Conti: Le courrier burlesque de la guerre de Paris.
19th-century armorial bookplate of William Wickhman.
€700
Corneille SCHREVEL
Lexicon Manuale graeco - latinum et latino - graecum
Ex officina Ptri - Augustini Le Mercier|Luteciae-Parisiorum [Paris] • [Paris] 1718|12.50 x 20 cm|relié
New edition.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated raised band spine. Brown calf title label. One lack to head; tail partly torn away. 2 corners slightly bumped. Generally rubbed. Second leaf with tear starting from bottom extending 5cm. The second endleaf before the title page is missing.
The first Greek-Latin dictionary is followed by an inverted Latin-Greek dictionary; it includes a series of expressions and proverbs given in Greek and Latin and two treatises: De resolutione verborum, de articulis. This dictionary remained famous and was reprinted until the 19th century, and was long intended for generations of students. It is the work of the famous grammarian, lexicographer and Latinist Schrevel, who translated numerous Latin authors.
€280
Alexander POPE
Oeuvres diverses de Pope
Chez Arkstée & Merkus|à Amsterdam • & à Leipzig 1754|9.50 x 16.50 cm|6 volumes reliés
First collected edition; illustrated with 1 portrait and 5 figures in volume I, 1 frontispiece and 13 figures in volume II, 1 frontispiece in volume IV; the portrait by Syfang, the figures drawn by Blakey, Wale and Walker and engraved by Fritzsch.
Contemporary full glazed brown calf binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title and volume labels. Large lack along the upper joint of volume I; lacks to joints at head of volume II; scuffs along the joints of volume III; lacks to joints of volume IV; joints cracked at foot of volume V; scuffs along volume VI; most corners bumped. Pope was both the greatest classical poet of England during the first half of the 18th century, universally admired and acclaimed, and a philosopher recognized for his Essay on Man. His translation of Homer remained a classic in England. The collection of his works in a quality publishing enterprise had considerable success in Europe, and certain influence in the world of letters.
€400
Sophie LEE
Le souterrain, ou Matilde
Chez Théophile Barrois|à Paris 1788|9 x 16.50 cm|relié
New edition, rare, following the first French edition published in 1786. Translation by De La Marre of the English novel: the Recess, or a tale of other time (1785).
Contemporary half brown sheep binding with corners. Spine with raised bands decorated with fillets. Havana morocco title label. Head slightly worn. Foot largely missing. A crack at foot. Corners slightly bumped. Split to upper joint at head. Modest binding.
Like Walpole's Castle of Otranto, The Recess is one of the first Gothic novels, not yet inhabited by the formulas and stereotypes that would exhaust the genre itself, but it already contains all the ingredients that would make it successful: spleen, melancholy, terror, settings of ruined castles and abbeys, secrets surrounding an obscure birth. This novel above all marks the superiority of English fiction, with a plot and narrative writing much more mature and developed than The Castle of Otranto. Two sisters live in the underground chambers of a castle, and the novel gradually unfolds the discovery of this strange situation. We read in the Historical, Literary and Anecdotal Memoirs drawn from the correspondence of Grimm and Diderot: "it is the story of a daughter of Mary Stuart and the Duke of Norfolk, a tissue of romantic incidents, sad, implausible, but whose sequence has nevertheless I know not what charm that can engage readers who love this kind of work."
€500
Jean-Baptiste de Boyer ARGENS
Lettres juives, ou correspondance philosophique, historique, et critique, entre un Juif voyageur à Paris & ses correspondans en divers endroits
Chez Pierre Paupie|à La Haye [The Hague] 1764|8 x 14.50 cm|relié
New edition, following the original published in 1736/37 by the same publisher, but which contained only 180 letters compared to 203 for the subsequent ones. The table of contents occupies the space of the last volume.
Contemporary full blond calf binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title-label and black morocco volume labels. Head of spines of volumes II, III, and IV missing. Rubbing and surface wear to some boards. Some corners slightly bumped. Quite good set overall.
The Lettres juives are Boyer d'Argens' first literary contribution after his military career and his most remarkable book for its imagination and verve. The work was originally a periodical, with letters appearing regularly. A Jewish traveler in Europe shares his observations and reflections with his Jewish friends, following a model quite popular at the time and first employed by Marana in L'espion turc in 1684, then by Montesquieu in the Lettres Persanes in 1721. The whole gives rise to an elegant satire of society and customs of the period. Volume V is dedicated to Sancho Panza, the sixth to the barber of Don Quichotte. Nevertheless, a thoroughly philosophical and critical wind blows through the work, and it is the breath of the Enlightenment, the same found in the spirit of Diderot and Voltaire which questions the perception of things, opinion and truth.
€600
PANAGE
Les moeurs
S. n.|s. l. 1748|10 x 16.50 cm|3 parties reliées en un volume
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece, a title vignette repeated on the three title pages, and three title vignettes.
Contemporary full marbled brown calf binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title label. Lower joint open at foot. Lacks and holes along the lower joint. One corner bumped.
An essay on virtues, of which we know there were countless in the 18th century, this one containing particular qualities; immediately aligning itself with the Enlightenment movement by rejecting the notion that virtues are the privilege of a single religion, the author addresses all men, stigmatizing the wealthy, social position and the model of the honest man of the 17th century, for the work is a critique of contemporary society against the backdrop of an essay on virtues. The preface, which runs counter to the exercise, sincerely announces the author's self-love and his design.
€180
Pierre Laurent Buirette de BELLOY, Jean François de LA HARPE
Le Siège de Calais [avec] Le Comte de Warwik [avec] Eugénie
Chez Duchesne • et chez Merlin|à Paris 1765, 1764 et 1767|12.50 x 20 cm|trois textes reliés en un volume
New edition for the Siège de Calais, first edition for the two other texts. The five figures mentioned by some bibliographers seem to be lacking in Eugénie.
Full speckled blonde sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, as well as a blonde sheep title label. All edges red. Top of spine slightly split, title label partially missing. Surface wear and lacks to boards. Corners slightly bumped. Two tiny marginal tears not touching text to first endpaper and final text leaf.
Contemporary manuscript notes on first endpaper giving details of the work's contents. Interesting collection of theatrical pieces with England as their subject. Among these three plays, one should note that Le siège de Calais, a patriotic piece, had resounding success despite reservations from Diderot and Voltaire.
€300
Publius Papinius STATIUS
Opera
Apud Ioan. Pillehotte|Lugduni [Leiden] • (Lyon) 1608|7.50 x 11.80 cm|relié
Lyonnaise edition of this work produced by Ioannes Bernartius in 1593. Italic printing. A first part gathers the three major works of Statius and a second with its own title page the commentaries and notes of various scholars.
Contemporary limp vellum binding with flaps. Author's name in pen on spine. Traces of ties. 2 lacks to title page, in upper margin, on each side of the page. A pale dampstain running through half the work, in lower margin.
The edition brings together the three known poetic works of Statius: the Thebaid recounting the story of Oedipus's sons confronting each other for the kingdom of Thebes (a famous and often treated theme); the Silvae, a collection of poems, and the Achilleid, which tells in several episodes the story of Achilles, and which remained unfinished. Statius was in the first century of his era a highly appreciated poet, his posterity marked by his appearance in Dante's Divine Comedy, where he appears as a guide in purgatory.
€450
François PARFAICT, Henri Barthélemy de BLANES
Neraïr et Melhoë. Conte ou histoire. ouvrage orné de digressions
S. n.|s. l. [1740] An IX l'âge de l'auteur|9 x 16.50 cm|2 volumes reliés
First edition, rare, attributed to Blanes by Barbier and to Parfaict (who cites Blanes as second attribution) by Cioranescu. Title pages in red and black. This novel later appeared, with a new beginning, under another title: Le Miroir, ou Histoire de Griguenodine; apart from the first page, the pagination and chapters correspond with this edition.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 fleurons and an eagle at foot. Red morocco title and volume labels. Head damaged with lacks to joints. Foot rubbed with lacks to joints. Corners very bumped.
Utopia, that is to say according to Cioranescu's definition: "individualized literary description of an imaginary society", which implies an underlying critique of real society, to paraphrase Cioranescu. The story is set in a small happy monarchy between Utopia and the land of the Sevarambes, 3000 years ago. The rapid narration is interspersed with amorous intrigues at court, intrigues full of fairies; the whole forming a fine satire of men, customs and institutions, and desire.
€700
Jacques LACOMBE
Encyclopediana, ou dictionnaire encyclopédique des Ana
Chez Panckoucke|à Paris 1791|20 x 26 cm|relié
First edition. According to the preface, it was intended to complement L'Encyclopédie méthodique published by Panckoucke.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Raised band spine decorated with fillets. Red morocco title-label. Small lacks to head and tail. Rubbing. Traces of old restorations to corners and tail. First three leaves (including endpaper) creased.
The Anas, which were particularly popular in the 17th century, are collections of various thoughts, anecdotes and witticisms, arranged in the greatest disorder and intended for the public as intellectual entertainment. The originality of this work lies in having assembled them in dictionary form, though without citing the authors. The whole forms a monumental ana which can thus be browsed from beginning to end, with pleasure, surprise and instruction: it should be noted that history and historical figures are given pride of place.
€500
Etienne ROBERT
Causes amusantes et connues
S. n.|Berlin 1769|9.50 x 17 cm|relié
New edition, after the original of 1749, illustrated with 5 unsigned captioned figures on heavy paper.
Contemporary full brown calf binding. Decorated smooth spine. Red morocco title-label. Head worn. 2 corners slightly bumped. Rubbing. One fill using old paper to title page.
Collection of various memoirs by lawyers on amusing subjects (community of pork butchers against that of pastry makers; claim of a blind man against his wife...). These various memoirs were gathered by Etienne Robert with the aim of entertaining.
€250
André MORELLET ABBÉ
Mélanges de littérature et de philosophie du 18ème siècle
Madame veuve Lepetit|Paris 1818|12.50 x 21.50 cm|4 volumes reliés
New edition.

Half sheep bindings in bottle green, smooth spines decorated with quadruple fillets and gilt typographical motifs, two upper headcaps slightly worn, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some corners very slightly bumped, contemporary bindings signed by Flore.

Some minor foxing of no consequence. Handsome set.
€350
Charles EISEN, Roland LE VAYER DE BOUTIGNY
Tarsis et Zélie
Chez Musier fils|à Paris 1774|14.50 x 21.50 cm|relié
New illustrated edition in first printing. The illustration comprises three frontispieces by Cochin, Moreau and Eisen, engraved by Gaucher, Ponce and Née; and 20 headpieces by Eisen, engraved by Helman, De Longueil, Masquelier and Massard. Elegant illustration with careful page layout.
Full blonde tortoiseshell calf bindings. Spines with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, as well as red and green sheep title and volume labels. Covers framed with triple gilt fillets. Gilt dentelles framing the pastedowns. All edges gilt. Head and foot of first volume with small lacks, those of the other two volumes rubbed. Five corners bumped. Numerous and scattered foxing (mainly at the beginning of the first volume).
A novel originally published in 1665, which received its first illustration in 1720, this biographical episode disguised and transformed into a Greek pastoral tells of the misfortunes and adventures that prevented and delayed Le Vayer's marriage to Mlle Servin. The varied narrative draws its inspiration from Greek and Latin novels (Heliodorus's Aethiopica) or Cervantes's Persiles and Sigismunda. This novel, quite appreciated in its time, was adapted for opera in an eponymous work by Francoeur and Rebel.
€800
Jacques DU FOUR DE LA CRESPELIERE
Les divertissemens d'amour et autres poésies burlesques et sérieuses
Chez Olivier de Varennes|à Paris 1667|8.50 x 14.50 cm|relié
The rare first edition.
Contemporary white vellum binding. Smooth spine. Some surface wear and staining.
Binding partially detached. Some dampstaining and numerous fold marks.
Jacques du Four de la Crespelière (1625-1680), burlesque and licentious poet displaying in his light verses the last fires of the Baroque, the author belongs to this specifically French 17th-century genre of which Scarron is one of the most illustrious representatives. This is poetry that goes against the grain, through mockery, of mannered and emphatic baroque poetry. His collection of Divertissemens d'amour, as well as his collection of translations of Greek poets (Sappho, Anacreon, Theocritus...), and Les récréations poétiques, amoureuses et galantes, are found in all the great libraries and literary anthologies of the 18th century. The collector of literary curiosities will eagerly seek out the works of this author, notably his Commentaires sur l'école de Salerne, divine mockeries of medicine.
€500
Edme BOURSAULT
Théâtre de feu Monsieur Boursault
par La Compagnie des libraires|Paris 1746|9.50 x 16.50 cm|3 volumes reliés
New edition, "more beautiful and more complete than that of 1725" (Brunet).
Half green sheep binding, nineteenth century. Smooth spines decorated with triple gilt fillets, gilt initials at foot. Some surface wear, edges and corners rubbed.
An author now forgotten, Boursault held an important place in the theatrical life of his time. He even took an active part in the quarrels with Molière and Boileau. Some of his comedies enjoyed great success, and one of his tragedies was compared by Corneille himself to those of Racine; but all his plays suffer from a lack of dramaturgy, they are juxtaposed scenes, without staging.
€180