Les essais

New edition embellished with a medallion portrait of Montaigne on the title-page, engraved by Noël Pruneau. Reprint of the edition issued by Bastien in 1783, which was limited to 500 copies and quickly sold out.
Contemporary full glazed and speckled brown calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with four floral tools and various roll-tooled ornaments. Black wax lettering and volume labels. Triple fillet border on the boards. A few scattered foxing spots.
Fine copy in a high-quality contemporary binding. Small fragment lacking at the head of the upper joint of volume I. Headcap of volume II restored, with the beginnings of a split to the upper joint. Some rubbing, particularly along the joints. Marbled edges.

Fine copy.

Reissue of this important edition, which marked a turning point in the transmission of the Essais . It returns to the original sources, setting aside Coste’s alterations, in order to recover Montaigne’s original text in all its purity. "J'ai, autant qu'il a été en moi, rendu cet auteur à lui-même". Bastien. A substantial table of contents has been added. Preface by the editor.