Le diable à Paris

First edition of the 212 full-page wood engravings by Gavarni (with the exception of the final four, executed by Bertall), together with 800 wood-engraved vignettes within the text.
Contemporary romantic bindings in half red shagreen, spines with four raised bands finely decorated with triple gilt panels and gilt arabesques, red paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners a trifle rubbed.
The volume features a remarkable diversity of typographical elements, including elaborate text borders and tailpieces.
Gavarni’s captioned and satirical wood engravings offer a strikingly abundant illustrative display—almost a precursor to the comic strip.
Scattered occasional light foxing.
Le Diable à Paris is an extraordinary and quintessentially Romantic work, gathering texts by illustrious contributors (Balzac’s "philosophy of married life"; Musset’s "Mimi Pinson"...) and graced with copious illustrations. This type of publication followed the immense success of the Physiologies, which humorously depicted the manners and characters of Parisians both in spirit and appearance. The first volume opens with a history of Paris by Lavallée, and the second with a geography of Paris (ending with Parisian statistics). This portrait of the capital is of particular interest, as it predates the sweeping transformations Paris would undergo under the Second Empire.