La grande ville - Nouveau tableau de Paris comique, critique et philosophique

First printing of the 31 illustrations outside text (29 plates and 2 frontispieces) and numerous vignettes within the text by Gavarni, Daumier, D'Aubigny, Adam, Emy, Traviès, Boulanger, Monnier and Théno.
This is a copy of the first edition of 1843 reissued by Marescq in 1844 with the same illustrations but with different titles and additionally containing 11 plates outside text in volume 1, 2 engraved titles as well as 2 frontispieces.
Texts by Paul de Kock, Honoré de Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Frédéric Soulié, Léon Gozlan, Edouard Ourliac, Eugène Briffault, Eugène Guinot and Henri Monnier.
Half chocolate brown morocco bindings with corners, smooth spines decorated with richly ornamented gilt cartouches, gilt dates at foot, frames of gilt fillets on marbled paper boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, covers preserved, top edges gilt, elegant pastiche bindings signed Pagnant.
Handsome copy beautifully executed of this very important work, remarkable for the fine constellation of writers and artists of the Romantic period who collaborated on it. A book very difficult to find perfect with its covers (cf Carteret).