Oeuvres complètes illustrées

First so-called popular edition of these illustrated works by Balzac. The copy we offer here includes both volumes of the early works, which are almost always lacking. Printed in double columns. Richly illustrated with wood engravings by Daumier, Johannot, Beaucé, Nanteuil, Andrieux... The works are bound two volumes per tome, each with its own title page and half-title. However, none of the title pages indicate volume numbers; the sequence follows the original serialized issues. The two volumes of the early works are bound in volume V. The complete theatre is located at the end of the fourth volume. This edition was reissued by Michel Lévy in 1867, who had acquired the backlist from the publisher Maresq.
Contemporary red half shagreen binding. Flat spine with false raised bands, decorated with four gilt fleurons, broad gilt fillets in place of bands and dotted gilt lines, gilt titles and volume numbers. Boards covered in red grained paper. Rubbing marks. A few pale scattered spots, but overall a very fresh copy. A handsome set.

This complete edition—the first truly illustrated one of Balzac—has the merit of being compact, and it also includes his early works (not found elsewhere), which do not form part of the Comédie humaine, as well as his theatre; the *Contes drolatiques*, however, are absent. Among the early works one may cite *L'Israélite*, *Jane la pâle*, *Argow le pirate*... Like all so-called popular editions, this one was disregarded by bibliographers, as its production fell outside the established codes of bibliophily—a pity, as it features many distinctive traits of Romantic-era publishing that would later disappear entirely. The paper (the same as that used in *L'Illustration* and contemporary newspapers) is of higher quality than the one used for the standard volume editions.