Oeuvres complètes - La comédie humaine

Reprint of the works by Houssiaux, who had purchased the stock of the Furne bookshop, where Honoré de Balzac's works were originally published.
Houssiaux completed them with three new volumes (Theatre, Contes drôlatiques...) which appear here for the first time in the collected works in 1855.
Some foxing.
Bound in half green shagreen with corners, spines with four raised bands decorated with gilt typographical motifs, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of handmade paper.
Work illustrated with 143 plates on tinted heavy paper, by the finest artists of the period including Bertall, Daumier, Gavarni, Johannot, Nanteuil as well as rare illustrations within the text and some music plates. Most copies contain between 136 and 144 engravings.
This magnificent illustration represents a pinnacle of the genre and captures the aesthetic of an entire era.
As always with these complete works editions, each copy naturally possesses some notable particularities and the number of plates may differ from volume to volume within a single copy.
Vol.1 :1855 : 7 engravings including the portrait of Balzac
Vol.2: 1869 : 7 engravings
Vol.3: 1869 : 6 engravings
Vol.4: 1869 :  6 engravings.
Vol.5 :1869  : 9 engravings.
Vol.6 :1869 :  8 engravings
Vol.7 :1869 :  8 engravings
Vol.8 :1869 :  7 engravings
Vol.9 :1869 :  7 engravings
Vol.10 :1869 : 8 engravings
Vol.11 :1869 :  8 engravings
Vol.12 :1869 :  8 engravings
Vol.13 :1869 : 5 engravings. Pages 679 to 682 having been creased and with small lacks not affecting the text.
Vol.14 :1869 : 9 engravings
Vol.15 :1869 : 6 engravings
Vol.16 :1869  : 4 engravings
Vol.17 :1869 :  4 engravings
Vol.18 :1869 :16 engravings
Vol.19 :1869 : 6 engravings
Vol.20 :1869 : 4 engravings
Handsome set, despite some foxing, in uniform bindings.