Literature

First edition.
Contemporary full marbled and glazed brown calf binding. Spine with raised bands, attractively decorated. Thin split at foot measuring 0.5cm. 2 corners slightly bumped. Good copy.
A mixture of critiques, plays, poetry and speeches. Contains notably "Les Réflexions sur quelque ouvrages faussement appelés ouvrages d'imagination"; "Les âmes rivales, histoire fabuleuse"; "Les abdérites" and "L'empire de l'amour", plays; "Discours de l'Académie française", and other pieces.

Reissue of the 1775 edition, illustrated with 20 beautiful figures by Moreau le Jeune and Marillier, engraved by De Longueil, Née...

Contemporary full speckled calf binding. Smooth spine handsomely decorated. Pink morocco title label and black morocco volume label. Lacking at headcap of volume IV. 4 corners slightly bumped.

First edition, rare.
Contemporary marbled blonde calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Joint cracked at foot on back board. Good copy.A collection of jokes, witticisms, riddles, gasconades, extracts from rare and humorous books, fables and short tales, ancient customs, etc, all intended to delight the most melancholic...

Fifth edition of Voiture's Œuvres, the first of which appeared in 1648; and first edition of the Nouvelles œuvres de Voiture. A frontispiece by Mellan for the first volume, a headpiece and an initial in the epistle and a fine portrait of the author by Champaigne engraved by Nanteuil.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Raised spine richly decorated. Red morocco title label. One missing headcap. Tear with loss to upper joint at foot. Rubbing. Good copy.
Voiture (1597-1648) was throughout his life a gallant and a courtier, brilliant in salons and playing games. His epistolary talent earned him long popularity in France for fashionable prose, and his poetry excels in the mannered and precious tone, even though he knew how to be trivial when necessary. He is an essential figure of the literary scene of the early 17th century, a true Molière character.
Voiture is first and foremost a style, not only in his letters (Lettres amoureuses) and his poetry but also in his prose, see for example the delightful Métamorphoses. His works were in the image of the man, gallant, teaching beautiful language and fine manners to the habitués of the hôtel de Rambouillet. His fame was very great during his century and he remains an emblem for the 17th century.

New edition, revised, corrected and expanded with several pieces, all similar to the Royal Printing House edition (quarto in 4 volumes published in 1757).
An engraved portrait of the author as frontispiece by Vander Schley.
Contemporary full brown sheep bindings. Spines with five raised bands decorated with compartments and small gilt floral tools. Red morocco title labels and volume labels. All edges red. The first and fourth volumes show lacks to spine with lacks to headcaps, two worn headcaps, wormholes, four corners slightly bumped. Some very minor bookworm damage in certain volumes, not affecting the text.
Edition bringing together the theatrical pieces, correspondence, as well as some poetic pieces.
Destouches wrote his first texts under the influence of Boileau and produced his first play in Switzerland. His subsequent plays earned him the protection and admiration of Philippe d'Orléans, as well as his entry into the French Academy in 1723.

New, more complete edition of Hamilton's works.
Miscellaneous works: Letters and epistles. Volume I: The Ram, poems. Volume II: Thorn Blossom; songs. Volume III: The Four Facardins; poems.
Each tale has its own title page.
Contemporary full marbled blonde calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title and volume labels. Head slightly worn. Rubbing. 2 corners slightly bumped. A good copy.
Besides being the author of the famous Memoirs of the Count of Grammont, Hamilton wrote several tales that were much appreciated in their time and are usually included in the anthology of 18th-century tales.

First collected edition containing some unpublished pieces. One of the rare copies containing both epistles by Bois-Robert and Scarron (most copies contain fewer preliminary leaves). A frontispiece portrait of the author drawn by Petrus and engraved by Daret; a title vignette, printer's device on title page.
Contemporary limp vellum binding. Smooth unlettered spine. Light stains to upper board. Worming to preliminary leaves, after the first two leaves, to lower margin; although confined to margin, numerous wormholes throughout preliminary leaves. Also to note, worming to table of contents and extending from final text leaves, always to lower margin. Some foxing and yellowed leaves.
This edition was largely prepared by the author himself and is the only one he acknowledged, conscious of the value of his work and his approaching death (died in 1646); it contains 268 pieces, of which 173 are unpublished. Some pieces that had appeared in collective volumes do not appear in this complete works. François Maynard is one of the principal names in poetry of the first half of the 17th century, alongside Malherbe, Racan, Viau, Regnier. A disciple of Malherbe, his poetry is distinguished by the great clarity of its style and regularity of its verse; it also conveys a certain melancholy.

First edition printed in Avignon. Some engraved ornaments (headpieces, initials and tailpieces).
Contemporary full speckled brown calf binding. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and floral and starred motifs, red morocco title label. All edges red. Calf very lightly rubbed in places and a small wormhole on the spine, otherwise a very handsome copy, quite fresh.
The first collected edition of Thomas's works would not appear until 1826. A poet and essayist, Thomas is known for his numerous eulogies of famous figures, and his Essay on the Manners and Spirit of Women which made history. A man of letters who cultivated independence of mind, he was also a public figure, secretary of foreign affairs under the ministry of the Duke of Praslin, then member of the French Academy in 1767. He was attributed the greatest qualities of eloquence.

Reprint with new title pages of an edition published in 1714: Opera et fragmenta veterum poetarum latinorum. The edition includes three headpieces.
Contemporary blonde calf. Spine with six raised bands decorated with arabesques and fleurons with gilt birds, red morocco title and volume labels. Leading edges underlined with gilt dentelle. All edges red. Head headcaps worn, one headband slightly detached, small lack to tail headcap of the first volume and joints very lightly cracked.
Compilation of extracts from secular and sacred Latin poets. This edition was once highly sought after.

First edition, rare.
Contemporary full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments, red morocco title-label, all edges speckled. Head and tail of spine worn and one corner extensively damaged. Two raised bands cracked.
A sometimes fierce satire of the literary world. In a fictional Greece, at Delphi, under the aegis of Apollo, the author orchestrates the most improbable encounters. We see parading first the ancient authors, then the moderns, Descartes, Spinoza, and few authors are spared by the author's sallies.

New edition, revised and expanded, the original having appeared in two parts, in 1774 and in 1778.
Contemporary bindings in full speckled brown calf, spines with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, blonde and black morocco title and volume labels, all edges red. Several headcaps are worn, some small wormholes to note and corners are bumped, otherwise a handsome copy.
The work had enormous impact in Europe and went through more than thirty-five editions. It was praised by Chateaubriand as an example of Christian novel; it is a singular blend of anti-philosophical novel and sentimental novels in the Richardson style, using the epistolary genre then in fashion. The story is that of a young man led astray by his passions and by a pernicious society, a very common theme in the 18th century.

First edition, admirably and finely illustrated with 3 figures, 15 headpieces, and 10 tailpieces, all by Eisen and engraved by de Launay the younger, Helman, Masquelier, Née and Ponce. Printed on deluxe paper.
Contemporary full mottled calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands, gilt rolls at head and foot. Red morocco title label. Triple gilt fillet frame on covers. All edges gilt. Fragile headcap with lacks, same at foot. Very beautiful mottling on covers (green, red, beige). Despite small defects, handsome copy, in a luxury binding, and of great freshness.
The volume, besides the preliminary pieces, with essays on the dramatic genre by Marmontel, brings together three tragedies from 17th-century French theatre: Sophonisbe by Du Ryer, Scevole by Mairet and Venceslas by Rotrou. This first volume was to be followed by several others, but the project did not come to fruition. Very fine publication.
18th-century engraved bookplate, Laus de Boissy library. A second 19th-century bookplate: library of Count Alexis de Priest.

First edition. An engraved title frontispiece.
Full marbled and glazed blonde calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title-label. Head slightly worn. Handsome copy.
This almanac contains, in addition to the year's calendar, a series of pieces, fables and light poetry by various authors (Dorat, Voisenon, Voltaire, Piron, Marmontel, etc.), a critique of works published in 1773 and of shows performed in that same year.

First edition, rare. A frontispiece depicting Isaac Meïo as frontispiece by the author, as well as a figure created by the same. Title page in red and black.
Contemporary full glazed calf binding. Spine with four raised bands decorated with a red morocco title-label. All edges speckled. Headcaps worn, joints cracked and corners slightly bumped. Some faint dampstains and a small tear at the bottom of page 15.
A worthy representative of the Age of Enlightenment, Boyer d'Argens is a philosophical writer, skeptic and pamphleteer; his series of critical and epistolary books, in the manner of the Persian Letters (Jewish Letters, Chinese Letters, Cabalistic Letters) made him famous. In the epistle, the author confesses his motivations in writing this novel: a Jewish usurer having deceived him during his military period, he claims to paint here an honest Jew. The work is in fact a libertine novel recounting the loves of the Count de Vaxere, initially destined for the ecclesiastical state. Love for a Venetian Jewish woman will lead him to conversion.

First edition of Boileau to bear the title Oeuvres and containing 9 satires, 4 epistles, the first four cantos of the Lutrin and the treatise on the sublime. The edition also contains a new notice to the reader and a new preface. Fine printing, in italics. There would exist an edition of Boileau's pieces dating from 1670 which Boileau mentions without stating the date, but which appears untraceable; Brunet cites it in commentary, without giving a date.
Contemporary full marbled sheep binding. Jansenist spine with raised bands. Black title-label. Generally rubbed. 2 corners slightly bumped. Missing the second leaf completing the privilege (final lines indicating the date). The two frontispieces are also missing, one should appear before the title, the other before the Lutrin. Title page soiled.
Important edition.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece and 4 fine figures by Marillier engraved by Ponce, De Ghendt...
Full dark blue paper boards binding, late 19th century. Gilt title and date at foot. Uncut copy, bound as issued, partly with conjugate leaves; the sheets containing the engravings are of smaller format; the bluish covers have been preserved. The bound format corresponding to a 12mo. Fine copy, in a modest binding.
La Harpe drew the substance of his poem from an Arabic tale, which was later adapted by the Provençals in the romance Fortunatus, then at the beginning of the 18th century: Les aventures d'Abdalla.

First edition, illustrated with a figure by Gravelot engraved by Allianet, a headpiece by Eisen and a tailpiece by Choffart, engraved by De Longueil. Fine printing, on deluxe paper.
Full brown sheep binding early 20th century signed Champs. Smooth Jansenist spine with gilt title and date. Minor rubbing to headcaps. Handsome copy. Blin de Sainmore composed this letter from Sappho after Ovid's heroic epistle on the same subject; Sappho writing to her lover before going to join him. The edition is enhanced with verses by Sappho translated by Boileau and Blin de Saimore. The composition of these editions by Blin de Saimore is very similar to those of Dorat, even using the same artists for ornamentation. Engraved bookplate E. Valton. 1880.

First edition, illustrated with a figure by Eisen engraved by Roubeau, a title vignette by the same engraved by Massard, and a tailpiece, this time engraved by Allianet. Printed on deluxe paper.
Full sheep binding from early 20th century signed Champs. Smooth Jansenist spine, with gilt title and date. Gilt fillet frame on boards. Minor rubbing to headcaps. Handsome copy. Blin de Sainmore, accustomed to literary and historical borrowings, chose in this work a tragic subject, confronting love and power in the relationship between Gabrielle d'Estrées and Henri IV, striving to paint the situation of the kingdom in these troubled times. The verse letter is preceded by an author's preface justifying his work, a verse epistle to Voltaire and a response from the latter. (One will notice the beautiful engraving after Eisen where Death endowed with her scythe and soaring with great black wings, hovers above Gabrielle looking at Henri IV's portrait). Engraved bookplate E. Valton. 1880.

First edition, extra-illustrated with a frontispiece by Cochin engraved by Sornique.Les nouveaux saints. Chez Dabin. Paris. 1801. Third edition. André Marie Chénier.Qu'est-ce que la théophilantropie ? A la librairie claissique. Paris.1801.La religion naturelle est-elle absurde, intolérante, contraires aux idées reçues, et conduit-elle au fanatisme ? Se trouve à la libraire du Pont Michel. An 6.Sur la philosophie. An 9. S.n. S.l.
Contemporary full green morocco binding. Smooth spine decorated à la grotesque with trellis work, roulette at head and foot. Red morocco title label. Roulette border on covers. Edges gilt. Small lack at head. One corner slightly bumped. Rubbing to head and joints. The frontispiece has been backed with paper on verso. Handsome copy.La guerre des dieux is a satirical poem in which the gods of the Christian religion and those of Greco-Roman mythology clash; it gave rise to numerous complaints from its publication, and was at the same time placed very highly in this type of production, due to the quality of its language and style. The first editions are sought after because all subsequent ones were expurgated. Following this famous poem by Parny, an amateur has gathered several texts from the same period accounting for the situation of religion in France; the texts illuminate each other, and allow one to understand the circumstances that could have given birth to Parny's poem. Chénier's second text is also a satire on religion and philosophers. Theophilanthropy emerged in 1797, a movement placing the love of God and mankind above all things and departing from the church. The article that follows is a defense of natural religion, and its adherents. The last text brings together philosophy and natural religion, and rejects all superstition. Bookplate of Auguste Dide.

New illustrated edition in first printing. The illustrations comprise three frontispieces by Cochin, Moreau and Eisen, engraved by Gaucher, Ponce and Née; and 20 head-pieces by Eisen, engraved by Helman, De Longueil, Masquelier and Massard. Elegant illustrated work with careful layout.
Half olive green morocco binding with corners, late 19th century unsigned in a master binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Gilt title and date at tail. Gilt fillets on boards. Top edge gilt. Very pale dampstain on the first 4 leaves of volume II, at mid-page. Very handsome copy, perfectly established and of great freshness.
Novel originally published in 1665, which received its first illustration in 1720, this disguised biographical episode worked into a Greek pastoral tells of the misfortunes and adventures that prevented and delayed Le Vayer's marriage to Mlle Servin. The varied narrative draws its inspiration from Greek and Latin novels (Heliodorus's Aethiopica) or Cervantes's Persiles and Sigismunda. This novel, quite appreciated in its time, was adapted for opera in an eponymous work by Francoeur and Rebel.

Second edition, a reprint of the original published in 1763 by the same publisher. It is illustrated with a frontispiece, a vignette and a tailpiece by Eisen, engraved by De Longueil. Carefully printed; Dorat indeed ruined himself perfecting his publications, commissioning from Eisen and the engravers the very best...
Half red shagreen binding, late 19th century, signed Féchoy. Spine with raised bands decorated with fillets. Gilt title, date at foot. Light surface wear to lower right corner. Handsome copy.
The source of this verse work by Dorat is the tragedy of Barnevelt, written in 1619 by John Fletcher and Phillip Masinger, a tragic play from Elizabethan theatre. Dorat drew his subject from it and adapted it to the French spirit, as he explains in his preface. Dorat multiplied this genre, drawing inspiration from one work to create another, as with The Letter of the Count of Comminges; Letter from Lord Velfort, etc...

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece by Marillier, engraved by De launay.
Full blonde calf binding, grained and glazed. Smooth spine decorated with 5 compartmented fleurons, gilt roll at head and tail. Red morocco title label. Blue speckled edges. Water stain in upper margin over one cm and 4 cm wide (at end of work, the paper becomes fragile at this spot). Two tears at tail. Good copy overall.
This comedy is a satirical attack on all the learned men holding sway in the world of letters, writers or philosophers. In the preface a portrait of Voltaire is established, although he is never cited by name by Dorat. It is known that the author had declared himself against the philosophers in the famous quarrel against the encyclopedists.

First edition of this translation by Moutonnet de Clairfonds, and first issue of the illustration, which comprises a frontispiece, 12 headpieces and 13 tailpieces by Eisen, engraved by Massard and Duclos. Title page in red and black.
Full red morocco binding, late 19th century, signed Pickering. Jansenist spine with raised bands. Wide inner decorative border. Edges gilt. Small brown stains on upper cover. Despite the minor defects noted, a very fine copy.
Cohen rightly cites this work as "one of the most elegantly illustrated books of the 18th century"; Eisen's contribution is indeed delicate and inspired, and the headpiece engravings are superbly executed.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece by Marillier engraved by de Ghendt and a figure by the same engraver executed by Gaucher.
Contemporary full brown calf binding. Smooth spine decorated in grotesque style with interlacing floral motifs. Red morocco title and volume labels. Triple gilt fillet frame on boards. Edges gilt. Head worn; foot partially fragile. A lack to the upper corner at top. Corners slightly bumped.
A poetic anthology bringing together certain earlier works and adding some new ones. Notable is the important epistle that opens the work and explains the title, in which Dorat attempts to explain the origin of his disgrace in the literary world; following this justification, Dorat cites an exchange of letters with Voltaire. This preface is doubly interesting regarding the world of letters and its intolerance, and regarding the author's biography.

Seventh edition of Les Saisons, after the first edition published in 1769 and illustrated by Gravelot, but the first printing with Moreau's illustrations. This edition is a reprint of the 1769 edition and reproduces Chauffart's headpieces, but adds 7 figures by Moreau, engraved by Delaunay, Duclos, Lebas, and Prévost. It should also be noted that the heavy paper used for this edition is not the same as the fine paper of the first edition.
Contemporary full calf binding. Smooth spine richly decorated. Red morocco title label. Flamed calf boards (with Greek key border frame) of a later date added during restoration. Corners slightly bumped. A crack to the upper joint extending 5 cm. A reasonably good copy.
Les Saisons is preceded by a preface on bucolic and pastoral poetry and followed by tales (philosophical ones such as Ziméo), occasional pieces, and finally oriental fables. Voltaire had great admiration for Saint-Lambert, particularly for his masterwork: Les Saisons. This descriptive poetry is not without charm and would continue to be appreciated in the 19th century. Saint-Lambert was moreover indispensable to 18th-century literary society through his presence in the salons.

First illustrated edition. One title vignette, one frontispiece and 3 handsome figures before the lettering. The title vignette bears the signature of Bernard Picard. Title page in red and black.
Half red morocco binding with corners, late 19th century, signed Dubois-D'Enghien. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Gilt title, date at foot. Double fillet border on boards. Gilt edges. Very handsome copy, perfectly executed, and in perfect condition.
The work is an imitation of the Greek novel The Loves of Rhodanthe and Dosicles by Eustathios Makrembolites; it tells the story of thwarted love in ancient Greece.

First edition, rare. Large fleuron on title page. Text in italics. Large title headpieces, initials.
Full glazed blonde calf binding, circa 1820. Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 fleurons; blind-tooled fillets and fillet at foot. Black morocco title and volume labels. Decorative border frame on covers. Gilt edges. Foxing on first blank leaf and browning to margin of title page. Very handsome copy, fresh.
This edition contains the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth epistles in first edition. Writings from his literary maturity, the epistles are characterized by a more mature and serene style than the satires.
Bookplate of Dr. Manessier.

New edition, after the first published in 1758.
Full glazed blonde sheep binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 fleurons in compartments; roulette at foot. Red morocco title label. Upper joint cracked. Corners slightly bumped. Headcap amateurishly restored.
This play, Diderot's second published work, after Le Fils naturel in 1757 (for which he was accused of plagiarizing Goldoni) and which would not be performed until 1761, marks a remarkable turning point in the history of theater. Advocating a natural and realistic plot, based on contemporary characters, Diderot, developing his ideas in the essay that follows the play, invents bourgeois drama and definitively disrupts traditional dramaturgy.

First edition.
Contemporary brown marbled calf binding ca 1800. Spine decorated with 5 fleurons. Red morocco title label. Gilt frame on boards. Gilt edges. One lack at head. Some scuffing to boards. Good copy.
The work is an outspoken critique of Marmontel's book: La poétique française, whose errors of judgment the author denounces step by step.

The finest and most complete edition of Regnard, when it properly contains the fifth and sixth volumes, printed in small numbers (as Cohen indicates), and which are rarely found together with the first four.
It is illustrated with a portrait of the author by Rigaud engraved by Tardieu and 11 fine figures by Moreau and Marillier, engraved by Delignon, Duponchel, etc. The remarks and prefaces are by Garnier.
Contemporary full tree calf binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 stars and fillets. Red morocco title and volume labels. Framing fillet on covers. Lacking at foot of volume 1 and at head of volume 3. Joints of volume 2 cracked. Despite some defects, quite a handsome set.
Volume 1 is dedicated to travel narratives, volumes 2 to 4 to theater, and volumes 5 and 6 to Italian theater. This carefully produced edition, with fine printing and quality engravings, joins the great successes of editions produced by the Imprimerie de Monsieur (Racine, Corneille).

Publisher's composite collection, the title pages of the various pieces spanning from 1734 to 1742; the fourth volume being dated 1745. It should be noted that the first piece of the first volume comes after the general title page, without a particular title page, with no apparent lack in the collation; the same applies to volume II, the first piece being preceded only by a half-title, while all other pieces have a particular title page, this without any lack in the pagination and collation. The publisher added in each volume a leaf listing the titles of the various pieces contained in each volume. These particularities are inherent to the process employed by the publisher to form this collection of 16 pieces.
Contemporary marbled full calf binding. Smooth decorated spine. Title-label and volume label in red morocco. Triple fillet frame on covers. Headcap of volume I worn. Restoration at foot of volume II. Small lacks to upper joints of volumes I, II and IV. Scuffing on covers. Some corners slightly bumped. Paper more fragile on the first leaves of volume IV.
Destouches' plays had undeniable success in their time, some were immediately adopted by the Académie française. Destouches forms a figure of early eighteenth-century theater. Here is what Voltaire writes of him in "Le siècle de Louis XIV": "One does not find in his plays the strength and gaiety of Regnard, still less those depictions of the human heart, that naturalness, that true wit, that excellent comedy, which makes the merit of the inimitable Molière; but he has not failed to make a reputation after them. He has some plays that have been successful, although the comedy in them is somewhat forced. He has at least avoided the genre of comedy that is merely languid, of that kind of bourgeois tragedy, which is neither tragic, nor comic, a monster born of the impotence of authors and the satiety of the public after the golden days of the century of Louis XIV. His comedy Le Glorieux is his best work, and will probably remain in the theater, although the character of Le Glorieux is, it is said, flawed; but the other characters appear to be treated superbly."
The fourth volume (published in 1745) contains the entrance speech to the Académie française and Fontenelle's response.

The rare first edition, long attributed to Madame de La Fayette, and published the same year as La Princesse de Clèves, then to Courtilz de Sandras and even to Pierre Daniel Huet.
Late nineteenth-century full morocco binding signed Bellevallée glazed old red. Jansenist spine with raised bands. Wide gilt inner border. Date at foot. Very fine copy, perfectly established, with wide margins, and unwashed.
Unlike La Princesse de Clèves, or La Princesse de Montpensier, the Mémoires de Hollande is not a historical novella, but presents itself as a novel of manners that uses modern first names. The work describes, through the love affair between a Jewish woman and a Lusignan, life in the Netherlands around the mid-seventeenth century; it is one of the few novels daring to confront reality as it is, and the work deserves to be distinguished in the invention of French romantic literature on this account. The book is of interest for the history and topography of the Netherlands. It should be noted that this work was found in the greatest amateur libraries of the nineteenth century. (Lignerolles, Rochebilière, Rothschild, Téchener, etc.)

Edition produced by Charles Rollin under the direction of Jacques Estienne, with notes and commentary by Charles Rollin.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title-label. Headcaps slightly worn. Rubbing. 6 corners bumped. Pale yellow dampstain in margin of certain leaves in volume 2, extending into the text. Rather good copies, fresh.
The Institutio Oratoria is Quintilian's fundamental work. It goes beyond the framework of a rhetoric manual and has durably influenced all questioning strategies (judicial procedure, investigations...); its influence is still perceptible today, it was decisive for the Renaissance which devoted a veritable cult to it. Quintilian was himself the son of a lawyer and orator.

New edition, after the original published in 1530. Printer's device on the title page. The same edition also appeared from Le Bé's press on the same date, and many times in the 16th century. A second title page bears the title: Meditationes graecanicae in artem grammaticam (p.273).
Full blonde calf binding from the 17th century. Spine with raised bands decorated with a pattern of fleur-de-lys in each compartment. Boards decorated with a pattern of fleur-de-lys and rich decorative gilt board-edges with the inscription in gilt letters on the upper board: Academie d'arras. Edges gilt. Tail headcap torn off. Lower joint split at tail. One corner cut. Missing marbled endpaper pasted to the first blank endpaper, at beginning and end of volume. 2 pale dampstains on title page and some yellow dampstains in margins; top and left margins of about twenty leaves frayed by 0.5 cm due to old dampstaining that weakened the paper. Rubbing, some surface wear on boards. Copy trimmed rather short. Rich 17th-century binding, but with defects.
Famous work that enjoyed immense popular success of this Greek grammar by the philologist Nicolas Clénard, whose master was Henri Estienne. The Latin is in roman characters and the Greek in italics.

New edition, considered the most beautiful and correct of the author's complete works. Illustrated with 8 portraits by A. de Saint-Aubin in volume I and 4 figures after Moreau le jeune in volume II.
Near-contemporary bindings in full glazed blonde calf. Spines with five fine raised bands set with gilt friezes and decorated with typographical motifs and gilt fillets, gilt friezes at head and foot. Red morocco title and volume labels. Fillet and decorative gilt board-edges on covers. Yellow edges. One joint cracked and restored at foot. One stain at foot of second cover of first volume. Occasional foxing.
Handsome copy.
Antoine Hamilton is above all the author of the Mémoires du comte de Grammont, which Etiemble (author of the anthology of 18th-century authors in the Pléiade collection and rediscoverer of 18th-century authors like Crébillon fils) considers one of the masterpieces of the period. His tales were also appreciated, particularly Fleur d'épine or Le bélier. Despite the work accomplished by Etiemble, and the complete rehabilitation of Crébillon fils, Hamilton remains fully to be rediscovered.

The most complete first collected edition published to date, illustrated with a frontispiece and 11 figures.
Contemporary full olive glazed calf bindings. Smooth spines, slightly faded, decorated with gilt tools, gilt friezes at head and foot. Red morocco title and volume labels, gilt roulettes on headcaps. Gilt dentelle frame and fillet on boards. Some corners slightly bumped without consequence, one headcap worn. Occasional light foxing.
Handsome copy in elegant contemporary binding. The Count of Tressan (died in 1783) largely contributed to the rediscovery of medieval literature through his literary adaptations, especially in public taste, thus preparing two major currents: Gothic literature and then Romantic literature with its inveterate taste for the Middle Ages.

First edition in small format following the original published in Berlin and Paris on the same date.
Contemporary full marbled calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with urn tools and roulettes. Black morocco title and volume labels. Roulette on edges. Lacking at head of volume I; a tear with loss at tail. Rubbing. 3 corners slightly bumped.
The novel is an exchange of letters about the atrocities committed in France during the revolutionary period, by a noble family who fled France in 1792 due to persecution. Although this novel remains a bildungsroman with pedagogical and moral purpose, Madame de Genlis warns in the preface that it is not intended for children. The Countess de Genlis was a famous pedagogue and was charged with the education of the children of Orléans, notably that of the future King of the French; she was forced into exile during the Terror.

First edition, illustrated with an allegorical frontispiece and a portrait of Madame du Barry. The second part has the title: Precis Historique de la Vie de Mad. la Comtesse du Barry. Anonymous edition whose author would be Jean Frédéric Bernard according to Barbier.
Contemporary full marbled glazed calf binding. Smooth spine decorated. Fragile headcap with loss. Joints cracked at head. Upper joint split at tail. Joints splitting. Rubbing. One yellow dampstain in margin in the middle of the work, running over several pages of the second part (from p. 50).
Collection composed of 12 gallant and libertine novellas set in various places in Europe.
The work was first attributed to Jean Frédéric Bernard, better known for his research and compilation works such as L'éloge de l'Enfer, or Recueil de voyages au nord, rather than for his literature.
However, Octave Uzanne informs us, in his preface to the 1881 reprint, that Jean-Frédéric Bernard had died in 1752. It is therefore necessary, according to him, to attribute this collection to François Bernard who published under his own name only an Analyse de l'histoire philosophique et politique de Raynàl in 1775, but who engaged in numerous translations from English and German. Although this Bernard is cited by Quérard, Uzanne tells us no more about "the life of this peaceful Dutchman who must have died, in all likelihood, as the Revolution approached" because, he writes, "the lantern of erudition becomes a dark lantern when it interrogates such a depth of obscurity." Uzanne is moreover quite critical of the literary qualities of the work for which he nevertheless prefaces a reprint, but recognizes as its principal quality that it offers "an overall view of the merchant bourgeoisie of the last century, an ideal of grey naturalism, without any of the spices of imagination, but, in sum, an exact account of the small scandals that occurred somewhat everywhere then outside of France."
These novellas nonetheless remain solidly constructed and well written, they are in the taste of those by Baculard d'Arnaud, with a certain humor and satire added.

First edition, illustrated with a figure by Corneille engraved by Mariette and a headpiece with armorial device.
Full glazed blonde calf binding. Raised band spine decorated. Red morocco title label. Double gilt ruled frame on boards. One slight tear at head. Roulette on edges. Small stains on lower board. 2 corners slightly bumped. Endpapers renewed late 19th century. Good copy.
This Jesuit and professor of rhetoric became interested in theatre quite early and was even an actor. Apart from Christian books and some literary works, he published archaeological works. His theatre, in Latin, features figures from Christian mythology.

French first edition.
Contemporary full marbled and glazed calf binding. Raised spine decorated with 5 fleurons. Red morocco title-label. One crack to the lower joint at head.
Response to the letter addressed to the Royal Society of London by John Hill, in which he affirmed and demonstrated that a woman can conceive and give birth without carnal commerce, and that he could thus restore honor to those women who had given birth without having had commerce with their husbands; this response is satirical and full of humor, mocking Hill's system, which, it must be remembered, he had only written to take revenge on the Royal Society of London which had refused his candidacy.

New edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait. One of the rare titles with the false Amsterdam imprint.
Publisher's binding in full marbled blonde sheep. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title-label. Triple fillet frame on boards. A tear to the spine. Small lacks to joints at foot and one to upper board. Edges gilt.

Fifth edition statement for the first volume, and second edition for the second. The first volume was first published in 1727, with a sequel added in 1738. It is illustrated with a frontispiece by Scottin (placed at the head of the second volume and dated 1738), two title vignettes, 51 headpieces by Kent and Wooton in the first volume and 16 large figures by Gravelot for volume II.
Later full calf binding. Spine ca. 1800, decorated with cold-stamped fillets and roulettes. The flamed calf boards have been added. Rubbing. One corner trimmed. One corner restored. 2 small lacks to headcaps.

New edition.
Copy with the arms of Armand Joseph Le Lièvre de la Grange stamped in blind, Marquis de Fourilles et de la Grange; azure a chevron or, accompanied in chief by two roses argent and in base an eagle displayed with lowered wings of the same.
Contemporary full blonde grained sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title-label. A tear with loss to the lower joint at head. Split to the lower joint at tail.
Gaston-Jean-Baptiste de Roquelaure, from an illustrious Gascon family, field marshal to the king, wounded at the siege of Bordeaux, saw his estate of Roquelaure elevated to a duchy. He was short and ugly and said of himself: "I have been considered very ugly: nothing obliges me to agree with everyone." King Louis XIV held him in high esteem, he was one of his favorites, and one day when the Duchess of Burgundy criticized him, he replied: "I find him one of the most handsome men in the Kingdom because he is one of the bravest." His witticisms and pranks remained famous, but he often went too far, and Louis XIV banished him from court for a time. The novel mocks the Duke's ugliness and accumulates the Duke's jests and adventures at court in a picaresque form and a narrative of great humor. By Antoine Le Roy according to Barbier.

New edition, and first illustrated edition, with a frontispiece by Dunker engraved by Lacroix, a figure on the title page, 6 very fine head-pieces and several tailpieces, all by Dunker. This edition has been revised and the texts improved in translation by Vincent Bernhard de Tscharner.
Binding in half dark green shagreen ca 1850. Spine with false raised bands decorated with compartments and fillets in cold and hot stamping. Rubbing to headcaps.
Though slender, the poetic production of the celebrated Swiss physician and naturalist played a determining role in the formation of German lyricism, not to mention that his poetry collections mark Switzerland's entry into literature.

New edition in German, the first having appeared in 1800.
Contemporary full vellum binding. Smooth spine decorated with 5 fleurons and roulettes. Red morocco title-label. Title-label rubbed. Vellum soiled.
Wallenstein is a dramatic trilogy. The three parts are Wallenstein's Camp, The Piccolomini and The Death of Wallenstein. The trilogy features generalissimo Albrecht von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland, commander of Ferdinand II's army. He chooses to forge a secret alliance with the Swedes, thus plotting against the Emperor. Unmasked by certain officers including Ottavio Piccolomini, the situation balances between pro and anti-Wallenstein factions. He will be assassinated for having overshadowed imperial power. The play is considered one of the greatest German plays.
Armorial bookplate Alford House.

First edition, illustrated with two frontispieces by Challe, engraved by Tilliard.
Contemporary full grained calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title-label. Headcaps worn. Upper joint cracked at head and foot. Lower joint split. 2 corners bumped and one cut.
Epic poem in verse in 24 cantos telling the story of Columbus's discovery of America, viewed as a symbolic and religious saga.

New edition, after the complete original of 1647. Illustrated with a title-frontispiece by Delin, engraved by Laan, a title vignette, a frontispiece and 5 folding plates unsigned.
Full flexible vellum binding. Smooth spine with title in black ink. Endpapers detached. Title-frontispiece trimmed short with a slight lack to the right edge. Similarly, the title page shows a slight lack to the right margin, as does the frontispiece. Plate 5 has been partially backed with old paper. Leaf 201 restored in margin and some leaves frayed in right margin, over 1 cm.
The first Dutch pastoral novel, L'arcadie hollandaise enjoyed great success in its country. The edition was accomplished by a famous professor from Amsterdam (Caspar Barleus) at the author's request, who accompanied the text with numerous commentaries and notes on Holland.

New edition, illustrated with 32 figures by Punt and a title vignette repeated on all 4 volumes. Title pages in red and black. This appears to be the first edition to be fully illustrated, as previous editions presented only four frontispieces, however it should be noted that the figures bear the date 1742. The mention of third edition refers only to Dutch editions and is therefore not significant. Translation by Abbé Prévost and Aubert de la Chesnaye des Bois.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title and volume labels. Head of volume I split at head. A lack at head of volume II. A lack to the upper joint at foot of volume I. Tailpiece partly missing on volume III. Corners slightly bumped. Rubbing. Scattered foxing.
Pamela was a veritable sensation in the literary world and achieved resounding success throughout Europe. Its principal merit is undoubtedly having given birth not only to the epistolary novel (Rousseau) but to Fielding who produced two satirical sequels: The Adventures of Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones. We know that Diderot was unstinting in his praise of this novel. Pamela is a novel of manners and a sentimental novel whose impact on 18th-century literature is indelible and enduring. It is often considered the first bourgeois novel of manners, and this shift of the action's setting from aristocracy to bourgeoisie had an enormous impact.

New edition, and reprint by Cazin, after that published in 1777. A frontispiece portrait engraved by Delvaux.
Publisher's binding in full glazed and grained blonde calf. Smooth spine decorated. Brown morocco title-label and volume label. Triple fillet frame on boards. Edges gilt. Headcap of volume I worn. Rubbing. A small lack to edge on upper board of volume I.
Jean-Baptiste Rousseau was among the most celebrated poets of his time, notably for his cantatas which were set to music.

Second edition, the original having been published in Liège in 1740.
Contemporary full marbled sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title label and black morocco volume label. Upper joint cracked. Headcaps worn with lacks to upper joints, except at foot of volume II. 4 corners bumped.
Extract from the last chapter: "J'ai cru tenir la fortune entre mes mains, je m'en félicitais ; & du même coup d'oeil je l'ai vue s'envoler d'une aile rapide, comme un moineau qui s'échappe des mains d'un enfant qui n'a pas l'avisement de le retenir. Ma vie n'est plus qu'untissus de chagrin & de peine ; assorti du regret amer du passé, & d'une desespérante incertitude de l'avenir." ["I thought I held fortune in my hands, I congratulated myself; and with the same glance I saw it fly away on rapid wing, like a sparrow escaping from the hands of a child who has not the wisdom to hold it. My life is now nothing but a fabric of sorrow and pain; matched with bitter regret of the past, and a despairing uncertainty of the future."] Libertine novel in the first person which describes the rise of a brilliant young man under the regency, his love of women... This novel was very successful and was published until the 19th century.

Rare first edition. Illustrated with 44 plates including one double-page, totaling 110 figures enhanced in period colors by Yanagawa Jushin.
Contemporary wrappers, original binding in cold-embossed green paper with cloud motifs. Excellent condition.
The author published 5 volumes of this type, each addressing a different theme—animals, flowers; this one depicts the mountains and rivers of Japan represented in prints by the artist.

Assembly by the owner of two works with the objective of completing them; the owner thus added to the volume of Selected Works published in Paris, a tome (the second) of the complete works published in Brussels. A frontispiece and title vignette for the Selected Works.
Books bound with the arms of the Earl of Lucan (Ireland, County Dublin), George Charles Bingham, Field Marshal, with the motto: Spes mea Christus. The presence of fleurs-de-lis is doubtless explained by the fact that the first Earl of Lucan was the son of Jacques Fitz-James, naturalized French.
Contemporary full rose calf binding (English binding) signed Hering. Smooth spine decorated with grotesque foliage and a crowned eagle (symbol of the Earl's arms). Boards stamped with arms and dotted fillet border. Inner dentelle and on the edges. One damage to the upper joint of volume II. Marbled edges. Spine very lightly faded. A lack to the title-label of volume II. Joints rubbed. Very handsome copy, despite minor defects.
Although the poet Parny, pre-Romantic in his writing, has today fallen into disuse, he was not only popular but received unequaled esteem from his peers; thus Chateaubriand wrote: "I knew by heart the elegies of the Chevalier de Parny, and I still know them," and Pushkin, evoking erotic poetry, said that Parny was his master.

New edition of Persius's Satires translated, commented and annotated by Nicolas Selis.
Contemporary full cardboard binding. Green paper spine with corners decorated with roulettes. Black paper boards. Red morocco title-label.
According to Brunet: "One of the best translations of Persius" (Brunet IV, 522). Nicolas-Joseph Sélis (1737-1802), man of letters and professor at the college Louis-le-Grand, replaced abbé Delille, to whom he was connected, in the chair of Latin poetry at the Collège de France in 1796. Each satire is presented then annotated. A long preface introduces the work, as well as a letter from Le Monnier, himself translator of the satires, who compares his work with that of Selis.

Collection published by the same publishers, but at different dates, of works by Jacques Delille; the complete edition having been spread over about ten years; moreover certain titles were systematically reprinted. The catalog by Michaud at the end of Les Trois règnes moreover clearly shows the complete collection sold in 17 volumes and the sale by individual works.
Contemporary full tree calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with 2 urn tools and 2 bouquet tools. Red morocco title label, and green morocco volume label. Good copy.
Details of the works: Les trois règnes 2 Vol. (Michaud 1809) 2 frontispieces; Les jardins 1 Vol. (Michaud 1813) 4 figures by Monciau; L'imagination 2 Vol. (Michaud 1817) 2 frontispieces (one by Lebarbier, the other by Myris); Poésies fugitives 1 Vol. (Michaud 1812) 1 frontispiece portrait; La conversation 1 Vol. (Michaud 1812) 1 frontispiece by Girodet and 2 figures out of 3 (frontispiece for each canto); La pitié 1 Vol. (Michaud 1803) One frontispiece by Monciau. This collection brings together the principal works of Delille, without the translations of Pope, Virgil...

French first edition translated (and arranged) by Jean Serré de Rieux; illustrated with 9 figures including a frontispiece by Humblot, engraved by Baquoy. Not in Cohen (Livres à gravures du XVIIIe).
Contemporary full calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Head of spine weakened. Lacks at each joint at head and tail. Rubbing and scuffing to lower board particularly with lack at the joint of the fourth compartment. One tear p.97 in lower margin with lack. Corners slightly bumped.
Marini is a 17th century writer who belongs to the last wave of Italian chivalric romances. The novel features the prince of Babylon, knight of death, and the princess of Babylon, Zélinde, his sister, with whom he is passionately in love. Unable to possess her, he swears to kill anyone who might possess her. The narrative is written in a hyperbolic and poetic style, inspired by 16th century models, but decidedly more narrative, and more direct and tightened in its plot (which may perhaps be due to the translator's intervention).

First edition on bluish paper.
Contemporary glacé full red morocco binding. Smooth spine decorated. Black morocco title and volume labels. Triple fillet frame on boards. Interior roll tooling. Edges gilt. Handsome copy.
Year calendar, numerous pieces and anonymous poetry, some signed by the publisher Baude de la Croix, extracts from Saadi, fables, etc...

Statement of new edition, considerably expanded. Several volumes were indeed added to this edition, in addition to the illustrations. Illustrated with a portrait by Monet as frontispiece to volume I and 4 figures by Meon. Volume II: 4 figures by Meon. Volume III: 10 figures by Monnet. Very fine illustration, careful and refined. Remarkably executed edition.
Contemporary glazed blonde calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Garnet morocco title label and red morocco volume labels (with roulettes). Roulette at tail and headcap. Triple fillet frame on boards. Upper joint fragile at tail of volume I; this volume also has a small tear with loss at tail. A loss of one cm at head of volume IV. Lower joint of volume III split at tail (three wormholes along this joint). A tear with loss to the head compartment of volume VI. Headcap of volume VII fragile at head. One corner bumped on volume VII. Despite these defects, handsome set with desirable appearance.
Although one cannot truthfully qualify Palissot's literary output as important, he was undoubtedly a major figure in the literary life of his time; thus the various plays, notes, remarks, letters that frame each comedy (the edition is very rich from this point of view) are remarkable regarding the literary life of the second half of the 18th century, notably concerning the famous quarrel of the philosophers which Palissot initiated, attacking them outrageously in his eponymous play (undoubtedly poorly conceived from a dramaturgical standpoint, but excellent in its writing, each mockery hitting its mark).
Besides the theater and the poem La Dunciade, the volumes contain the Mémoires littéraires (dictionary of literary figures), the correspondence with Voltaire (he was his protégé at the beginning of his career), the critiques of his contemporaries (Freron, Piron, Duclos...). One will discover with pleasure the critiques of his contemporaries on his own plays. Palissot was undoubtedly a social climber, with an incredible talent for controversy and mockery, and equally for flattery; this edition of his works retains the greatest interest for the world of Letters of the second part of the 18th century.

First edition, rare.

Contemporary glazed full calf binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with grotesques. Central fleurons on boards and corner ornaments. Top headcap worn away. Bottom headcap torn off. Lower joint split over 10 cm. Endpapers renewed late 19th century. 3cm tear on p. 3. Brown stains on first leaves.

Le Royer de Prade's third play was not intended by the author to be printed, as evidenced by the publisher's preface. This tragedy in alexandrine verse was long read in salons from 1650 onwards, and several testimonies report the esteem in which it was held, notably by Corneille.

New edition, after the original published in 1749. French text alongside the original Latin.
Contemporary marbled calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Library label at foot. One wormhole at foot. Good copy.
The poem enjoyed considerable success from its first Latin publication, being quite free in expression and filled with popular beliefs and concerns about infant care, which were considered decisive for the child's future.

New edition illustrated with 78 copperplate engravings by Blanchard after drawings by Tony and Alfred Johannot and the best artists of the period.
Half olive calf bindings, smooth spines richly decorated with gilt Romantic tools and showing minor rubbing of no consequence, marbled paper boards, a small tear at head of front board of first volume, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, contemporary Romantic bindings.
Foxing.
A handsomely executed set.

First collected edition. One portrait frontispiece and 2 engravings by Marillier in the second volume (one of these engravings is often missing). Half-titles and titles in red and black.
Full blonde sheep binding, slightly later. Smooth spine decorated with compartments and rolls. Red morocco title label, and black morocco volume label with rolls. Some corners slightly bumped. A thin tear at head of volume I. Handsome copy.
The posthumous edition, two years after the author's death, is distributed as follows: Volumes I and II: Theatre and the Turkish Letters; Volumes III, IV, and V: Historical Essays on Paris; Volume VI: History of the Order of the Holy Spirit (of which Saint-Foix was appointed historiographer in 1764). One should not forget the character that was Saint-Foix, who served until age 36 in the Musketeers, seeking literary glory with his twenty or so plays, of a rough and quarrelsome spirit. His two historical books are naturally important and notable. The essays on Paris do not constitute a History of the capital, but an attempt to grasp as closely as possible, through history, the spirit of a people.

New edition after the first published in 1614. Rare. Printed in italics.
Contemporary full vellum binding. Smooth unlettered spine. One tear with loss of 1cm² to spine. Lower right corner (1cm) burned on first 30 leaves sometimes affecting a blackened letter. Pale dampstaining to p. 240 lower right corner affecting part of the text. Front board held only by a few loose stitches.
Important collection of contemporary poetry for the French language bringing together Duperron, Malherbe, Racan, Meziriac, Monfuron, Touvant, Motin, La Picardière, Maynard, Hodey, Le Breton, Brun, D'urfé... The work gathers numerous poems by author. According to the notice to the reader, this collection is an abridgment of two collections published previously: "Les délices de la poésie françoise" (1618) and "Le second livre des délices de la poésie françoise" (1620) by Jean Baudoin, expanded with 112 new pieces.

Second edition, expanded with some tales. The first edition appeared in 3 volumes in 18mo. Illustrated with three figures engraved by Tardieu.
Contemporary full tree calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with tools and roulettes. Red morocco title label, and black morocco volume label. Rubbing. A small lack to the tail headcap of volume 1. One corner opened.
The first volume gathers the tales in prose and the second the tales in verse as well as a theatrical piece.
A collection of light and gallant tales by François de Lantier. Verses he composed for Madame du Barry earned him a pension from Choiseul and a position in Dresden. He is the author of the voyages of Antenor. Of his tales, he himself wrote on this subject in his preface: "il vaut mieux faire des contes à dormir debout que des rêves politiques et avoir un petit commerce clandestin avec les Muses, que la charge des affaires publiques sur le dos." ["it is better to tell tall tales than to have political dreams and to have a small clandestine commerce with the Muses than to bear the burden of public affairs on one's back."]

New edition, after the original published in 1690. Illustrated with 4 figures serving as frontispieces to the four books, finely engraved in etching but unsigned. Titles within frames of small engraved tools.
Contemporary half speckled sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with 5 fleurons, green paper title-label with gilt title, two gilt tools slightly faded, boards covered with remarkable contemporary domino paper decorated with a decidedly modern dotted pattern, some rubbing to leather.
Madame d'Aulnoy's first literary adventure, this novel belongs to the tradition of historical nouvelles whose emblematic model is the Princesse de Clèves. This collection also contains the author's first tale, L'île de la félicité, one of her only tales to have an unhappy ending. The preliminary leaves cite Moreri's dictionary under the entry Aulnoy.

First edition, quite rare.
Full light calf binding from early 20th century, handsome pastiche of a contemporary binding. Decorated raised spine. Triple fillet frame on boards. Red morocco title-label. Decorative gilt board-edges and roll on leading edges. 18th-century endpapers preserved. The lower margin of the title page, missing (the owner's name was removed), has been filled with modern paper. A hole in the lower right margin on pp. 301 and 302. An amusing old annotation (probably from the 18th century) in ink in the lower margin of the publisher's warning: "foutu sot".
Collection of satirical and erotic poetry attributed to a certain Busca (some pieces are by him), who, according to Barbier (Dict. des ouvrages anonymes) is the future general Pommereul, in Bonaparte's service. Many of the poems are signed Boufflers, Voltaire. The work is divided into three parts, as announced in the title. It includes several songs. Note that the theological tales are so called only because they feature monks and other church characters. The Catholic litanies are more than irreverent songs (litanies of saint geneviève...) that treat the church saints with extreme levity. Lovers of curiosa will appreciate the truly outrageous and rather incredible liberties of this collection which presents numerous unpublished pieces.

First edition of this translation by Toussaint. Illustrated with a frontispiece depicting a concert performed by animals.
Near-contemporary Bozérian-style binding. Smooth spine richly decorated with radiating iron tools, stars... Red morocco title-label. Greek-style frame on the boards. Edges gilt. Headcaps worn down. Upper joint cracked. Corners slightly bumped.
Gellert was a national glory, celebrated and acclaimed for the purity of his writings and morals, but fell into disuse when he was disparaged by the new school in place, the fiery youth of Sturm und Drang. Posterity has especially retained his fables and tales, translated into French for the first time in this edition printed in Leipzig, the city where the author died in 1769, one year later.

NB: This work is available at the bookshop upon request within 48 hours.

Second edition after the original published in 1685, rare. Title page in red and black. Printer's device.
Contemporary full vellum binding. Smooth spine with title stamped in blind in black. Handsome copy.
A novel written during the author's retirement which strikes one with its modernity when compared to the prose of Madame de Lafayette and her contemporaries. Its structure (the so-called "nested" genre) and tone resolutely engage with the eighteenth century, where even the historical setting is merely a pretext for narration. The title "Dames galantes" is certainly an editorial choice, as Brantôme's eponymous work was well known at the time.
Raymond Poisson is much better known in the seventeenth century under the name of the actor Belleroche, whose specialty was comic roles, particularly that of Crispin, notably at the Hôtel de Bourgogne where he performed until 1685. He wrote several comic plays, his Works were collected in Paris, 1687 and 1743, 2 vol. in-12. We know of no other novelistic writings by him.

New edition (noted as second, after the original of 1685 of which it is a faithful reprint), illustrated with a title-frontispiece, a frontispiece and nine figures (including numerous naval scenes) drawn by F. Solimene and engraved by F. de Louvemont. The engravings are fine and beautiful. Like the copy in the Library of Congress (visible online page by page), the work has a title frontispiece, without a title page duplicating the title thereafter. The copy is complete.
Contemporary full vellum binding. Spine with raised bands, unlettered. Title in black ink. Body of the work detached from the spine, noticeable on the lower board side when opening the book. The copy is however in very good condition, and quite fresh. A binder's error places leaf 257 after a preliminary leaf (ad lectorum) and after leaf 259.
This didactic poem had great success in its time due to its general themes; the two poems indeed form a universal history of fishing and navigation. The one on fishing is illustrated by various eclogues, the one on navigation is divided into eight books.
Armorial bookplate Rev. Fred. Ekins.

New edition, printed in 244 copies. The original appeared in three books, from 1718 to 1720.
Half green sheep Restoration binding with corners. Spine with raised bands decorated with monastic stamps and roulettes. Rubbing to headcaps, corners and joints.
Burlesque translation of Virgil in Burgundian dialect. The notes and long preface of this edition are precious. A book that will long be of interest to bibliophiles.
NB: This work is available at the bookshop on request within 48 hours.

Zwei-Brücken (Bipontine) edition of the works of Terence. Two title vignettes in medallion by Verhelst.
Contemporary half speckled sheep binding with small corners. Tan title label. Fillets and roulettes.
Contains, in Latin with annotations: Andria, Eunuchus, Hecyra, Heauton Timorumenos, Phormio, Adelphoe. The edition reprints the famous commentaries of Muretus, Melanchthon...

NB: This work is available at the bookshop on request within 48 hours.

Edition with some parts in first edition, first published in 1769 in one 8vo volume. Two volumes were added for this edition.
Contemporary full blonde sheep binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Red morocco title-label. Small lacks at head. Tailcap of volume III worn. 7 corners slightly bumped. Rubbing.
The work is an attack and critical commentary on Voltaire's Treatise on Tolerance. The work was well received both by its detractors (Voltaire, D'Alembert) and the public. The author demonstrates not only nourished and erudite argumentation, but without pedantry and always with impartiality, which Voltaire himself applauded. The Letters are not a defense of the church, but of religion. As for the style, Abbé Guenée establishes a dialogue with Voltaire, and his purpose is clear, demonstrative, and in no way sententious.

First edition.
Full blonde calf binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt fleurons and compartments, red morocco title-label, blind-ruled border on covers, headcaps slightly rubbed, contemporary binding.
Handsome copy free from foxing.

Second edition, rare, after the first edition published in 1698 by Barbin.

Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Head worn. Rubbing. Foxing.

The work belongs to no defined genre; in a very free manner, a Siamese tells anecdotes which he mixes with maxims on various subjects: The palace, the court, the public, the Bois de Boulogne, the opera... These satirical considerations of Parisian society, pell-mell, do not possess a continuous narrative; the work would pave the way for Montesquieu's Persian Letters. It is one of its principal sources.

New edition, illustrated with a frontispiece.
Contemporary full vellum binding with flaps. Smooth spine. Handwritten title.
Composed of three distinct parts: the Thesaurus itself (itself divided into sub-parts), the Solius Virgilii (Virgiliana synonima) and Institutio poetica by Iacobi Pontani which is a treatise on poetry. The Thesaurus is essentially a lexical and semantic, metaphorical field of all terms used in Latin poetry, extracted from Latin poets; it was mainly intended for students.

NB: This work is available at the bookstore on request within 48 hours.

New edition, illustrated with a frontispiece by Delamonce, an engraved portrait by Kornlein, and 23 figures by Frankendaal. This edition contains two more volumes than the 1754 edition.
Full marbled brown sheep binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Red morocco title and volume labels. Headcaps partly worn on volumes III, VI and VIII. Minor defects. 4 corners slightly bumped. Fairly good decorative set.Volumes 6 to 8 contain Pope's correspondence, notably that with Swift and Gay. Pope was both a great classical poet (the greatest of the first half of the 18th century), a philosopher noted for his Essay on Man, as well as a novelist: Memoirs of Martin Scrivelius. The works notably contain his critical essays.

Third enlarged edition. The first edition of 1707 and the second of 1709 from the same publisher had only one volume.

Contemporary full glazed brown sheep binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with rich compartments. Red morocco title label. Headcap of volume I worn. Small lack to upper headcap of volume II. Good copy.

The author held a choice place in the literary life of his time, and his Odes had considerable success. His most famous opera libretto was L'Europe Galante, but he brought numerous innovations to the stage; a regular at the salon of the Marquise de Lambert, he was at the origin of the second Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns, taking the side of the Moderns, declaring verses and the rule of three unities in theatre useless. If his poetry has become barely readable (although one finds the literary life of the time there), it is, like his critical work, an important testimony of an era.

Edition illustrated with 10 figures drawn and engraved by Peyron.
Full speckled blonde sheep bindings, smooth spines ornately decorated with gilt compartments, one tiny wormhole to the head of the spine of the second volume, red Russian morocco title and volume labels with slight rubbing, gilt roulettes on the headcaps, frames of gilt dentelles and tools, light scratches to the boards, gilt friezes and tools on the leading edges, two corners slightly bumped, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, contemporary bindings.
Handsome copy, free from foxing, attractively housed in decorative contemporary bindings.

First edition.

Contemporary marbled sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Joint cracked at foot on upper board. 3 corners bumped. Rubbing.

Poetic anthology gathering very diverse pieces (epistles, madrigals, fables, satires...) not only by the author, but also by Voltaire, Marmontel, and other contemporary authors. It contains certain curiosities: Lines on The Spirit of Laws. The whole presents itself with a distinctly light and humorous tone.

First edition, rare. The second work is also in first edition, decorated with a frontispiece representing the devil handing a letter to a gentleman.
Contemporary full blonde calf binding. Ornate raised band spine. Red morocco title-label. One tear p. 127. Headcaps slightly worn.
Outstanding anonymous short novel, typical in its construction and writing of the first half of the 18th century, which narrates the encounter between a gentleman and a female duellist, the tallest woman he had ever seen; she will eventually tell her love story and provide an explanation for this curious duel. The second work, satirical, denounces, mocks and criticizes numerous subjects with bite in a tone that is to say the least strange. Certain veiled references seem abstruse.

First edition, decorated with 6 figures drawn by Berlin and engraved by Devilliers. 80 pages of engraved music.
Contemporary full red straight-grained morocco binding. Smooth spine decorated with two butterflies and two fleurons. Frame border on boards. One tiny lack at foot. Rubbing. Scattered foxing. Handsome copy.
Song collection, whose songs are mainly drawn from operettas (Boieldieu, Piccini, Lemoine...). Although most of the texts are amorous laments, one notes an intruder: God save the king...

NB: This work is available at the bookstore on request within 48 hours.

First collected edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait (engraved by de Launay after Bérel) and 20 figures by Marillier engraved by Delvaux, de Ghendt, Croutelle, Patas, Langlois jeune, de Monchy, de Launay. Volumes 11 and 12 comprise the author's posthumous works and bear volume numbers 1 and 2 on the title page. A third volume of these posthumous works would appear in 1800.
Contemporary full speckled calf. Smooth spine decorated with urn tools and stars; roulettes. Framing frieze on boards. Morocco title and volume labels in black. Headcaps of volumes 1, 4, 5, 8, 11 and 12 worn or partially worn. Foot caps of volumes 1, 2, 4, 6, likewise. Title and volume labels of volume 4 largely missing. Half of the title label of volume 7 is also absent. Headcap of volume 11 partially torn.
The Count of Tressan did much, through his adaptations, for the rehabilitation of the Middle Ages and Renaissance literature (that inherited from the 15th century). It is clear that at the end of the 18th century, these works would have been unreadable to the public. This interest in the Middle Ages would fully emerge with Romanticism, the Empire having brought antiquity back into fashion.
Here is the content of the first 10 volumes, the last two being composed of various works (letters, essays...): vols. 1-2. Free translation of Amadis of Gaul, vols. 1-2 -- vol. 3. Free translation of Amadis of Gaul, vol. 3. Extract from Orlando Innamorato by Matheo-Maria Boyardo, Count of Scandiano -- vols. 4-6. Orlando Furioso, heroic poem by Ariosto. vols. 7-10. Body of extracts from chivalric romances: 7. Preliminary discourse. Tristan of Léonois. Artus of Brittany. Flores and Blanche-Fleur. Cléomades and Claremonde. Romance of the Rose. Pierre of Provence and beautiful Maguelone. 8. The flower of battles. Huon of Bordeaux. Guérin of Montglave. 9. Dom Ursino the Navarin. Little Jehan of Saintré. Gerard of Nevers. 10. Research on the origin of novels invented before the Christian era. History of Rigda and Regner Lodbrog. Zélie, or The ingenue

First collected edition. It is illustrated with a frontispiece, repeated in both volumes, a title vignette by Picart also repeated, and 10 unsigned figures, quite charming, showing the actors on stage.
Later full brown sheep binding (circa 1800). Spine with raised bands and fillets. Tan morocco title label. Headcaps worn.
Contemporaries saw in La Grange-Chancel the successor to Racine. He boasted of having the highest capacity for writing verse. His connections brought him to Louis XIV who asked Racine to read it, and the latter sponsored the author's first play. Many of his plays met with fine success, and the author represents, if not a great dramatist, the taste of an era for a certain kind of theater. Most of the subjects of his plays are drawn from the novels of Calprenède, whom he particularly favored.
The preface might more justly be called Memoirs of La Grange-Chancel, as he recounts his rise from childhood to the launch of his first play, Jugurtha.
19th-century engraved armorial bookplate: Le Proux.

First edition of this collection, which contains maxims by La Rochefoucauld in interesting variants. Illustrated with a medallion portrait by Edelinck.
Contemporary full glazed fawn calf binding. Richly decorated raised spine. Red morocco title label. Despite some wormholes, fine contemporary binding. Corner dampstain to a few leaves. Some pages yellowed.
Charles Marguetel de Saint-Denis, seigneur de Saint-Évremond (1614-1703), was a moralist and libertine critic, his rigor and critical independence foreshadowed the Enlightenment philosophers, and he was perhaps the first author to make criticism a profession. He cared little for his writings which circulated mainly in manuscript during his lifetime. This edition, which gathers various pieces by the author, including numerous letters, is due to abbé de Raguenet, who completed the collection with maxims by La Rochefoucauld (pp. 208-271), a piece by La Fontaine, a letter by Corneille... Saint-Évremond's literary success led writers to attribute numerous works to him, such as these maxims by La Rochefoucauld, significantly different from recent editions by the same author

The first edition appeared in 1763 at the same address under the title: L'arretin, ou la débauche de l'esprit en fait de bon sens.
Contemporary full citron morocco binding. Smooth spine decorated. Green morocco title-label. Triple fillet frame on covers. Edges gilt. Handsome copy. Upper joint lightly rubbed.
L'arretin consists of 25 essays and tales on subjects as diverse as Les nègres, L'agriculture, La chasteté ou le célibat, Histoire de maître Pierre, etc. These are all violent critiques, sometimes direct, sometimes satirical or allegorical, of Biblical teaching, the church, and its history. Abbé Du Laurens (1719-1793) was a polemical and anti-religious writer whose works are all libertine and licentious, but above all, profoundly anti-religious. The author did not hesitate to descend to the lowest trivialities to support his critique, but his comic inventions, often astonishing, earned him praise. Pursued for his books, he took refuge in Holland, then was imprisoned in Mainz in 1767, to end his days at 74 in a convent.
'This book is a lively and rather ribald critique of the principal stories of the Bible... L'epouse de Suze is a critique of La nouvelle Heloïse. Le sage Pangloss is Solomon, the wisest of men, it is an original chapter, even through its singular biblical citations. L'histoire de Suzon is that of Susanna and the two elders, l'histoire de Godemiché... The origin of these instruments of chamois or velvet that became so common in convents. Finally les Couvens de Jésuites is an allegory of the history of Sodom. In a word, the entire volume is rather a facetious critique of the Bible and clerical institutions than a simply ribald book'. Gay/Lemonnyer I, 263-264.

First edition. Uncommon.
Half glacé calf with corners, 19th century, signed Petit succ de Simier. Raised spine decorated in compartments. Fillets on covers.
Etienne Barbazan (1694-1770) was a philologist specializing in medieval manuscripts, notably contributing to bringing forgotten texts back to memory and rehabilitating the Middle Ages in the field of research. L'ordene de chevalerie is a 13th-century text on the rules and ceremonies of chivalry, of which Barbazan would have had a manuscript in his hands. The work contains other 13th-century texts and a glossary.

The rare first edition.
Modern cream parchment paper boards binding. Black sheep title label.
Like all satirical works by Abbé Bordelon, this is a curious and unclassifiable work in which a narrator travels in the company of Becafort, relating his thoughts, speeches and dialogues; the work teems with criticisms and reflections on social progress, women's independence, the occult sciences... It is a journey without any consideration for the journey itself, warns the narrator.

First edition. Illustrated with two folding maps in the second volume, showing the states of Roman tribes.
Full grained calf binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title label and volume labels. A small lack to the cover of volume I. Pale and light yellow dampstain at beginning of work. Handsome copy.
These works contain a memoir on the life of Boindin by Boindin himself, his theatrical pieces, volume II containing various studies and research by the author: on the sounds of language (phonetic studies), on Roman names, on Roman tribes, and finally on ancient theatre. Boindin was an essential figure in 18th-century intellectual life, one of the central figures at café Procope where he was one of the principal debaters. His comedies enjoyed some success (the first was written in collaboration with Houdar de la Motte); the various memoirs that compose volume II were presented by the author when he joined the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Medals.

New edition expanded with the English text for the "best pieces" and illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author by Kneller, ornamented by Marillier and engraved by Lebeau, as well as 17 fine figures by Marillier engraved by Dambrun, Duflos, Gaucher, Godefroy et al.
Contemporary full marbled blonde calf binding. Smooth spines ornately gilt in compartments with floral and star motifs, as well as small bird tools, blonde morocco title and volume labels. Covers triple-ruled with stars at corners. All edges marbled. One headcap damaged at corner. Despite this minor flaw, very handsome copy, very fresh, of this beautifully illustrated work.
Edition prepared by Abbé de La Porte, bringing together translations by various authors. Pope was both a great classical poet (the greatest of the first half of the 18th century), a philosopher noted for his Essay on Man, as well as a novelist: Memoirs of Martin Scrivelius. The works notably contain his critical essays.

First printing of this illustrated edition whose translation by Abbé Desfontaines was first published in 1729. One frontispiece, 5 figures for volume I and 6 for volume II, including the plate entitled Conclusion which is often lacking, and 10 title headpieces. The plates are unsigned. A handsome edition, well printed.

Contemporary full marbled glazed calf binding. Smooth spine decorated (grape cluster tools). Red morocco title and volume labels. Triple fillet frame on boards. All edges gilt. 2 corners slightly bumped. Handsome copy.

L'Histoire Ethiopique is undoubtedly, along with L'âne d'or by Apuleius, the most famous of the Latin and Greek novels, and it is the only one to be the origin of the adventure novel; the plot is simple, two lovers whom life's vicissitudes will constantly separate; the book accumulates twists of fate and gave birth to abundant literature, especially in the 18th century.

19th-century engraved armorial bookplate of Baron de Fleury; manuscript ownership inscription of Jules Bobin at the top of the first endpaper.

First collected edition. Title pages in red and black.
Contemporary full calf bindings with scale pattern. Decorated raised band spines. Red morocco title labels. Head caps slightly worn; same for 6 tail caps. Upper joints of volumes II, III, IV, V, VIII, IX and X partly cracked. Many corners bumped. Most half-titles were not bound into the volumes. Despite these defects, a set with good general appearance, decorative.
In addition to the poetic, dramatic, and critical works, and the fables, this edition contains various letters about De La Motte and his famous correspondence with the Duchess of Lambert at the end of his life. It should be noted that he was the author of L'Europe Galante and thereby introduced three innovations to opera: ballet, pastoral, and comedy-ballet. But more than for his fables or tragedies, although they enjoyed considerable success in their time, he should be remembered for his critical writings and the place the author occupied in the literary life of his time, notably in the Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns, De La Motte having repeatedly defended the party of the Moderns, advocating the use of prose in theater and poetry, questioning any pre-established rule that might constrain creation.