• Two volumes, 168 x 106 mm each, uniformly bound in faux mottled calf ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers. Vol. 1: 3 blank leaves of wove paper, 3 blank leaves of laid paper, half-title/blank, blank/frontispiece, ‘engraved’ t.p./blank, both printed on laid paper watermarked “ARCHES A LA | MAIN”; ‘letterpress’ t.p.,/blank, pp.: [1] 2-115 [116 blank], 3 blank leaves of laid paper, 3 blank leaves of wove paper; collated 12mo: π2 A-I6 K4; total 60 leaves plus 16 ‘engraved’ plates, incl. t.p. and frontis. Vol. 2: 3 blank leaves of wove paper, 3 blank leaves of laid paper, half-title/blank, blank/frontispiece, ‘engraved’ t.p./blank, no watermark, ‘letterpress’ t.p.,/blank, pp.: 1-77 [78 blank], 2 blank leaves of laid paper, 3 blank leaves of wove paper; collated 12mo: π2 A-F6 G3; total 41 leaves plus 24 ‘engraved’ plates, incl. t.p. and frontis. Dutel (I): A-1089, p. 325: in-8 (probably by size only, no formula suggested), pagination 115 and 77 as here, 2 frontispieces, 2 engraved titles dated 1873, “et 36 belles gravures de Binet”. Cohen-DeRicci: p. 734 bottom: in-12, no pagination, no formula. "Thérèse" was offered by a French seller user-75d14f4 on the online auction platform CATAWIKI in December 2021. The seller's description of this two-volume set was: "Re-edition, the date of which I was unable to determine. (London, no name, 1782) 2 duodecimo volumes of 115 and 77 pp., very lovely marbled sheepskin pastiche bindings, gilded triple fillets, adorned spines, black title labels. This classic of 18th-century clandestine erotica was written in 1748 by an author who has remained anonymous, attributed at the time to Montigny, which led to his internment in the Bastille. It is now attributed to the Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens. Edition illustrated with 37 very unrestrained figures, engraved in intaglio after Borel, unsigned." I should have paid more attention to the first phase, about the re-edition, but I didn't. After a few bidding rounds, I won the book when the hammer price was 2,200 Euros. On the 28th of December, 2021, I paid for this little beauty $2,760. The book arrived a few days later.  The paper's quality and texture, the watermark, the absence of the platemark, and the lack of embossing on the back (text and plates) made me suspect it was a fake. The pages were absolutely flat to the touch!  I established clear evidence of a high-resolution 'xerox' copy using Celestron Micro Capture Pro micro-photography.  I wrote to the seller and the auction platform, explaining my doubts regarding its authenticity. To prove my point, I include a few micro photos of the "Thérèse" and some books printed at the end of the 18th century. I explained why I considered it a fake and requested a return/refund. After two months of email exchanges, the seller and the platform refused to pay me back. Today is the 2nd anniversary of the purchase. I still have the book. To celebrate my carelessness, I included it in my library to warn fellow book collectors about buying from an unknown dealer via certain online auction platforms. Ref.: Bamber Gascoigne. How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Ink. — Thames and Hudson, 1995.

    Thérèse philosophe, 1783.

    Late 18th century books

    Books used for comparison: [LIB-2743.2021] Restif de la Bretonne. Les parisiennes, ou XL caractères généraux pris dans les mœurs actuelles, propres à servir à l’instruction des personnes-du-sexe / 4 vol. — Neufchâtel, et Paris: Guillot, 1787. [LIB-3027.2022] [Héliodore d’Emèse]. Amours de Théagènes et Chariclée: Histoire Éthiopique / 2 vol. — Londres [i.e. Paris]: [s.n.], 1743. [LIB-3252.2023] [Nicolas Chorier.] Le Meursius françois, ou entretiens galans d’Aloysia, orné de figures. — Cythere [i.e. Paris: Cazin], 1782. Below is a Xerox copy for comparison.    
  • Engraved title:

    Upper frame: ALMANACH | ICONOLOGIQUE, | OU | DES ARTS | pour l'année | 1764. | Orné de Figures | avec leurs explications | par | M. GRAVELOT. | avec Priv. du Roy | A PARIS

    Lower frame: Chez Lattré Graveur rue S. Jacq. | à la Ville de Bordeaux.

    Under the frame: H. Gravelot del. — L. Legrand sc.

    28 leaves, of them: engraved t.p., engraved frontis., and 12 plates, text engraved. Pages numbered 1-12, and I-XII (incorrectly marked XVI), other unpaginated, unbound tissue guards. Size: 10.6 x 7.2 cm, full polished crimson calf w/veins, triple-ruled in gilt with florets in corners, flat spine, double-ruled in gilt, all edges gilt. Florets in compartments, black title label with gilt lettering “ALM | ICON ||”, peacock marbled endpapers, blue silk ribbon. Approbation dated 15 November 1763, as some plates.

    Catalogue raisonné: Cohen, De Ricci 454.

  • One volume, 22.8 x 15.5 cm, bound in full mottled calf, gilt floral frames to covers, raised bands and gilt fleurons to spine, printed on laid paper. Regarding Pygmalion, scène lyrique see: Wekipedia. Collation: Free endpaper and two blank flyleaves, [2] engraved title, [2] préface, 1-18 (Pygmalion), [2] f.t.p., [1] 2-8 (Idylle), two blank flyleaves and free endpaper; 20 leaves total, adorned with 7 headpieces and 1 tailpiece engraved by Nicolas de Launay, Nicolas Ponce and Charles Etienne Gaucher after Jean Michel Moreau the Younger and Clément Pierre Marillier; text engraved by Droüet. Title-page: PYGMALION, | SCENE LYRIQUE | DE MR. J. J. ROUSSEAU, | Mise en Vers | par MR. Berquin. | Le Text Gravé par Droüet | PARIS | 1775. || (on a column under two kissing doves and sculptor’s tools). Faux t.p.: IDYLLE | Par MR. Berquin. | — | Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum ; | dico ego opera mea regi. | Psalm. 44. | — || (in rules). Catalogue raisonné: Cohen-DeRicci 141 ; Lewine 55. Ref.: MFA (Boston); MET (NY); Yale University Library. Contributors: Artists: Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune (French, 1741–1814) Clément Pierre Marillier (French, 1740–1808) Engravers: Nicolas Delaunay (French, 1739–1792) Charles-Étienne Gaucher (French, 1741–1804) Nicholas Ponce (French, 1746–1831) Droüet (French, 18th century) Authors: Arnaud Berquin (French, 1747–1791) Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French, 1712–1778)
  • Phaedri, Aug. Liberti Fabularum Aesopiarum libri V / notis illustravit in usum serenissimi principis Nassavii David Hoogstratanus. Accedunt ejusdem opera duo indices, quorum prior est omnium verborum, multo quam antehac locupletior, posterior eorum, quae observatu digna in notis occurunt. — Amstelaedami : Ex Typographia Francisci Halmae, MDCCI [1701]. — pp.: [1] title, [1] (portr.), [32] 160, [84], 18 leaves of plates. Vita Phaedri is written by Johannes Schefferus (February 2, 1621 – March 26, 1679). Appendix fabularum is written by Marquard Gude (Gudius) (1 February 1635 – 26 November 1689). Gaius Julius Phaedrus was a 1st-century CE Roman fabulist and the first versifier of a collection of Aesop's fables into Latin. David van Hoogstraten (Rotterdam, March 14, 1658 - Amsterdam, November 21, 1724), a physician, poet and linguist, annotated the fables and dedicated them to Johan Willem Friso van Oranje-Nassau (14 August 1687 – 14 July 1711). The book was published in Amsterdam by François Halma (Langerak, January 3, 1653 - Leeuwarden, January 13, 1722), a Dutch printer, publisher and bookseller, with a portrait of Prince of Orange-Nassau, engraved by Pieter van Gunst (Dutch, Amsterdam 1659–1724) after Bernard Vaillant (Dutch, Lille 1632–1698 Leyden). The title page was engraved by P. Boutats after Jan Goeree (Dutch, Middelburg 1670–1731 Amsterdam). The edition is adorned throughout with 18 plates, each with 8 médaillons, designed and engraved by Jan van Vianen (Dutch, 1660–1726), and with vignettes, head- and tailpieces, inhabited initials, etc. Contemporary vellum over boards, title in red and back, red edges, 4to, 26 x 20 cm. Seller's description:
    4to, engraved general title, letterpress red & black title page with allegorical engraved vignette. 18 full-page copper-engraved plates by Jan van Vianen, each featuring six circular images, and 38 in-text reproductions, engraved decorative initials, and head- and tailpieces. Phaedrus (15 BC - 50 AD, Italy), was a "Roman fabulist, the first writer to Latinize whole books of fables, producing free versions in the iambic metre of Greek prose fables then circulating under the name of Aesop." (Ency. Brit.). This deluxe edition was specially created for the Prince of Nassau, profusely illustrated with fine engravings. Dibdin spoke highly of it in his Greek and Latin Classics (4th edition): "I have always considered this as a correct and very sumptuous edition. It is ornamented with a great number of small plates, or medallions, in which the subject of the fable is very ably and spiritedly executed.
    Ref.: Metropolitan Museum; Musée Médard      
  • Erasmus. The praise of folly / Translated by White Kennett. — London: Stephen Austen, 1726. Title page in black and red: MORIÆ ENCOMIUM: | OR, THE | PRAISE | OF | FOLLY. |—| Written in Latin by | ERASMUS. |—| Translated into English by | WHITE KENNETT, | Lord Bishop of Peterborough; | With a PREFACE by his Lordship. |—| Adorn’d with | A great Number of COPPER PLATES | neatly engraven: To which is added, the Effigies of | ERASMUS, and Sir THOMAS MORE, from | theDesigns of the celebrated HANS HOLBEINE. |—| (in gothic letters) The Fourth Edition. |—| LONDON: | Printed for Stephen Austen, at the Angel in | St. Pauls’ Church-yard. 1726. || Pagination: modern endpapers and flyleaves, [2] – blank / frontis. (engraved portrait of Erasmus, [2] – t.p. in black and red with George Cruikshank’s signature in the bottom, dated 1876 / blank, [14] – to the reader, i-xiv – commendatory verses, [2] – John Wilford advert., folding portrait of Thomas More, i-v, [vi] - epistle, 1-168 – panegyrick, [4] – index.; 46 copper-engraved illustrations after Hans Holbein the Younger; pp. 17-20 detached. Collation: 12mo; π2 A6, a-b6, B-P6 Q2 (B3 unsigned), 13 in-text engravings + 26 plates + 7 folding plates; total 106 leaves and 33 plates, extraneous to collation. Edition: 4th, thus. Binding: 16.5 x 10.5 cm; rebacked with a modern spine, modern endpapers and flyleaves, contemporary boards sprinkled and tooled in a style of Cambridge panel. Provenance: Cruikshank, George (British, 1792 – 1878) [1876]; Stephen Whitehead (Oakland, CA) [2021]. Catalogue raisonné: J. Lewine (1898) p. 171 — 1st edition thus of 1709, in-8vo, with portrait and 46 plates after Holbein. Contributors: Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (Dutch, c. 1469 – 1536) – author of the original text in Latin.

    White Kennett (British, 1660 – 1728) – translator from Latin into English.

    Hans Holbein the Younger (German, 1497/8 – 1543) – artist.

    Stephen Austen (fl. c. 1727 – 1746) – publisher. Linked items: Engraved portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam in an octagonal frame, 1757 by Flipart after Holbein.

    Эразм Роттердамский. Похвальное слово глупости. — М.-Л.: Academia, 1932.

  • Title: A GENERAL | HISTORY | OF | QUADRUPEDS. | – | THE FIGURES ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY THOMAS BEWICK. | {vignette} | — | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE : | PRINTED BY AND FOR S. HODGSON, R. BEILBY, & T. BEWICK, | NEWCASTLE: SOLD BY THEM, BY G. G. J. & | J. ROBINSON, AND C. DILLY, LONDON. | 1790. Pagination: [4 blanks], [i, ii] – t.p. / blank, [iii, iv] – advertisement / index, v-viii – index, [1] 2-456 [4 blanks]. Collation: demi 8vo; a⁴ A-Ee⁸ Ff⁴. A3 unsigned, catchword at p.375 THE instead of WE. Variant A (with a fly facing upward). Size: 21.8 x 14 cm; page 21.2 x 13 cm. Woodcuts: 260 descriptions of quadrupeds; 200 figures of quadrupeds, 104 vignettes, tailpieces, etc. Binding: Full marbled calf, gilt double border, black label with gilt lettering to flat spine. There were 1,500 copies Demy copies printed. Catalogue raisonné: S. Roscoe (1953): pp. 5-11; Hugo (1866): pp. 22-23.
  • Two volumes, 16.6 x 11.4 cm each, uniformly bound in sprinkled calf, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, with crimson and black gilt lettered labels. Ink inscription to title page of vol. 1: “Thomas Fry. St: John's, Oxford.” Vol. 1: Collation: 4to; π22 a4 b3 A-Z4 2A-2E4 2F1, (total 124 leaves), plus frontispiece, 29 in-text vignettes. Pagination: [2] – h.t., [2] – t.p., [4] – preface, [i] ii-xiv – Vie de La Fontaine, [1] 2-224, [2] – table, (total 248 pages), ils. Vol. 2: Collation: 4to; π23 A-Z4 2A-2K4 2L3, (total 140 leavs), 40 in-text vignettes. Pagination: [2] – h.t., [2] – t.p., [6] – preface, [1] 2-268, [2] – table, (total 280 pages), ils. Illustrations: frontispiece by Lebas (signature erased), Vie de La Fontaine headpiece by Fessard after Cochin, 2 fleurons on two title pages, 69 vignettes by Chedel, Fessard, and Ravenet after Cochin (not signed). Catalogue raisonné: Lewine: 278; Cohen-deRicci: 557-8. Contributors: Charles-Nicolas Cochin (French, 1715 – 1790) – artist. Engravers: Pierre Quentin Chedel (French, 1705 – 1763). Étienne Fessard (French, 1714 – 1774). Simon François Ravenet (French, 1706 – 1764). Jacques-Philippe Le Bas [Lebas] (French, 1707 – 1783). Provenance: Thomas Fry (British, 1718 – 1772) – English priest and academic, president of St John's College, Oxford from 1757.
  • A two-volume set. Vol. 1:

    Title: LA | GERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI | TORQUATO TASSO | Tomo Primo | {vignette} | IN PARIGI | M.DCC.LXXI | Appreßo { Agostino Delalain. | Pietro Durand. | Gio: Claudio Molini. | Droüet ∫crip.

    Pagination: ffl [1] 2-331 [332] bfl; illustrations after Gravelot: frontis. by Henriquez, t.p. vignette by Patas, engraved dedication by Le Roy, 10 head- and 7 tailpieces by Le Roy, 5 full-page vignettes by Le Roy, and 10 plates by: Baquoy, Duclos (3), Le Roy, Lingée, Née, Rousseau, and Simonet (2).

    Collation: 8vo; A-V8 X6.

    Vol. 2:  Title: LA | GERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI | TORQUATO TASSO | Tomo Secondo | {vignette} | IN PARIGI | M.DCC.LXXI | Appreßo { Agostino Delalain. | Pietro Durand. | Gio: Claudio Molini. | Droüet ∫crip. Pagination: ffl [1] 2-340 bfl; illustrations after Gravelot: frontis. by Henriquez, t.p. vignette by Mesnil, 10 head- and 6 tailpieces by Le Roy, 4 full-page vignettes by Le Roy, tailpiece by Ponce, and 10 plates by: Duclos, Henriquez, Leveau, Lingée, Massard, Née, Patas, Ponce, Rousseau, and Simonet. Collation: 8vo; A-X8 Y2. Size: 21.5 x 14.5 cm. Size of the copy sold at Sotheby's in 2015: 23.3 x 14.0 cm; Christie's in 2008: 23.2 x 14.4 cm Page size: 21 x 13.5 cm. In referenced sources, the page size is bigger than that. N. Ray gives 11 ½  x 8 7  inches or 9 x 5½ inches. Cohen and De Ricci do not bother to give sizes, considering that octavo is octavo. MFA: 30.3 x 23.1 x 4 cm (11 15/16 x 9 1/8 x 1 9/16 in.) Binding: Two volumes uniformly bound in full marbled calf, ruled in gilt, flat spine with gilt decorations and monogram, cream lettered label. Geoffrey Lord Cross of Chelsea [Geoffrey Cross, Baron Cross of Chelsea] (British, 1904 – 1989) bookplate to front pastedown. Catalogue raisonné: N. Ray №22, p. 48; Cohen De Ricci 974-975 According to MFA printing by: François-Augustin Quillau (French, 1743–1804). This edition was illustrated by Hubert François Gravelot (French, 1699–1773) and engraved by the following engravers: Jean Charles Baquoy (French, 1721–1777) Antoine Jean Duclos (French, 1742–1795) Benoît Louis Henriquez (French, 1732–1806) Jean Jacques André Le Veau (French, 1729–1785) Charles Louis Lingée (French, 1748–1819) Jacques Le Roy (French, born in 1739) Jean Massard (1740–1822) Elie du Mesnil (French, born about 1728) François Denis Née (French, 1735–1818) Charles Emmanuel Jean Baptiste Patas (French, 1744–1802) Nicholas Ponce (French, 1746–1831) Jean François Rousseau (French, born in 1740) Jean Baptiste Simonet (French, 1742–1813) Droüet (French, 18th century)
  • One volume, collated 8vo, 19.5 x 13 cm, later bound in brown full morocco by Pouillet, gilt-bordered covers, raised bands to spine, gilt in compartments, gilt-lettered, double-fillet on cover edges, gilt dentelle inside, signed, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Title-page: ŒUVRES | PHILOSOPHIQUES | DE MR. D ***. | — | LES BIJOUX INDISCRETS | — | TOME CINQUIEME | {vignette} | A AMSTERDAM, | Chez Marc-Michel Rey. | — | M. DCC. LXXII. || Pagination: [8] [1] 2-389 [390], total 398 pages, frontis., vignette, plates. Collation: 3 blank leaves at front and rear, π2 a2 A-Aa8 Bb3, total 199 leaves plus 7 unsigned engraved plates incl. frontispiece, and engraved vignette to t.p. Catalogue raisonné: Cohen-DeRicci 303; Lewine 145-6: …with the plates which have been copied and reduced in the undated Cazin edition (1771 and 1785). Contributors: Marc-Michel Rey (Dutch, 1720 – 1780) – publisher. Denis Diderot (French, 1713 – 1784) – author.
  • Amoris Divini Emblemata, Studio Et Aere Othonis Vaeni Concinata. — Antverpiae: Ex Officina Plantiniana Balthasaris Moreti, MDCLX [1660]. — pp.: [1] (Van Veen port.), [1] title, [2] (Isabella port.), 3-127 [1], 60 illustr. — 2nd impression. Octavius Vaenius, a.k.a. Otto Vaenius or Otto Van Veen (c. 1556-1629) was Rubens's last and most influential teacher. The Amoris divini emblemata was first published in 1615 by Nutius & Meursius in Antwerp. Vaenius’s book was to influence Herman Hugo's Pia desideria (LIB-1657.2018). Book structure: On frontispiece, trimmed and mounted portrait of Octavius Vaenius painted by his daughter Gertruida van Veen (signed Gertrudis filia) and engraved by Nicolas de Larmessin. Trimmed portrait of the Infanta Isabella Clara of Austria (1566 – 1633) pained by Peter Paul Rubens and engraved by Jan de Leeuw mounted to title verso.  60 engraved plates with emblems are on recto pages with facing texts: Latin quotations from Bible and Fathers, Spanish verses by Alphonso de Ledesma, Dutch by Vaenius and French by Carolus Philippus Hattron (d. 1632). Rebound in the mid-19th century in brown quarter Morocco with blind marbled boards and gilt lettering to spine. Inscription in ink on verso to van Veen portrait: "I bought this volume with the portraits inserted at the sale of the library of my uncle Samuel Rogers, Esq." Signed: "Frederick Sharpe, 1856". Frederick Sharpe (born was a son of Samuel Sharpe (1799–1881), the nephew of Samuel Rogers (1763–1855), a celebrated English poet. Size: 23.3 x 17.9 cm. Ref.: Emblem Project Utrecht (with an explanation of all the emblems); PETER BOOTHUYGENS: Similar or Dissimilar Loves?    
  • Five volumes, uniformly bound in marbled three-colour stained polished calf, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, crimson label with gilt lettering “CONTES DE BOCCACE”, cream label with volume number, marbled endpapers and all edges; bookplate pasted to first blank flyleaf “BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE LAJUDIE” depicting a coat of arms over an anchor, anchors and tulips scattered in the upper section, globe in the lower section, in a frame. Size: 21 x 14 cm. Translated by Antoine Le Maçon (French, 1500? – 1559). Vol. 1: [4] two blank leaves, portrait by Louis Lempereur after Hubert Gravelot, engraved t.p.: LE | DECAMERON | DE JEAN | BOCCACE. | TOME I. | Londres | 1757. | H. Gravelot Inv. […] T.P. N 21 […] J. Aliamet Sculp. ||, engraved frontispiece to Vie de Jean Bocace by Lempereur after Gravelot; Pagination: [i] ii-viii (Vie de Jean Bocace with head- and tail-pieces); [1] 2-320 [2] one blank leaf. Collation: 8vo; a4 A-V8, 164 leaves + 6 blanks + 24 plates (incl. portrait, frontis., and t.p.) extraneous to collation, 1 headpiece and 18 tailpieces. Vol. 2: [4] two blank leaves, engraved t.p.: LE | DECAMERON | DE JEAN | BOCCACE. | TOME II. | Londres 1757 | H. Gravelot inv. […] T.II. N.1. […] N. LeMire Sculp .||; Pagination: [1] 2-292 [2] one blank leaf. Collation: 8vo; A-S8 T2, 146 leaves + 3 blanks + 23 plates (incl. t.p.) extraneous to collation, and 18 tailpieces. Vol. 3: [4] two blank leaves, engraved t.p.: LE | DECAMERON | DE JEAN | BOCCACE. | TOME III. | Londres 1757 | Gravelot inv. […] T.III. N.1. […] Aillamet Sc. ||; Pagination: [1] 2-203 [204] [2] one blank leaf. Collation: 8vo; A-M8 N6, 102 leaves + 3 blanks + 23 plates (incl. t.p.) extraneous to collation, and 18 tailpieces. Vol. 4: [4] two blank leaves, engraved t.p.: LE | DECAMERON | DE JEAN | BOCCACE. | TOME IV. | Lond 1761 | Gravelot invenit […] T.IV. №.I. […] Alliamet Sculpsit. ||; Pagination: [1] 2-280 [2] one blank leaf. Collation: 8vo; A-R8 S4, 140 leaves + 3 blanks + 23 plates (incl. t.p.) extraneous to collation, and 20 tailpieces. Vol. 5: [4] two blank leaves, engraved t.p.: LE | DECAMERON | DE JEAN | BOCCACE. | TOME V. | Londres 1761 | Gravelot, inv. […] T.V. N.1. […] Aillamet Sc. ||; Pagination: [1] 2 [3] 4-269 [270] [2] one blank leaf. Collation: 8vo; A-Q8 R7, 135 leaves + 3 blanks + 23 plates (incl. t.p.) extraneous to collation, and 22 tailpieces. Total plates: 24+23+23+23+23=112; total vignettes: 19+ 18 + 18 +20 + 22 = 94; total etchings and engravings: 213. Ref: MFA ACCESSION NUMBER 37.1371a-e; Cohen-de Ricci 160; Ray, French Illustrated Book, 15 / p. 39-41; Metropolitan Museum, NY (Accession Number: 17.3.2641). Contributors: Authors: Giovanni Boccaccio (Italian, 1313–1375);  Filippo Villani [Philippe-Matthieu Villani] (Italian, 1325 – 1407)Illustrated by: Hubert François Gravelot (French, 1699–1773). Artists: Charles Eisen (French, 1720–1778); François Boucher (French, 1703–1770); Charles-Nicolas Cochin le fils (French, 1715–1790), Jacques Aliamet (French, 1726–1788) Engravers: Jean Charles Baquoy (French, 1721–1777); Jean Jacques Flipart (French, 1719–1782); Louis Legrand (French, 1723–1807); Noël Le Mire (French, 1724–1801); Louis Simon Lempereur (French, 1725–1796); Catherine Elisabeth (Cousinet) Lempereur (French, born in 1726); Jean-Jacques André Le Veau (French, 1729–1786); Pierre Etienne Moitte (French, 1722–1780); Jean Ouvrier (French, 1725–1784); Jean Jacques Pasquier (French, died in 1785); Pierre (Pitre) Martenasie (Flemish, worked in France, died in 1770?); Augustin de Saint-Aubin (French, 1736–1807); Dominique Sornique (French, 1708 – 1756); Jacques Nicolas Tardieu (French, 1716–1791). Publisher: Prault (French, 18th century) Note: MFA copy has a slightly different collation: [v. 1] 152 leaves, plus plates; [v. 2] 136 ll., plus pls.; [v. 3] 98 ll., plus pls.; [v. 4] 131 ll., plus pls.; [v. 5] 124 ll., plus pls. This is their description: "First edition with these illustrations; a French translation (Cohen-de Ricci 160) appeared slightly later. Gravelot designed 89 of the 111 plates, and all 97 of the tailpieces, his largest single commission. Some 115 of his preliminary sketches by this series are in the Rosenwald Collection, Library of Congress; 131 of the final engraver's models are in the Widener Collection at the National Gallery of Art; and two other finished drawings are in the Ray Collection, Pierpont Morgan Library. Ten plates were designed by Eisen, and Cochin and Boucher had six each. As some plates in the later volumes are dated as late as 1761, the actual issuing of the volumes apparently extended to that date."
  • Vol. 1 title: OVID'S | METAMORPHOSES | IN LATIN AND ENGLISH, | TRANSLATED BY | THE MOST EMINENT HANDS. | With HISTORICAL EXPLICATIONS | Of the FABLES, | WRITTEN IN FRENCH BY | The ABBOT BANIER, | MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF INSCRIPTIONS | AND BELLES LETTRES. | TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH. | Adorned with Sculptures, by B. Picart, and other able Masters. | VOLUME THE FIRST. | [Device] | AMSTERDAM, | Printed for the WETSTEINS and SMITH. | MD CC XXII || — Pagination: [26 – Half-title, frontis., t.p., dedic., The Bookseller's Preface To This Edition, Mr. Banier's Preface To The French Translation, Contents], [1] 2-247 – Text of books 1-7, with illus., [1 blank]. Vol. 2 half-title: OVID'S | METAMORPHOSES | IN LATIN AND ENGLISH | TWO VOLUMES || — Pagination: [2 – half-title / blank], 249-524 – Text of books 8-15, with illus., incl. 3 leaves of pl., [4 – Index]. Three leaves between pages 264 and 271 are included in the pagination as pp. [265-70] but do not carry page-numbers or letterpress text. They each carry two prints on their rectos and are blank on the verso. Vol. II without the engraved title page. The names of the translators are given in the list of Contents as Dryden, Addison, Eusden, Arthur Mainwaring, Croxall, Tate, Stonestreet, Vernon, Gay, Pope, Stephen Harvey, Congreve, Ozel, Temple Stanyan, , Catcot, Rowe, Samuel Garth, Welsted. The frontispiece is signed as made by B. Picart. The six plates on pages [265, 267, 269] are all signed as painted by C. Le Brun and engraved by Iakob Folkema. Of the 124 illustrations, most are unsigned by a draughtsman, but some are signed as designed by G. Maas, one as designed by Jul. Romain, two as designed by G. Maas and drawn by J. de Wit, one as drawn by 'HA', one as painted by C. le Brun, one as made by B. Picart, one as designed by P. Testa and drawn by B. Picart, one as designed by S. Le Clerc, one as designed by B. Picart. Many are signed by their engravers - Philip à Gunst (one as directed by B. Picart and engraved by Phil. à Gunst), J. Vandelaar (or I. Wandelaar), Martin Bouche, Jan Schenck, 'MB', Petr. Paul. Bouche, Iakob Folkema, W. Jongman, Fred. Bouttats. The title-page vignette of Volume I is signed as drawn by B. v. Overbeke and engraved by F. Mulder. Many tailpieces are signed 'VLS'. The book is dedicated by the publishers, R. and J. Wetstein and W. Smith, to the Countess of Pembroke. [Description is cited from the Royal Academy of Arts] Physical description: Two large 4to volumes, first title page printed in red and black, added engraved title in the first volume; half-title in the second volume; illustrated throughout with copperplate engravings in text; text printed in parallel columns in Latin and English; three leaves extraneous to collation each with two engravings in the second volume; bookplate pasted to the front endpaper in each volume: Ex Libris Theodore C. Tebbetts (Theodore Charles Tebbetts, American, 1871 – 1920) designed after Francis Carruthers Gould (British, 1844 – 1925); pages 517-520 of the second volume torn with loss of bottom blank corners and a word or two; original full leather, spines tooled elaborately in gilt; some boards detached, endcaps and corners rather worn, contents bright and fresh. Size: Large 4to; 47.5 x 31 cm.
  • Three volumes, 8vo, 20.5 x 13.5 cm each, uniformly bound in crimson morocco, ruled in triple-fillet gilt, flat spine, triple-fillet gilt-ruled compartments with gilt elements in compartments, two black labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, multiple woodcut tailpieces. Armorial bookplate of Henricus Liber Baro de Gudenus to front pastedowns in all volumes: “HENRICVS LIBER BARO | DE GVDENVS | 1891 | Jauner”. Title-page: ROMANS | ET | CONTES | DE | M. DE VOLTAIRE | {chain rule} | TOME PREMIER (SECOND; TROISIEME). | {chain rule} | {publisher’s device with motto: “nuper sub modio nunc super”} | A BOUILLON, | AUX DEPENS DE LA SOCIETE TYPOGRAPHIQUE. | {floral rule} | M. DCC. LXXVIII. || Vol. 1: Collation: π2 (h.t., t.p.) a1 (table), A-T8, (Aiv unsigned), total 155 leaves plus 16 leaves of plates, incl. frontispiece, and two blanks – first and last, extraneous to collation. Frontispiece by Cathelin after de La Tour, unsigned t.p. vignette (device), 5 unsigned headpieces, and 15 plates after Monnet by Chatelin, Dambrun (5) Deny (6), Thiébault (2), and Vidal. Pagination: [i-v] vi [1-3] 4-304, total 310 pages, ils. Vol. 2: Collation: π2 (h.t., t.p.) a2 (table), A-V8, total 164 leaves plus 20 leaves of plates, incl. frontispiece, extraneous to collation, no blanks. Frontispiece by Dambrun after Monnet, unsigned t.p. vignette (device), 3 headpieces by Deny after Monnet, 2 unsigned headpieces, 19 plates: after Martiny by Deny; after Monnet by Baquoy, Dambrun (3), Deny (9), and Vidal (4); and after Moreau by Deny. Pagination: [i-v] vi-viii [1-3] 4-320, total 328 pages, ils. Vol.3: π2 (h.t., t.p.) a1 (table), A-O8 P6 a-f8 g1 h ('avis au relieur'), total 172 leaves plus 21 leaves of plates, incl. frontispiece, extraneous to collation, no blanks. Frontispiece by Dambrun after Monnet, unsigned t.p. vignette (device), indistinctly signed headpiece to “Jenni” after Monnet (probably Thiébault), 2 unsigned headpieces, 20 plates: after Marillier by Deny (4), Lorieux (2), Patas, and Vidal. Pagination: [i-v] vi [1-3] 4-236, [1-2] 3-102, total 328 pages, ils. Provenance: Heinrich von Gudenus [Heinrich Johann Baptist Ghislain von Gudenus] (Austrian, 1839 – 1915); ref.: Bibliotheca Ecclesiae Metropolitanae Strigoniensis. Catalogue raisonné: Ray (French): № 35, pp. 71-2; Cohen - de Ricci: 1038-9; Lewine: 562-3. Contributors: François Marie Arouet de Voltaire (French, 1694 – 1778) – author. Artists: Clément Pierre Marillier (French, 1740 – 1808) Maurice Quentin de La Tour (French, 1704 – 1788) Charles Monnet [Monet] (French, 1732 – 1819) Pietro Antonio Martini (Italian, 1738 – 1797) Jean-Michel Moreau [Moreau le Jeune] (French, 1741 – 1814) Engravers: Jean Charles Baquoy (French, 1721–1777) Louis-Jacques Cathelin (French, 1738 – 1804) John Baptist Chatelain (British, 1710 – 1758) Jean Dambrun (French, 1741 – 1808/14) Jeanne Deny (French, 1749 – c. 1815) Martial Deny (French, b. 1745) F. B. Lorieux (French, fl. 1786 – 1810) Charles Emmanuel Patas (French, 1744 – 1802) Elisabeth Thiébault (French, 18th century) Gérard Vidal (French, 1742 – 1801)
  • THE | ADVENTURES | OF | TELEMACHUS, | THE SON OF ULYSSES. | Translated from the French of | Messire François Salignac de la Mothe–Fenelon, | Archbishop of Cambray. | BY | JOHN HAWKESWORTH, L. L. D. | — | LONDON: | Printed for the AUTHOR, by W. and W. Strahan, | M DCC LXVIII. || Binding: half polished brown calf over marbled boards, wave ruled blind, gilt fillet ruled compartments, black label with gilt lettering to spine; 29.5 x 24.5 cm; marbled endpapers. Pagination: 2 blank leaves (wove paper), [I, ii] – t.p. / blank, [iii] iv – dedication, [v] vi-xv – subscribers, [xvi] blank, [xvii] xviii-xix – preface, [xx] xxi-xxxv – contents, [xxxvi] – errata, subscribers omitted, [1] 2-462, printed on laid paper, 2 blank leaves (wove paper). Collation: 4to; A4, a-c4 d2, B-Z4 Aa-Zz4 Aaa-Mmm4 Nnn3; 24 head- and 24 tailpieces engraved by Charles Grignion the Elder (British, 1721 – 1810) after Samuel Waly (British, 1720 – 1786). Original: François Fénelon. Les Aventures de Télémaque, fils d’Ulysse. See № LIB-2522-2020 in this collection. Not in Lewine, 1898; Not in Cohen De Ricci, 1912.    
  • Two 8vo volumes bound in one, 19 x 12.5 cm, in full mottled sheepskin with gilt-bordered boards, gilt decorated flat spine with gilt-lettered red and black calf labels, rebacked, marbled endpapers and edges, printed on wove paper, plates on thicker laid paper. Title-page: FABLES | MISES EN VERS | PAR J. DE LA FONTAINE. | TOME PREMIER (SECOND). | {medallion portrait} (printer’s device “PC”) | A PARIS, | CHEZ ANT. AUG. RENOUARD. | M. DCC. XCV. || Collation: Vol. 1: π2 (h.t./imprint, t.p. medallion portrait/blank), [1]-38 (Notice sur la vie…), 1-58 64 (Vie de la Fontaine, Épitre, Préface, Vie d’Ésope), [7]-148 156 χ3 (table); pagination [4] [i] ii-xlviii, [1] 2-234. Total 143 leaves (286 pages) plus 6 plates after Moreau le Jeune by Devilliers fratres (p. 112), E. De Ghendt (pp. 122 and 181), Jean Louis Delignon (p. 140), Delvaux (p. 197), and Ph. Trière (p. 219). Title medallion portrait of La Fontaine (G Rigault pinx. – C S Gaucher inc.) by Gaucher after Rigaud. Vol. 2: π2 1-158 164; pagination [4] [1] 2-247 [248 blank]. Total 126 leaves (252 pages) plus 6 plates after Moreau le Jeune by Devilliers fratres (p. 19), Villerey (pp. 37, 80, and 146), Bosq (p. 121), and Ph. Trière (p. 199). The book published in 1795 (An 3) supplemented with plates produced in 1811 and 1812 for Œuvres complèttes (sic) de Jean de la Fontaine published by Lefèvre in 1814. The reason for choosing this particular edition for someone's library shortly after 1814 was probably the absence of censorship in 1795. Catalogue raisonné: (1) Lewine [LIB-2538.2020] on p. 276 (Paris, chez Renouard, 1795, 2 vols., 8vo., medal portrait on first title, and 12 plates after Moreau by Delvaux, Bosq, Ghendt, Trière, and Villerey). (2) M.-J.-F. Mahérault. L' oeuvre de Moreau le Jeune : catalogue raisonné et descriptif avec notes iconographiques et bibliographiques. — Paris: A. Labitte, 1880. Contributors: Jean de La Fontaine (French, 1621–1695) – author. Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune (French, 1741–1814) – artist. Hyacinthe Rigaud (French, 1659 – 1743) – artist. Antoine-Augustin Renouard (French, 1765 – 1853) – publisher. Pierre Causse (French, 1761 – 1834) – printer. Engravers: Charles Étienne Gaucher (French, 1741 – 1804) Etienne De Villiers [Devilliers, Devilliers fratres] (French, 1784 – after 1844) Emmanuel Jean Nepomucène de Ghendt (Flemish, worked in France, 1738 – 1815) Jean-Louis Delignon (French, 1755 – 1820) Rémi Henri Joseph Delvaux (French, 1748 – 1823) Philippe Trière (French, 1756 – c. 1815) Auguste Villerey (French, 1801 – 1846) Jean Bosq (French, fl. c. 1801 – 1844)
  • Конволют из 3-х номеров журнала "Иртыш, превращающийся в Ипокрену". Ежемесячное сочинение издаваемое от Тобольского Главного Народного Училища. — В типографии у В. Корнильева. — Тобольск: Тобольское главное народное училище, 1791 г. — 60, 62, 54 с. (Дореформ. орф.). July (Июль) 1791. — pp.: Missing title, table of content unpag., verso blank, [1] 2-60. June (Июнь) 1791. — pp.: Title with censor stat. on verso, table of content unpag., verso blank, [1] 2-62. August (Август) 1791. — pp.: Title, table of content unpag., verso blank, [1] 2-54. Bound in this order. "The Irtysh river turning into Hippocrene" was the first monthly magazine in Russian Siberia published in 1789 — 1791 in Tobolsk. It was featuring journalism, commentary, poetry, the fiction of provincial and metropolitan authors, as well as translations of various articles from foreign journals. It was published by Department of Tobolsk Public Education and printed in the establishment of Kornil'ev (Корнильев), a local merchant.  The idea of publication belonged to Pankraty Sumarokov (1765 — 1814), a grandnephew of Alexander Sumarokov, distinguished Russian humanist and homme de lettres of Catherine the Great epoch. Pankraty was also the chief editor of the publication. Initially, the print run was 300 copies; reduced in 1791 to 106 copies only.  
  • Two volumes uniformly bound by Riviere & Son in full red marbled calf, triple fillet border stamped in gilt, elaborate gilt ornament and brown morocco labels with gilt lettering to spine, all edge gilt, gilt dentelles. Vol. 1: Title page: THE | LIFE AND EXPLOITS | Of the ingenious gentleman | DON QUIXOTE | DE LA MANCHA. | Translated from the Original Spanish of | Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra. | By CHARLES JARVIS, Esq; | IN TWO VOLUMES. | {single rule} | VOLUME the FIRST. | {double rule} | LONDON: | Printed for J. and R. Tonson in the Strand, and | R. Dodsley in Pall-Mall. | {single rule} | M DCC XLII || Pagination: [i-iii] iv-xxxii, [i-iii] iv-vi, [2], [1] 2-90, [14], [1] 2-355 [356]; 500 pages total + ils. Collation: 4to; 250 leaves; A4 a-b4 c-d2, A4, a-l4 m2 n4 o2, B-Z4, Aa-Yy4 Z2, ils. Illustrations: 27 full-page copperplate engravings, incl. frontispiece (skillfully repaired), portrait of Cervantes by George Vertue After G. Kent and a fictional portrait of Don Quixote by George Vertue after John Vanderbank. Vol. 2: Title page: THE | LIFE AND EXPLOITS | Of the ingenious gentleman | DON QUIXOTE | DE LA MANCHA. | Translated from the Original Spanish of | Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra. | By CHARLES JARVIS, Esq; | {single rule} | VOLUME the SECOND. | {double rule} | LONDON: | Printed for J. and R. Tonson in the Strand, and | R. Dodsley in Pall-Mall. | {single rule} | M DCC XLII || Pagination: [i-iii] iv-xii, [1] 2-388; 400 pages total + ils. Collation: 4to; 200 leaves; A4 a2 B-Z4 Aa-Zz4 Aaa-Ccc4 Ddd2, ils. Illustrations:41 full-page copperplate engravings, pl. 29 (as frontispieces) precedes pl. 28. Contributors: Author: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spanish, 1547 – 1616) Translator: Charles Jervas (British, 1675 – 1739) Author: Cervantes biography by Gregorio Mayans y Siscar (Spanish, 1699 – 1781) Translator: Cervantes biography by John Ozell (British, d. 1743) Illustrator: John Vanderbank, the younger (British, 1694 – 1739) Artist: (Cervantes portrait): G. Kent (British, fl. 1738 – 1742) Engravers: Gerard Vandergucht (British, 1696 – 1776); George Vertue (British, 1684 – 1756); Bernard Baron (French, 1696 – 1762); Claude Du Bosc (French, 1682 – 1746 or later) Publishers: J. and R. Tonson (London); Robert Dodsley (British, 1703 – 1764) Catalogue raisonné: Lewine p. 102 Reference: Metropolitan Museum (New York)
  • Title: FABLES | DE | M. DE FLORIAN , | de l’académie françoise, de celles de Madrid , | Florence, etc. | — | Je tâche d'y tourner le vice ridicule , | Ne pouvant l'attaquer avec des bras d'Hercule. | La Font. Fables , liv. V , I. — | [publisher's device ] | A PARIS, | DE L'IMPRIMERIE DE P. DIDOT L'AINÉ, | 1792. Pagination: ffl, [2 - h.t. / Imp.] [2 - blank / frontis.] [2 - tp. / blank] [5] 6-224 [2 - advert. / blank], bfl. Collation: numbered 1(5), 2-18(6), 19(3); engarved frontispiece portrait of Florian after François Hüet-Villiers, 5 engraved plates by Longueil, Delignon, and Gaucher after Flouest. Binding: Contemporary full mottled calf, all margins red, gilt floral ornaments to flat spine, red label with gilt lettering. Catalogue raisonné: Cohen, de Ricci 1912: p. 398-9.