Hardcover, 188 x 118 mm, brown half-morocco over burgundy faux-chagrin, spine with raised bands and burgundy label with gilt lettering, gilt fleurons in compartments, floral diaper endpapers, collated 8vo:ffl, π2 1-138, ffl, pp. [4] 1-207 [208], plus frontispiece portrait and 8 unnumbered leaves of plates, etchings, one of them hand-coloured; limitation to half-title verso: “Tirage a 300 exemplaires”. The title page is loose. Each gathering has 4 ‘tall’ pages (1, 2, 7, 8 – 181 mm) and 4 ‘short’ (3, 4, 5, 6 – 165 mm). Two parts are in one vol., signed and paged continuously; the second part has its own half-title and title pages. “Fin de première partie” at p. 107 (76), part 2 h.t. at 77, part 2 t.p. similar to the main t.p. but in black only at 78.
The portrait of Étienne de Jouy was possibly engraved by Charles Monselet (French, 1825 – 1888) after Julien-Léopold Boilly (French, 1796 – 1874).
Title-page (red and black): LA GALERIE | DES | FEMMES | COLLECTION INCOMPLÈTE DE HUIT TABLEAUX | RECUEILLIS PAR UN AMATEUR | L’amour est le roman du cœur | Et le plaisir en est l’histoire. | BEAUMARCHAIS. Folle journ. | — | A HAMBOURG | – | 1799
Compare to Dutel: 8 plates instead of 9; no two-page text “Nous espérions joinder à ce livre une notice…” before Deux mots de préface, the word FIN on p. 207 instead of 203, no table of contents at the end; no imprint Bruxelles. — Imp. de J. H. Briard, rue des Minimes, 51, on the same page as Table, signed 15.
Dutel: № A-456, p.148:
- In-8 (18,4 x 11) de (2 ff.), II, 203 pp., 1 ff. de table, couv. jaune imp. en rouge.
- Édition publiée à Bruxelles en 1869 par J.-P. Blanche. Elle est ornée de 9 gravures et d’un facsimilé de l’écriture de Monselet, qui n’est pour rien dans ce volume.
In fine, mention de l’imprimeur Briard.
- Tirage : 300 exemplaires.
Pia № 511/2, p.278: pagination 208 as per our copy.
Contributors:
Étienne de Jouy (French, 1764 – 1846) – author
Auguste Brancart (Belgian, 1851 – after 1909) – publisher