//Illustrated books
  • Single volume, 19.2 x 14.2 cm, bound in ¾ dark blue morocco over peacock marbled boards, gilt double-fillet border, spine with gilded raised bands, gilt fleurons and lettering, marbled endpapers, top margin gilt, outer margin uncut; text printed on watermarked laid paper; frontispiece by Félicien Rops, plates by Félix Lukkow after original lithographs by Devéria and Henri Grévedon or Octave Tassaert for the 1833 edition (1926 re-print LIB-3135.2023); the plate with the ape may be considered 'after edition of 1864' (LIB-3087.2022). Collation: π2 (h.t., t.p.) [a]8 1-712 96, total 64 leaves plus etched frontispiece in sanguine after page 8 and 12 engraved plates on India paper; illustrations include six burin engravings printed in two versions each, black and red, all six by Félix Lukkow after Devéria and Grévedon. Pagination: [4] [i] ii-viii, [1] 2-116, total 128 pages, ils. Title-page: GAMIANI | OU | DEUX NUITS D’EXCES | PAR | ALCIDE, Baron de M******. | {publisher's device} | — | BRUXELLES | MDCCCXXXIII—1871. || Limitation: Print run of 150 copies of which one unique on peau de vélin, 130 on laid paper (papier vergé), 5 on papier album jaune, 4 on papier de Chine, 10 on papier fort de Hollande. This is copy № 3, on Van Gelder laid paper, watermarked (possibly this is what they call ‘papier fort de Hollande’). Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-472; Pia 520. Ref.: BNF Enfer 66. Contributors: Alfred de Musset (French, 1810 – 1857) – author. Félicien Rops (Belgian, 1833 – 1898) – artist. Félix Lukkow (French, fl. c. 1870 – 1875) – engraver. Vital Puissant (Belgian, 1835 – 1878) – publisher. Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 58. [Alfred de MUSSET - Félix LUKKOV] Alcide, baron de M******. Gamiani ou Deux nuits d’excès. Bruxelles, M DCCC XXXIII - 1871 [Vital Puissant]. In-8 de 2 .n.ch, viii, 116 pages, demi-chagrin bleu à coins, dos à nerfs orné, lets dorés et à froid sur les mors, tête dorée, tranches naturelles, non rogné (reliure de l’époque). Illustré de 7 gravures sur Chine, dont une en frontispice, en double état (sauf le frontispice) par Félix Lukkov, d’après les gravures de Félicien Rops. Tirage à 150 ex. L’un des 10 ex. tirés in-8, sur grand papier fort de Hollande (n° 3). Bibliographie : Pia 561, Per 16-14, Enfer 66, Dutel A-472.
  • Description: Original tan French flapped wrappers with black lettering to front, 22.7 x 14.5 cm, unbound, printed in b/w on thick wove unmarked paper with no plate mark (lithography?), collated in-4to, 1-94 102, total 38 leaves (2 leaves under front wrapper, 1 blank/limit., 1 h.t./blank, 1 t.p./blank, 31 leaves of illustrations printed on one side, 1 last blank, 1 under back wrapper); in a green marbled cardboard folder with lettered paper label to spine. Limitation: Edition limited to 200 copies on vélin de Rives, copies №№ 1-30 enriched with one original drawing, another 15 copies marked H. C. and numbered I-XV. This copy lacks the number, marked (handwritten) d’artiste A. C. (or H. C.) Catalogue raisonné: Dutel (1920-1970) № 2512, p. 388. Contributor: André Collot (French, 1897 – 1976) – artist.
  • Description: Suite of 16 hand-coloured drypoints, in 39 x 29 cm, in cream French flapped wrappers with lavender lettering “SYMPHONIES AMOUREUSES” and a sanguine drypoint vignette (platemark 15 x 13 cm) to front, 17 leaves plus 2 leaves in the wrappers, 38.5 x 57 cm vertically folded once, lettering to one page, plate to another page, unbound, only the top margin trimmed, unpaginated, wove paper watermarked "BFK Rives", in a faux chagrin double slipcase 39.8 x 30 cm. Title-page (in lavender and black): SYMPHONIES AMOUREUSES | Suite de seize gravures | à la pointe sèche | rehaussées | {blank} | imprimé aux dépens | de Bibliophiles et non mis dans le commerce || Titles of the plates : 1. Ouverture. 2. Gamme. 3. Rêverie. 4. Pas redoublé. 5 Fantasia. 6. Pastorale. 7. Estudiantina. 8. Presto. 9. Arpège. 10. Menuet. 11 .Symphonie médiévale. 12. Jeux d’eau. 13. Galop. 14. Impromptu. 15. Variation. 16. Ariette. Limitation: Print run of 100 copies, 5 copies on Japon Manchou, numbered №№ 1-5, enriched; 11 copies on vélin à la forme de Rives, numbered №№ 6-16, enriched; 84 copies on vélin à la forme de Rives, numbered №№ 17-100, of which this is copy № 32. Cat. raisonné: Dutel III, № 2478. Contributors: André Collot (French, 1897 – 1976) – artist, engraver.
  • Vol. 1: Collation: 8vo; π4 1-98 104 111, (total 81 leaves), plus 22 plates, incl. frontispiece, each in two states, before and after lettering, (total 44 leaves of plates). Pagination: [i-v] vi-viii [1] 2-154, ils. Vol. 2:  Collation: 8vo; π2 1-118 123, (total 93 leaves), plus 18 plates, each in two states, before and after lettering, (total 36 leaves of plates). Pagination: [4] [1] 2-182, ils. Binding: two volumes, 23.3 x 15.5 cm each, uniformly bound in red crushed morocco, raised bands and gilt lettering to spine, elaborate gilt dentelle inside, marbled endpapers; text printed on slightly blueish laid paper, two edges roughly trimmed, top edge gilt. Plates in two states, before lettering in black and with lettering in sepia, drawn and engraved/etched by Nicolas Ransonnette. Bookplates "Ex Libris Laurentii Aurrie" and another, lettered "D J T F", to front pastedown in both volumes. Catalogue raisonné: Lewine: 248; Cohen-deRicci: 502-3. Both Lewine and Cohen & de Ricci attribute “Aventures” to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (Spanish, 1503 – 1575, whose authorship seems quite unlikely. Contributors: Nicolas Ransonnette (French, 1745 – 1810) – artist/engraver. Pierre-Nicolas Firmin Didot (French, 1769 – 1836) – publisher/printer. Jean Antoine de Charnes (French, 1641 – 1728) – translator. George De Backer (French, fl. 1691 – 1726) – translator/editor.
  • Two volumes 23.2 x 15.6 cm, uniformly bound in full polished calf by Riviere and Son (signed on fep verso), boards with triple gilt fillet border, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, gilt-lettered labels; dark blue endpapers, armorial bookplate of William Jennings with the motto “Honor Virtutis Premium” to front pastedown. Vol. 1: THE | ENGLISH SPY: | An Original Work | CHARACTERISTIC, SATIRICAL, AND | HUMOROUS. | COMPRISING | SCENES AND SKETCHES IN EVERY RANK OF SOCIETY, | BEING | PORTRAITS | OF THE | Illustrious, Eminent, Eccentric, and Notorious. | DRAWN FROM THE LIFE | BY BERNARD BLACKMANTLE. | THE ILLUSTRATIONS | DESIGNED BY | ROBERT CRUIKSHANK. | {vignette w/inscription: ‘By Frolic, Mirth, and Fancy gay, | Old Father Time is borne away.’ | — |  LONDON : | PUBLISHED BY SHERWOOD, JONES, AND CO. | PATERNOSTER-ROW. | – | 1825. || Collation: [a]8 b4 B-H8 I4 K2 L-Z8 2A-2E8 2F3; total 221 leaves Pagination: [i-iii] iv-xxiii [xxiv] [1-3] 4-417 [418]; total 442 pages. Illustrations: 35 coloured plates, 1 uncoloured plate, and 29 woodcuts in text, incl vignette on title, all but four by Robert Cruikshank, 1 by G. M.B rightly (p. 335), 1 by T. Wageman (p. 413), and 2 by T. Rowlandson (pp. 411 and 416) Vol. 2: THE | ENGLISH SPY: | An Original Work | CHARACTERISTIC, SATIRICAL, AND | HUMOROUS. | COMPRISING | SCENES AND SKETCHES IN EVERY RANK OF SOCIETY, | BEING | PORTRAITS | OF THE | Illustrious, Eminent, Eccentric, and Notorious. | DRAWN FROM THE LIFE | BY BERNARD BLACKMANTLE. | THE ILLUSTRATIONS | DESIGNED BY | ROBERT CRUIKSHANK. | — | VOL. II. | — | {vignette w/inscription: ‘By Frolic, Mirth, and Fancy gay, | Old Father Time is borne away.’ | — |  LONDON : | PUBLISHED BY SHERWOOD, GILBERT, AND PIPER, | PATERNOSTER-ROW. | – | 1826. || Collation: [A]-Z8 2A-2C8; total 208 leaves. [i-iii] iv-xv [xvi] [1-3] 4-399 [400]; total 416 pages. Illustrations: 36 coloured plates and 25 woodcuts in text. Catalogue raisonné: Martin-Hardie pp. 191-2; Tooley pp. 266-9; Abbey 325, pp.272-4 (see reflections regarding the ‘first issue’). Contributors: Charles Molloy Westmacott (British, c. 1788 – 1868) – author. Isaac Robert Cruikshank (British, 1789 – 1856) – artist, engraver. G. M. Brightly (British, fl. 1809 – 1827) – artist, engraver. Thomas Charles Wageman (British, 1787-1868) – artist, engraver Thomas Rowlandson (British, 1757 – 1827) – artist. Thomas Davison (British, 1794 – 1826) – printer. Sherwood, Jones, and Co. (London) – publisher. Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper (London) – publisher. William Jennings – provenance
  • [Choderlos de Laclos.] Les Liaisons dangereuses, lettres recueillies dans une société, et publiées pour l’instruction de quelques autres; par M. C*** de L*** / Ornées de 6 gravures d'après Devéria. — Londres: s.n., 1820. Description: two volumes, collated 12mo, 17.1 x 10.6 cm each, modern binding – recently bound in quarter brown calf with gilt lettering, fillets and black fleurons to spine over green marbled boards; bookplate to front pastedown in each volume: “Ex-Libris | F.-M. Caye”. Printed on laid paper, each volume is illustrated with a frontispiece and two plates engraved by various engravers after Achille Devéria under the direction of Ambroise Tardieu. Title-page: LES LIAISONS | DANGEREUSES, | LETTRES RECUEILLIES | DANS UNE SOCIÉTÉ, | ET PUBLIÉES POUR L’INSTRUCTION DE QUELQUES AUTRES. | PAR M. C*** DE L***. | {3 lines of citation from J.-J. Rousseau} | TOME PREMIER (TOME SECOND) | — | A LONDRES. | ~ | M.D.CCC.XX. || Collation: Vol. 1: π8 1-1412 156, total 182 leaves plus 3 engraved plates: frontispiece and opposite to pp. 37 and 338. Pagination: [1-5] 6-16, [1] 2-348, total 364 pages. Vol. 2: π2 16 2-1512 162, total 178 leaves plus 3 engraved plates: frontispiece and opposite to pp. 25 and 316. Pagination: [4] [1] 2-352, total 356 pages. Provenance: Caye, F.-M. Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos (French, 1741 – 1803) – author. Achille Jacques-Jean-Marie Devéria (French, 1800 – 1857) – artist. Engravers: Ambroise Tardieu (French, 1788 – 1841) Jean Baptiste Touzé (French, fl. 1810 – 1830) Jean Jacques Frilley (French, 1797 – after 1850) Achille Lefèvre (French, 1798 – 1864) Jean Louis Toussaint Caron (French, 1790 – 1832)
  • Title page: Text engraved within a vignette with two naked female torses in garlands: Plãs et profilz | des principales villes de | la prouince de L'ISLE DE | FRANCE, auec la carte gene~ | rale & les particulieres de chaf~ | cun gouuernement d'icelles. Below handwritten pencil inscription by a previous owner: "par ... Tassin ... 1634". Size: 17.6 x 23.7 cm, Binding: Italian style, green half-vellum, burgundy morocco title label with vertical gilt lettering to spine, peacock marbled boards. Pagination: Two blank flyleaves in the front and two in the back; 18 numbered engraved plates, including:
    1. Title page
    2. Table of Contents
    3. Normandie
    4. Environs de Paris
    5. Folding map of Paris – a simplified copy of Mathieu Merian's 1615 perspective plan, with minor updates, notably on the current housing estate of Ile Saint-Louis.
    6. Paris
    7. Gouvernment de Soissons
    8. Soissons
    9. Gouvernment de Beauvais
    10. Beauvais
    11. Gouvernment de Compiègne
    12. Compiègne
    13. Gouvernment de Noyon
    14. Noyon
    15. Gouvernment de Coussi
    16. Coussi
    17. Gouvernment de Senlis
    18. Senlis
    Bookplate of Ansar to front pastedown – Selim Hippolyte Ansart (1829-1897), commissar of police in the Second Empire and shortly after. Regarding our copy's dating: The same unusual spelling on the title is at Getty's Library (Library's copy lacks no. 5 of the Isle de France section, i.e. plan of Paris).
  •   Title page: RECUEIL | DE CONTES | ET | DE POEMES, | PAR M. D**. | CI-DEVANT MOUSQUETAIRE. | TROSIÉME ÉDITION | AUGUMENTÉE | DE L'HERMITAGE DE BEAUVAIS. | [device] | A LA HAYE, | Et se trouve à Paris, | Chez Delalain, Libraire, rue de la Comédie | Française. | — | M. D. CC. LXX. IRZA | ET MARSIS , | POËME, includes: L'isle merveilleuse, Poëme, Chant 1re et Chant 2nd, Invocation a La Fontaine, and Alphonse, Conte – Cohen and De Ricci (#317) describe 2nd edition by the same publisher, 1769, 77 p., with similar illustrations after Charles Eisen: (1) engraved title by Louis Claude Legrand (2) L’Isle 1er: Frontispiece by Joseph de Longueil, (3) headpiece and (4) tailpiece by Emmanuel de Ghendt, and (5) L’Isle 2nd: Frontispiece by Jean Massard, (6) headpiece by Emmanuel de Ghendt + (7) tailpiece unsigned. Les Cerises et la Méprise, Contes en vers – Cohen and De Ricci (#311) also describe the 2nd edition of 1769, with the same (8) frontispiece by De Longueil after Eisen. Sélim et Sélima, Poeme imité de l'allemand; L'hermitage de beauvais, Conte –Cohen and De Ricci (#322) describe edition of 1769 by Sébastien Jorry, with the same (9) frontispiece by Emmanuel de Ghendt after Eisen. Size: 18.6 x 12.3 cm, small 8vo. Binding: polished, multi-coloured stained calf with gilt triple fillet border to boards; gilt floral arabesque and gilt lettering to flat spine: "Oeuvres de Dorat | Contes"; all edges gilt; blue-and-white marbled endpapers. Pagination: ffl, [2] IRZA ET MARSIS engraved half-title / blank, [1-2] - RECUEIL title page / blank, 3-8 (avis sur cette édition); [1 - L'Isle...] 2-184, bfl; Illustrations (copperplate engravings): 5 plates, 2 headpieces and 2 tailpieces. Collation: Octavo; a8 (title and avis sur cette édition); A-L8, M4. Author of the text: Claude Joseph Dorat, (French, 1734 – 1780) Artist: Charles-Dominique-JosephEisen (French, 1720 – 1778) Engravers: Emmanuel Jean Nepomucène de Ghendt (French, 1738 – 1815) Louis Claude Legrand (French, 1723 – 1807) Joseph de Longueil (French, 1730 – 1792) Jean Massard (French, 1740 – 1822)  
  • Title page: {vignette} | The | MANIAC | ILLUSTRATED BY G. CHRISTOPHER HUDSON | NEW YORK   BOOKS FOR THE FEW   MCMXLI || Pagination: [1-6] 7-245 [246], full-page plates and in-text vignettes after Mahlon Blaine drawings. Edition: Limited edition of 1050 copies, this one unnumbered. Text – a reprint of the 1909 edition by Rebman (London); 1st edition, thus. Binding: 24 x 16 cm, black moire cloth, green label with black lettering “THE | MANIAC” to spine. Ink stamp “Charles M. Collins, Jr” to front pastedown. Contributors: E. Thelmar (British, fl. c. 1909) – author; a British journalist, who had been committed to an asylum in 1905; nothing else is known. G. Christopher Hudson [Mahlon Blaine] (American, 1894 – 1969) – artist. Books for the Few (NY) – publisher. Ref: TAYLOR, NICK. “Mahlon Blaine, John Steinbeck, and ‘The Maniac’ (1941).” The Steinbeck Review 9, no. 1 (2012): 73–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41582924.
  • Softcover, 228 x 180 mm, tan French flapped wrappers with red lettering to front[1-4, owner’s glassine dustcover, top edge trimmed, printed on thick wove paper without a watermark; pp.: ffl [1-4 h.t., t.p.] 5-154 [2 blanks] colophon to back ffl recto, plus 12 plates with hand-coloured lithographs, extraneous to collation. Pencil and pigment drawing to h.t. signed “J. D’A” with gift manual inscription “A Monsieur et Madame Chalamel [sic] ce tardif mais sincère souvenir de sympathie”, signed “J et Y D’A.” Etching bookplate to front ffl recto: “EX LIBRIS PIERRE CHALLAMEL | JE FONCE DANS LE BROUILLARD”, signed “J A M” (Jean-Adrien Mercier). The signature J. D’A stands for Jean d’Angers, while Y D’A stands for Jean-Adrien’s wife Yvonne (1902—1999), nicknamed Zizi; they married in 1927. According to J.-P. Dutel, the stated illustrator of this edition, Jean d’Angers is indeed Jean-Adrien Mercier. The text belongs to Gustav Droz and, possibly, Auguste Poulet-Malassis. Limitation: the book was printed for subscribers in 30 copies on Japon Impériale paper (№№ 1-30) and 250 copies on vélin du Marais paper (№№ 31-280). This copy bears № 123 and was presented as a gift by the artist and his wife to Pierre Challamel. Title-page (red and black): POUR SERVIR | A L'HISTOIRE | DE NOS MŒURS | UN ÉTÉ | A LA CAMPAGNE | CORRESPONDANCE DE DEUX JEUNES PARISIENNES | RECUEILLIE PAR UN AUTEUR A LA MODE | MDCCCLXVIII || Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 2546; honesterotica. Provenance: Pierre Challamel (French, 20th century) Contributors: Gustave Droz (French, 1832 – 1895) – author (presumable). Auguste Poulet-Malassis (French, 1825 – 1878) – author (presumable). Jean-Adrien Mercier (French, 1899 – 1995) – artist. Micro photo of the lithography:
    Micro photo of the original drawing:
  • Description: softcover, 25.5 x 16.5 cm, pink French flapped wrappers with black lettering, printed on laid paper watermarked “ARCHES (France)”, with 10 plates (etchings) bound in and 1 plate (coloured etching) laid in, extraneous to collation, with tissue guards; pp.: ffl, [2] h.t., [2] t.p., 1- 151 [152] [4] colophon, blank, ffl; some pages uncut; margins untrimmed. Title-page: UN ÉTÉ A LA | CAMPAGNE | CORRESPONDANCE DE DEUX | JEUNES PARISIENNES RECUEILLIE | PAR UN AUTEUR A LA MODE | ILLUSTRÉE DE DIX EAUX-FORTES | ET D’UNE AQUARELLE ORIGINALE | {blank} |  IMPRIMÉ SOUS LE MANTEAU | ET NE SE VEND NULLE PART | MCMXVIII || Limitation: a print run of 165 copies, of which this is № 129 on Arches à la forme paper. Cat. Raisonné: Dutel III № 2545, p. 397; Honesterotica. Contributors: Gustave Droz (French, 1832 – 1895) – author (presumable) Frans de Geetere (Belgian, 1895 – 1968) – artist/engraver
  • Two volumes in-16o, 16.3 x 10.3 cm, uniformly bound in marbled calf with gilt triple-fillet border, flat spine with gilt lozenges in compartments, two crimson labels with gilt lettering, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, with engraved title, 2 title vignettes, 11 copper plate engravings, incl. title/frontispiece in vol. 1, and 10 headpieces (two of them similar), printed on laid paper. Vol. 1: Livres 1 – 5. Engraved title-page: Cartouche with the title "Les | Amours de | THEAGENES | & | CHARICLÉE", with a Cupid holding a torch on top and a defeated winged dragon at the bottom; Cupid's quivers with bows and arrows beside. Collation: 8vo; a5 (t.p., preface), A-N8 O4 (O4 blank), total 113 leaves plus 6 unsigned engraved plates, incl. engraved title as frontispiece, unsigned; 5 different headpieces, unsigned. Pagination: [i, ii] iii-x, [1] 2-213 [3] (blank), total 226 pages, ils. Vol. 2: Livres 6 – 10. Collation: 8vo; π1 (t.p.), A-M8, total 97 leaves plus 6 unsigned plates, incl. the Conclusion, no frontispiece; 5 headpieces, the headpiece for Livre 7 similar to Livre 4. Pagination: [2] [1] 2-190 [2] (blank), total 194 pages, ils. Letterpress title-page (red and black) in each volume: AMOURS | DE | THEAGÉNES | ET | CHARICLÉE• | HISTOIRE ETHIOPIQUE. | PREMIERE (SECONDE) PARTIE. | {vignette} | A LONDRES, | — | M. DCC. XLIII. || According to Cohen-DeRicci, this is the first anonymous edition with 9 different headpieces; the second edition in the same 1743 was published by Antoine Urban Coustelier (French, 1714 – 1763) in Paris with less provocative headpiece vignettes. The original text belongs to Héliodore d'Emèse, i.e. Heliodorus [Ἡλιόδωρος] (Greek, 3rd – 4th century AD). The earliest translation into French was performed by Jacques Amyot (French, 1513 – 1593) and published by J. Longis in Paris in 1547. The new translation is credited by Lewine to Jean de Montlyard (French/Swiss, 17th century), first published in Paris in 1620. However, most scholars attribute it to Louis François de Fontenu (French, 1667 – 1759), Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (French, 1657 – 1757) or Germain François Poullain de Saint-Foix (French, 1698 – 1776), first published in 1727 by Herman Uytwerf (Dutch, 1698 – 1754) in Amsterdam. Catalogue raisonné : J. Lewine, 236; Cohen-DeRicci, 478. Information about the story can be found here: Aethiopica.  
  • Softcover volume, 19.5 x 14.3 cm, olive French flapped wrappers, glassine dust cover, printed on laid paper (Hollande), outer and bottom margins untrimmed, some pages uncut; pagination: [2] blank, [i-iv] h.t./limit., t.p./blank, v-viii, 1-196 [197] [5], total 212 pages plus frontispiece; head- and tailpieces and in-text stencil-coloured etchings after Chéripoulos. Title-page (olive and black): LE ROMAN | DE | VIOLETTE | {vignette} | A LA ROYNE DE CYTHÈRE | SODOME | 1920 || Limitation: Cet ouvrage, achevé d'imprimer le cinq Janvier Mil Neuf Cent Vingt à trois cents exemplaires dont vingt-cinq exemplaires sur Japon Impérial contenant chacun un dessin original de Chéripoulos, numérotés de un à vingt-cinq; deux cent soixante-quinze exemplaires sur papier de Hollande, numérotés de vingt-six à trois cents; en plus cinq exemplaires de collaborateurs marqués de A à E. Le présent exemplaire porte le numéro 72. Edition: Printed on the 5th of January 1920 in 305 copies (№№ 1-25 on Japon Impérial, №№ 26-300 on Hollande, A–E for collaborators). Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 2339, p. 350. Contributors: Henriette de Mannoury d'Ectot [Henriette Nicolas Le Blanc] (French 1815 – 1899) Charles Auguste Edelmann [Chéripoulos] (French, 1879 – 1950).  
  • 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.    
  • Description: Hardcover, 19 x 13 cm, contemporary binding, ¾ carrot morocco with raised bands over patterned cloth, similarly patterned endpapers, original pink wrappers preserved, gilt lettering to spine, Japanese previous owner’s stamp フィリップ (Firippu or Philippe) to verso front endpaper. Title-page: EXAMEN | DE | FLORA | à l’effet d’obtenir | son diplôme de putain | PARIS || Collation/pagination: blank flyleaf, original front wrapper with vignette, [1] blank, original watercolour 13.5 x 11 cm bound in, [2] blank, [3] h.t. / frontispiece, [4] t.p., 5-45 [46] [2] limitation / blank, back wrapper, blank flyleaf, with 14 stencil-coloured photogravures (au pochoir), two of them full-page, incl. frontispiece, after Feodor Rojankovsky [Rojan]. Limitation: 15 copies on Japon and 300 copies on Vélin, this is copy № 7. Edition: 1st edition thus, illustrated with 14 coloured photogravures, 2 of them full-page after Feodor Rojankovsky [Rojan], enriched with an original watercolour by the same artist. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel (1920-1970): 1532, p. 160 (same copy); honesterotica.com Provenance: J.-P. Dutel Note: J.-P. Dutel dates the edition as “vers 1935”; however, based on the edition of Le théâtre érotique de la rue de la Santé / [illustré par Rojan]. — Paris: s.n., 1932 [LIB-2816.2021] in this collection, which contains some of the same illustrations, we attribute it to 1932. Contributors: Feodor Rojankovsky [Rojan, Фёдор Степанович Рожанковский] (Russian-American, 1891 – 1970) – artist. Louis Protat (French, 1819 – 1881) – author. Illustrations:

    Le théâtre érotique / Original

    Examen de Flora / Original

    Le théâtre érotique / Original

    Le théâtre érotique / Original

    Examen de Flora / Print

    Examen de Flora / Print

    Examen de Flora / Print

    Examen de Flora / Print

  • Description: Original cream French flapped wrappers, 27.4 x 20 cm, in a white moiré double slipcase 28.5 x 21.5 cm; collated 4to, gatherings with double-page illustrations collated 6to; printed on thick wove paper watermarked “BFK RIVES”, outer and bottom margins untrimmed; paginated: [2 blanks] [1-8] 9-140 [4] [2 blanks], total 44 pages (besides the blanks in wrappers), illustrated with 12 full-page and 4 in-text drypoint plates by Georges Viglino after pencil drawings by Gaston de Sainte-Croix. Enriched with 16 leaves of plates printed in sepia on Arches teinté paper (watermarked). Title-page (in salmon and black): NOUS | DEUX | ILLUSTRE DE | SEIZE POINTES SÈCHES ORIGINALES | ÉDITIONS DU CYCLAMEN – M CM LVI || Limitation: A print run of 200 copies, of which 2 copies (A and B) on Japon Nacré + one suite of plates on Japon Impérial, 30 copies (№ 1-30) on Rives + one suite of plates on Arches, and 168 copies (№ 31-198) on Rives pur fil. This copy is № 29, on BFK Rives with a suite on Arches. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel (1920-1970) № 2055, p. 282. Contributors: Marcel Valotaire (French, 1889 – 1979) – author Gaston de Sainte-Croix (French, 1904 – 1977) – artist Georges Viglino – engraver/printer (attributed by Dutel). Jacques Vialetay – publisher (attributed by Dutel).
  • A set of two volumes, one with the text (1) and another with the plates (2), cased in a red ‘romantic’ fitting box of red morocco, lavishly tooled in gilt, c. 1840, more recently adapted to house two books of different size. Vol.1: Hardcover volume, 22.4 x 14 cm, 8vo, bound in half black polished calf (late 19th century) over marbled boards, spine and corners gilt-tooled, raised bands, gilt lozenges in compartments, gilt-lettered red morocco label; marbled endpapers; Francis M. G. Mauleverer armorial bookplate (motto “Deus Providebit”) to front pastedown. Printed on laid paper, Collation: 1 blank, engraved frontis., engraved t.p., A-Cc8 Dd2, 1 blank; pagination:[1] 2-420. Vol. 2: Hardcover volume, 21 x 14 cm, bound in green straight-grain morocco (early 19th century), boards with a roll-tooled palmette border, spine decorated in gilt, blue moiré endpapers, yellow feps, additional blank leaves: 2 in the front and 4 in the back, unpaginated; engraved frontis. and t.p. as in vol. 2, plus 35 plates now attributed to Delcroche printed on India paper, pasted on thicker leaves and bound in numerical order, but pl. 34 after pl. 35; As per Christie’s “The prints, sometimes attributed to de Hooghe, are actually by Delcroche, who illustrated a number of classics in the 1770s and 1780s, including Fanny Hill. AE and ABPC record only three copies of this edition at auction, including the Nordmann and Hayoit copies. Apollinaire Enfer, 277; Dutel A-15; Eros invaincu 16; Foxon Libertine Literature, NY: 1965, p.38; Gay-Lemonnyer I, 10; Pia Enfer, 346.” Contributors: Delcroche (Dutch, 17th century), “artiste hollandaise”, nothing else is known. Dutel and Nordmann attribute the plates to Romeyn de Hooghe (Dutch, 1645 – 1708). Nicolas Chorier (French, 1612 –  1692) – author. Francis M. G. Mauleverer (British, 1918 – 1962) – provenance. Seller’s description: 2 vols in 8vo (215x125 and 204x117 mm), a complete but composite set, the text volume in late 19th c. half black morocco, with corners, gilt spine tooled in gold, the plate volume in a nice early 19th-century green morocco binding, the spine gilt-tooled in compartments, the sides with a roll-tooled palmette border, pale blue moiré style endpapers (hinges repaired). Text vol.: engraved frontispiece, engr. title, pp. 420. Plates vol. comprising: the engraved title, frontispiece, and 35 engraved plates, probably by Delcroche. Both volumes cased in a ‘romantic’ fitting box binding, c. 1840, more recently adapted.
  • Hardcover volume, 12mo, 125 x 85 mm, two parts in one, bound and gilded by Cuzin and Maillard, respectively, between 1876 and 1881, in crimson crushed morocco with raised bands and gilt lettering to spine, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, gilt dentelle, signed 'Cuzin' to foot of front turn-in and 'Maillard dor.' to rear. Adorned with engraved frontispiece and 12 plates by Elluin after Borel. Text printed on a slightly bluish paper. Title-page: LE | MEURSIUS FRANÇOIS, | OU | ENTRETIENS GALANS | D'ALOYSIA. | ORNÉ | DE FIGURES. | — | TOME PREMIER (SECOND) | — | ✵ | A CYTHERE | — | M. DCC. LXXXII. || Collation: 12mo, π4 (2 blanks) A-Z6 χ1,+ π2 A-S6 (4 blanks) χ1, total 254 leaves; pagination: [8] [1] 2-277 [278 blank], [4] [1] 2-210 [8 blanks], total 508 pages, plus 13 engraved plates, incl. frontispiece. Catalogue raisonné: Cohen-de Ricci 240; Eros invaincu 17; Fekete 51; Nordmann (I) 91. Contributors: Nicolas Chorier (French, 1612 – 1692) – author. Antoine Borel (French, 1743 – 1810) – artist. François-Rolland Elluin (French, 1745 – c. 1822) – engraver. Hubert-Martin Cazin (French, 1724 – 1795) – publisher. Francisque Cuzin (French, 1836 – 1890) – bookbinder. Seller’s description: Erotica.- [Chorier (Nicolas)]Le Meursius François, ou Entretiens galans d'Aloysia, 2 parts in 1, half-title to each part, engraved frontispiece and 12 plates [by Elluin after Borel], handsomely bound in crimson crushed morocco by Cuzin, spine with gilt lettering and five raised bands, gilt tooled turn-ins by Maillard, signed 'Cuzin' to foot of front turn-in and 'Maillard dor.' to rear, marbled endpapers, g.e., fractional rubbing to extremities, an excellent copy, 12mo, Cythere [but Paris], [Cazin], 1782.