//Mid-19th century
  • Kabuki actor Arashi Kichisaburō III [嵐吉三郎] as Sarushima Sōta [猿島惣太] in the play Hanamo Yoshida Iwao no Matsuwaka [花吉田岩尾松若]  staged at Ichimura-za (市村座), theatre in Edo. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada, a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) [歌川 国貞]. Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei (Japanese, 1797-1869), seal: Hanmoto, Jū [板元, 十] (Marks 19-043 | 264c. Date seal and double nanushi censor seals Mera & Watanabe – 3rd month of Kaei 6 (1853). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e), 223 x 294 mm. Kabuki actor Arashi Kichisaburō III [嵐吉三郎] (Japanese, 1810 – 1864); other names: Arashi Daizaburō III, Arashi Kitsusaburō III Ref.: Art shop Ezoshi Ukiyoe new collection news, vol. 66, 2023.1 (Jan) # 30, p.8.
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada, a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) [歌川 国貞]. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847). Date aratame seal: Bunsei 12 (1829). Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画]. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e), 238 x 267 mm (overtrimmed). Actor: Iwai Shijaku I [紫若] (Japanese, 1804 – 1845); other names: Iwai Matsunosuke I [岩井松之助]; Iwai Hanshirō VII, Iwai Shijaku I, Iwai Komurasaki I. The background is Arare-ko-mon [霰小紋] hail pattern. In the red cartouche at the top right is the series title "Edo no hana – itsutsu Karigane" (江戸の花 五雁金), to be translated as "Flowers of Edo - the five Karigane blood-brothers" (or "the five Karigane gang members"). Another print from the series in this collection: SVJP-0304.2019.
  • Artist: Veronica Miller attributes the drawing to Utagawa Sadahide [歌川 貞秀] (Japanese, 1807 – 1879), also known as Gountei Sadahide [五雲亭 貞秀]. A preparatory drawing for a fan print depicts two women raking pine needles along the scenic beach at Harima. Inscription at top right "Maiko Beach in Harima" (Harima Maiko no Hama) [播磨 舞子濱], which is now located in Hyōgo Prefecture. The view must be of the Akashi Strait, looking towards Awaji Island. Drawn on thin hanshita paper, mounted lightly at the top to a backing paper, but unbacked. Size: 240 x 319 mm. Attribution to Sadahide based on his design titled "Suma Bay: Matsukaze and Murasame" (see below): See also Maiko Beach, Harima Province, from the series Views of Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd Provinces    
  • Title: Modori Kago [戻駕] (Returning palanquin). The dance-drama Modori Kago Iro ni Aikata [戻駕色相肩] premiered in the 11th lunar month of 1788 at the Nakamuraza [中村座], within Sakurada Jisuke I's kaomise [顔見世] (faceshowing) program Tôzumô Hana no Edogata [唐相撲花江戸方]", which celebrated the homecoming to Edo, after two years' absence, of Nakamura Nakazō I, and was intended to show off his particular talents in the role of Jirosaku (in reality Ishikawa Goemon [石川 五右衛門]) [kabuki21]. The symbol on a green book cover is the informal crest of tokiwazu-bushi [常磐津節] shaped like a water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) lozenge. Artist signature 国盛画 (Kunimori ga) with red toshidama. According to Samuel L. Leiter’s Kabuki Encyclopedia (1979), p. 243: The palanquin bearers Nanpa no Jirosaku and Azuma no Yōshirō, who are bearing a palanquin with a courtesan's young handmaiden in it, stop to rest at Kyoto's Murasakino, and each dances his regional dance. Then they call the girl, who does a dance showing the visitors to the famous pleasure quarters, Yoshiwara and Shimabara. The two men recognize each other as Ishikawa Goemon and Masashiba Hisayoshi, sworn enemies, and engage in a fight. This number is the only remaining section of an annual "faceshowing” (kaomize) work with a plot based on the medieval chronicle called the Toikōki. The full-length piece was called Kara Sumō Hanaeda no Kata. It is one of the most famous tokiwazu pieces and preserves the old-style Kabuki flavour. Nakamura Nakazō I played Jirosaku and Matsumoto Kōshirō IV was Yoshiro in the first production. The handmaiden was Matsumoto Komesaburō (probably Matsumoto Komasaburō I, an unknown actor [SV]). According to Egenolf Gallery: This work was first performed in 1788 at the Edo Nakamura-za as the season’s first performance and featured Nakamura Nakazō, who returned to Edo after three years in Osaka. It was a dance with tokiwazu chanting and was designed for him to play the lead role. In the piece, two palanquin carriers, one from Osaka, another from Edo, and a passenger – a kamuro, (a young geisha-in-training) exchange stories about the pleasure quarters of Shimabara and Yoshiwara. The text of the chanting book is open next to her, carrying the title “Collection of Practicing” [稽古尽くし], on which the green bundle cover carries the crest of Tokiwazu School, matsu-kawa-bishi, diamond variety of pine bark and the artist’s signature. Tokiwazu is a type of jōruri, narrative music, and accompanies dancing on the kabuki stage. Ref.: Christie's 27 Mar 2006. Publisher: Maruya Jinpachi, seal Marujin (Marks: 12-029 | 294e) Single nanushi censor seal: Mura (Murata Sahei, 1842-46). Provenance: Circular seal of the collector Huguette Bérès to verso. Contributors: Utagawa Kunimori [歌川国盛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1818 – 1943) – artist. Maruya Jinpachi [丸屋甚八] (Japanese, fl. 1770 – 1842) – publisher. Other mentioned: Nakamura Nakazō I [中村仲蔵] (Japanese, 1736 – 1790); other names: Nakayama Kojūrō VI, Nakamura Ichijūrō, Nakayama Manzō – actor. Matsumoto Kōshirō IV [松本幸四郎] (Japanese, 1737 – 1802); other names: Omegawa Kyōjūrō; Ichikawa Komazō II, Ichikawa Somegorô I, Ichikawa Takejūrō ; Segawa Kinji; Segawa Kingo – actor. Sakurada Jisuke I [桜田治助] (Japanese, 1734 – 1806) – dramatist.    
  • Two volumes in-12, 16.7 x 11.5 x 3.5 cm each, uniformly bound in quarter crimson morocco over marbled boards, spine with raised bands, gilt lettering, marbled endpapers, top margin gilt; text printed on laid paper, plates – on India paper: loose frontispiece by Félix Lukkow after Félicien Rops with tissue guard and 4 loose engraved plates by Félix Lukkow after Sigmund Freudenberger, in each volume. This edition is a reprint of an earlier publication: ANDRÉA DE NERCIAT, André-Robert (1739 - 1800). Les Aphrodites ou Fragments thali-priapiques pour servir à l'histoire du plaisir. Numéro Un et deux [Numéro trois et quatre [...] sept et huit]. 1793-1864. [Bruxelles : Briard pour Poulet-Malassis, 1864] with plated recarved by Félix Lukkow. Title-page: LES | APHRODITES | OU | FRAGMENTS THALI-PRIAPIQUES | POUR SERVIR A | L’HISTOIRE DU PLAISIR | — | Priape, soutiens mon hàleine… | Piron, Ode | — |  Tome premier (second). | {publisher’s device} | A LAMPSAQUE | – | 1793 || Limitation: Edition is limited to 150 copies of which 130 on papier vergé, 5 on papier album jaune, 10 copies in-8o on large papier fort de Hollande, and one unique copy on peau de vélin. The number of this copy is left blank in both volumes. Vol. 1: π4 (h.t./limit., t.p./table, Éclaircissements historiques par V. M. D.), 1-2712 2910; total 182 leaves plus 5 leaves of plates, incl. frontispiece. Pagination: [1-5] 6-364, ils. V. M. D. stands for Vital Désiré Maximilien [Puissant]. Vol. 2: π2 (h.t., t.p.), 1-2912, 3110; total 192 leaves plus 5 leaves of plates, incl. frontispiece. Pagination: [1-5] 6-384, ils. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-95. Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 67. André-Robert ANDRÉA DE NERCIAT - [Félix LUKKOW]. Les Aphrodites, ou fragments thali-priapiques pour servir à l’histoire du plaisir. Tome premier (— second). A Lampsaque, 1793 [Vital Puissant, vers 1872]. 2 volumes in-12 de 364 et 384 pages, demi-maroquin rouge, dos à nerfs, tête dorée, non rogné (reliure de l’époque). Illustré de 2 frontispices et 8 planches volantes, par Félix Lukkow, d’après Félicien Rops pour les frontispices et Freundeberg pour les figures. Tirage limité à 151 ex. Contributors: André-Robert Andréa de Nerciat (French, 1739 – 1800) – author. Sigmund Freudenberger (Swiss, 1745 – 1801) – artist. Félicien Rops (Belgian, 1833 – 1898) – artist. Félix Lukkow (French, fl. c. 1870 – 1875) – engraver.
  • Two volumes in-12, 16.8 x 11.5 cm each, uniformly bound in ¾ red crushed morocco over marbled boards, spine with raised bands and gilt lettering, marbled endpapers, text printed on laid paper, 6 plates (3 in each vol.) on India paper pasted in on thick laid paper leaves. This edition seems similar to Nordmann I 203 but without Félicien Rops' frontispiece and plates, replaced by unsigned etchings attributed to Gustave Staal. Title-page (red and black): LE RICHE DE LA POPELINIÈRE | – | TABLEAUX | DES | MŒURS DU TEMPS | DANS LES DIFFÉRENTS AGES DE LA VIE | – | NOTICE DE | CHARLES MONSELET | – | TOME PREMIER (SECOND) | {fleuron} | PARIS | IMPRIMERIE DES CI-DEVANT FERMIERS GÉNÉRAUX | – | M D CCC L XVII || Vol. 1: π2 (h.t., t.p.) a4 (Notice), 1-1312 151 (Table); total 91 leaves plus three leaves of plates. Pagination: [4] [i] ii-vii [viii] [3] 4-168 [2]; total 182 pp, ils. facing pp. 59, 78, and 94. Vol. 2: π2 (h.t., t.p.), 1-1312, 152; total 88 leaves plus three leaves of plates. Pagination: [4] [1] 2-170 [2]; total 176 pp, ils. facing pp. 74, 78, and 145. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-1044 — without Félicien Rops ‘ornementations’, but with ‘6 gravures de 1865’. Dutel suggests that the edition was performed by A. Poulet-Malassis, Briard or Lécrivain. Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 43. LE RICHE DE LA POPELINIÈRE. Tableaux des mœurs du temps dans les diérents âges de la vie, tome premier (— second). Notice de M. Charles Monselet. Imprimerie des ci-devant fermiers généraux, Paris, M D CCC LXVII [A. Poulet-Malassis, 1867]. Exemplaire sans le frontispice de Félicien Rops mais bien complet des 6 figures de Staal, justification qui illustre les aléas de la confection des publications clandestines. D’une part, c’est une autre édition qui est décrite par Launay. L’exemplaire vendu chez Maître Loudmer avait 6 figures, comme ici. Cluzel a vu un “front. et 4 vignettes de Rops plus cinq figures libres (par Staal)”, Simonson a vu 5 figures de Rops, etc., etc. Il y a 3 bandeaux et 3 culs-de-lampe de Rops qui ont été fréquemment utilisés par d’autres éditeurs pour d’autres titres pendant toute la seconde moitié du xixe siècle. La Léonina présente une fiche détaillée sur 4 pages. 3 bandeaux et 3 culs-de-lampe gravés sur bois de Rops. Bibliographie : Pia 1389, Launay 327, Gay 6-308, Pey 122 (1800 frs avec 5 figures), PC 503 et 504, Lemonnyer 3-1173, LL 66, Leonina 81, Nordmann 1-203, Dutel A-1043. Contributors: Alexandre Jean Joseph Le Riche de La Popelinière (French, 1693 – 1762) – author. Charles Monselet (French, 1825 – 1888) – author (foreword). Pierre-Gustave-Eugène Staal (French, 1817 – 1882) – artist. Auguste Poulet-Malassis (French, 1825 – 1878) – publisher.
  • Single volume, 17.1 x 11.2 cm, quarter black sheepskin over faux chagrin, gilt lettering to spine, marbled endpapers, bottom and outer margin untrimmed, pp.: [i-v] vi- xxxvi, [1] 2-218 [2], collated 4to: π2, a-d4, 1-274 282, total 256 pages or 128 leaves, plus 20 engraved plates by Paul Sellier, including frontispiece portrait of Alexis Piron after bust by Caffieri. Vol. 8 of Bibliothèque Libre, Œuvres badines de Piron, printed on February 15, 1872. Text printed on dense wove paper watermarked P or M, plates printed on India wove paper. A reprint of an edition published in 1796 plus illustrations. Title-page: ŒUVRES | BADINES | D’ALEXIS PIRON | PRÉCÉDÉES | D’UNE NOTICE SUR SA VIE | Nouvelle édition, ornée de 20 figures en taille-douce | {vignette} | IMPRIMÉ PAR LES PRESSES DE LA SOCIÉTÉ | A NEUCHATEL | – | 1872 || Limitation: 100 numbered copies, of which this is № 75. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-788; Pia: 953-6; Kearney 377 (Patrick J. Kearney. A Catalogue of the publications of Jules Gay, Jean-Jules Gay & Gay et Doucé, revised & expanded. — Santa Rosa, CA Scissors & Paste Bibliographies, 2019) Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 81. Alexis PIRON. Œuvres badines précédées d’une notice sur sa vie. Nouvelle édition ornée de 20 figures en taille-douce. [ Jules Gay] Imprimé par les presses de la société, à Neufchatel, 1872. In-8, xxxvi, 218 pages et un feuillet d’achevé d’imprimer de table, demi-basane noire, dos à faux nerfs, tête et tranches naturelles. Illustré d’un portrait et de 20 figures par Paul Sellier. Tirage limité à 100 ex. numérotés. De la « Bibliothèque libre ou collection choisie d’ouvrages du genre libre, imprimés ou réimprimés par les soins de la Société des Bibliophiles Cosmopolites et pour les membres de cette société, à cent exemplaires numérotés ». Bibliographie : Pia 1030, Enfer 1274, Lem 3-454, Gay 5-339, PC 353, G* 38, Pey 203, Dutel A-788." Contributors: Alexis Piron (French, 1689 – 1773) – author. Paul Sellier (French, 1842 – 19..?) – artist. Jules Léopold Gay (French, 1807 – 1887) – publisher.
  • Softcover volume, 17.5 x 11 cm, in-12, brown wrappers without lettering, text printed on laid paper, six plates on India paper barbarously glued in, pp.: fep, [4] (h.t. t.p.), [1-3] 4-182, fep. Title-page (red and black): L’ENFANT | DU | BORDEL | OU | LES AVENTURES DE CHÉRUBIN | – | NOUVELLE ÉDITION | ORNÉE DE SIX GRAVURES SUR ACIER | {fleuron} | Sur l’imprimé de Paris MDCCC | LE MANS | A L’ENSEIGNE DES CITOYENS DU MAINE || Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-325; Pia 395: 222 pages (we have 182 as per Dutel), attributes publication to Poulet-Malassis, 1866. Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 82.[PIGAULT-LEBRUN]. L’Enfant du Bordel, ou Les Aventures de Chérubin, nouvelle édition, ornée de six gravures sur acier. Sur l’imprimé de Paris, MDCCC, Le Mans, à l’enseigne des citoyens du Maine. [A. Christiaens, 1875 ?]. In-12, broché. 2 .n.ch., 182 pages, 1 f. blanc, couverture muette en papier vieux orange. Illustré de 6 figures hors-texte sur acier. Bibliographie : G* 553 (40 frs), Dutel A-325. Contributors: Guillaume Charles Antoine Pigault de l'Espinoy [Pigault-Lebrun] (French, 1753 – 1835) – author. Alexis Christiaens (Belgian, d. 1880) – publisher.
  • Hardcover volume, 17 x 11.3 cm, in-12, quarter orange cloth (percaline) over marbled boards, black morocco label with gilt lettering to spine, marbled endpapers, text printed on laid paper, five plates on India paper (papier Chine). Title-page: LE | LIBERTIN | DE QUALITÉ | OU | MA CONVERSION | PAR | M. D. R. C. D. M. F. | (LE COMTE DE MIRABEAU) | Edition revue sur celle originale de 1783 | {fleuron} | LONDRES | – | 1783-1866 || Pagination: [4] (h.t., t.p.), [1] 2-200; total 204 pages plus 5 engraved plates, incl. frontispiece; 2 blank leaves at the front and 2 at the back, laid paper, watermarked Canson & Montgolfier. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-653. Ref.: Illustrations were earlier published in Vie privée, libertine et scandaleuse de feu Honoré-Gabriel Riquetti Comte de Mirabeau, 1791, (see [LIB-2633.2021] Apollinaire, et al. L’Enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale, 1912 : № 795). M. D. R. C. D. M. F stands for Monsieur de Riqueti comte de Mirabeau Fis. Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 55. M. D. R. C. D. M. F. (le comte de Mirabeau). Le Libertin de qualité ou Ma conversion, édition revue sur celle de l’originale de 1783. Londres 1783-1866 [Christiaens, 1867]. In-12 de 2 .n.ch. et 200 pages, demi-percaline orange, pièce de titre, tête jaspée, tranches naturelles (reliure de l’époque). Illustré de 5 gravures originales, dont l’une en frontispice, qui reprennent celles de l’édition de Vie privée libertine et scandaleuse de feu Honoré-Gabriel-Riqueti, ci-devant comte de Mirabeau [...] de 1791. Contributors: Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti de Mirabeau (French, 1749 – 1791) – author. Alexis Christiaens (Belgian, d. 1880) – publisher.
  • Single volume, 18 x 12.5 cm, bound in ¾ crimson morocco over marbled boards, gilt double-fillet borders, spine with gilded raised bands, gilt in compartments, gilt-lettered label, marbled endpapers, top margin gilt, text printed on dense wove paper, with 8 etchings by anonymous on thin laid paper (Chine) with tissue guards, 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 after 1864 edition (LIB-3087.2022) and the plate with the donkey after unknown. Title-page: GAMIANI | OU | DEUX NUITS D’EXCES | PAR | A D M | — | EN HOLLANDE | – | 1866 || Pagination: [4] (h.t., t.p.), [i] ii-xvi, [3] 4-153 [154 blank]; total 158 pages plus 8 plates (anonymous etchings), incl. frontispiece. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-470; Pia: 518/9. BNF Enfer 418. Note: This edition is conformant with Dutel, but not with Pia, who mentions [2], xvi, 148 pp. Pia writes: 'According to a bibliographic record published in 1874 by Vital Puissant, this edition was printed in Brussels by Briard on behalf of Alphonse Lécrivain, a Parisian publisher who took refuge in Belgium'. Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 74. [Alfred de MUSSET] A D M. Gamiani ou deux nuits d’excès. En Hollande, 1866. In-8 de xvi, 153 pages, demi-maroquin cerise à coins, dos à nerfs orné, lets dorés sur les mors, tête dorée, tranches naturelles, couverture conservée (reliure ancienne). Illustré de 8 gravures sur Chine dont l’une en frontispice, toutes accompagnées de serpentines. Piqûres et mouillures. Dutel A-470, pas à l’Enfer de la BnF.  
  • Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige II (二代目 歌川広重] (Japanese, 1826 – 1869). Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Enshūya Matabei [遠州屋又兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1768 – 1881); (Enmata [遠又]), seal 22-009 (Marks). Block carver: Matsushima Masakichi (Japanese, fl. c. 1847-65); seal: [松嶋彫政] – Hori Masa (Frieze, 2009: 142). Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: Bunkyū 2 (1862). Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 230 x 298 mm Series: Three Famous Views in Ise [伊勢名所三景] (Ise meisho sankei).
  • 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.
  • Single volume, 16.8 x 11.3 cm, bound in full dark olive crushed morocco by Brany (signed), gilt triple-fillet border to boards, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, gilt-lettered label, gilt dentelle inside, marbled endpapers, all margins gilt, gilt double fillet to boards margin; text printed on laid paper. Bookplate of Maurice Lebarbier de Tinan to fep 45 x 35 mm representing standing satyr with erected penis holding monogram ‘MT’ in his hands with a motto below on a ribbon ‘FAIRE SANS DIRE’. Maurice Lebarbier de Tinan book collection was dispersed via l’hôtel Drouot (Paris) on a sale from March 9 to 12, 1885; a catalogue was published: Catalogue d’un joli choix de livres anciens et modernes, en très belle condition de reliure, composant la bibliothèque de M. L. de T*** [Lebarbier de Tinan] (Paris, Ch. Porquet, 1885, in-8, VIII-140 p., 481 lots).  Collation: π2 (h.t., t.p.) a6 b2 1-1112, total 82 leaves plus 18 engraved plates on wove paper; illustrations include engraved frontispiece and six etchings printed in two versions each, black and red, and one etching (at p. 103) in two states, two colour versions for each state, frontispiece and 3 or 4 plates after Félicien Rops, the others after original lithographs by Devéria and Henri Grévedon or Octave Tassaert for the 1833 edition (re-print of 1926 LIB-3135.2023). Pagination: [4] [i] ii-xvi, [3] 4-141 [3], total 164 pages, ils. Title-page (red and black): GAMIANI | OU | DEUX NUITS D’EXCES | PAR | A D M | AVEC UN EPISODE DE LA VIE DE L’AUTEUR | Extrait des mémoires de la | COMTESSE DE C******** | – | « Hippolyte, cher cœur, que dis-tu ces choses ? » | Femmes damnées, Fleurs du Mal. | — | LESBOS | INSTITUTION MERY — PAVILLON BAUDELAIRE. || Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-464; Bory: 596-605; Pia: 516/7. According to Pia, the print run is limited to 150 copies on laid paper. Ref.: BNF Enfer 419. Fekete (Christie's): 135. Provenance: Maurice Lebarbier de Tinan (French, 1842 – 1918). Contributors: Alfred de Musset (French, 1810 – 1857) – author. Félicien Rops (Belgian, 1833 – 1898) – artist. Auguste Poulet-Malassis (French, 1825 – 1878) – publisher. Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 5. [Alfred de MUSSET] A D M. Gamiani ou Deux nuits d’excès, avec un épisode de la vie de l’auteur, extrait des mémoires de la comtesse de C********. Lesbos, Institution Méry, Pavillon Baudelaire [A. Poulet-Malassis, 1864]. Illustré de 8 gravures, dont l’une en frontispice, en double état (et quatre états pour la gravure « au singe » de la page 103) de Félicien Rops. Là où Baudelaire soutient Poulet-Malassis quand l’éditeur soutient l’attribution à Musset. Perfectionniste ? Trop cher ? Trop sollicité ? Pas toujours inspiré ? Rops réalisera rarement des suites complètes, ne répondant le plus souvent à la demande de ses commanditaires que par la conception de frontispices. Au verso du faux-titre, Launay voit une justification de 150 exemplaires sur papier vergé, paraphés et numérotés, qui ne figure pas ici. Très bel exemplaire relié par Brany. Provenance : Bibliothèque de Lebarbier de Tinan de Lebarbier de Tinan dont la collection fut dispersée en 1885, justifié par son ex-libris représentant un satyre en érection, portant la devise “Faire sans dire”. Bibliographie : Pia 558, Per 16-8, PC 1299, Lau 285, Enfer 419, Dutel A-464." [LIB-3118.2022]
  • 4to volume, ‘cartonnage percaline romantique’, 27.5 x 19.5 cm, green cloth with gilt fillet border and fictional coat of arms to front, border and fleuron to back, gilt and embossed vignette to spine, yellow endpapers, all edges gilt, 32 plates, incl. frontispiece, with tissue guards, and numerous in-text woodcuts after J.-J. Grandville by various engravers, mostly by Best, Leloir, Hotelin et Régnier group. Page 102 is numbered correctly. Title-page: JÉROME | PATUROT | A LA RECHERCHE | D'UNE POSITION SOCIALE | PAR | LOUIS REYBAUD, | Auteur des Études sur les Reformateurs ou Socialistes modernes. | — | Édition illustrée par J.-J. Grandville. | {vignette} | PARIS, | J.-J. DUBOCHET, LE CHEVALIER ET Cie, ÉDITEURS, | RUE DE RICHELIEU, 60. | – | 1846 || Collation: π4 1-574 582; total 234 leaves plus 32 wood-engraved plates extraneous to collation. Pagination: [8] [1] 2-460; total 468 pages, ils. Catalogue raisonné: L. Carteret 516; Ray 197 (pp. 277-8); Brivois: 350-1. Contributors: Louis Reybaud [Jérôme Paturot] (French, 1799 – 1879) – author. J.-J. Grandville [Isidore-Adolphe Gèrard] (French, 1803 – 1847) – artist. Schneider et Legrand (Paris) – printer. J.-J. Dubochet, Le Chevalier et Cie – publsiher. Engravers: Lucjan Stypulkowski (Polish, 1806 – 1849) Best, Leloir, Hotelin et Régnier Jean Baptiste Best (French, 1808 – 1879) or Adolphe Best (French, 1808 – 1860) Isidore Leloir (French, 1806 – 1851) Laurent Éloi Hotelin (French, 1821 – 1894) Eugène Laurent Isidore Régnier (?)
  • 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
  • Hardcover, 28 x 20 cm, quarter sheepskin over marbled boards, marbled endpapers, gilt lettering to flat spine with gilt fillet bands, clipping pasted to front fep verso. Title-page: GRANIER DE CASSAGNAC — PAUL DE CASSAGNAC | ~ | HISTOIRE POPULAIRE | ILLUSTRÉE | DE | L'EMPEREUR NAPOLEON III | TOME I (II) | {publisher’s device} | PARIS | E. LACHAUD ET Cie, LIBRAIRES-ÉDITEURS | 4, PLACE DU THÉATRE-FRANÇAIS, 4 | – | Tous droits réservés || Collation: (v.1) π2 [1]-504, (v.2) π2 1-494; total 400 leaves plus albumen photograph pasted to frontispiece and 96 full-page woodcuts within collation. Pagination: [4] [1] 2-398 [2], [4] [1] 2-390 [2], ils.; total 800 pp. Contributors: Bernard Adolphe Granier de Cassagnac (French, 1806 – 1880) – father. Paul Adolphe Marie Prosper Granier de Cassagnac (French, 1843 – 1904) – son.
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Artist signature: By the brush of the 79-year-old Toyokuni [七十九歳豊國画] (Nanajūkyū-sai Toyokuni ga). Publisher: Ebiya Rinnosuke [海老屋林之助] (Japanese, fl. c. 1832 – 1895); seal: ト/ 海老林 (to, Ebirin). Block carver: Matsushima Masakichi [松島政吉]; seal: carved by Masa [彫政] (Hori Masa). Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: [子極] 1864 (Bunkyū 4/Genji 1). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 223 x 297 mm. Inscription in the cartouches: (R) Wakana-hime [若菜姫], Sawamura Tanosuke III [沢村田之助]; (L) Ashikaga Sanshichirō [足利三七郎], Sawamura Tosshō II [沢村訥升]. Play: Kinoene Soga Daikoku-bashira [甲子曽我大国柱], performed at the Morita theatre [森田座・守田座] (Morita-za) in 1864 (Bunkyū 4/Genji 1), 2nd month (see playbill at MFA-Boston Collection). Playwright: Muraoka Kōji II [村岡幸治]. Actors and Characters: Sawamura Tanosuke III [三代目沢村田之助] (Japanese, 1859 – 1878); other names: Shozan [曙山] (poetry name), Sawamura Yoshijirō I [初代沢村由次郎], here in the role of Princess Wakana [若菜姫] (Wakana-hime) (R). The story about Princess Wakana, Shiranui Monogatari, was written by Ryukatei Tanekazu [柳下亭種員] (Japanese, 1807 – 1858) and published as a 90-volume book of comics between 1849 and 1855. ...The tale revolves around the clash between the Kikuchi and Ōtomo clans. Princess Wakana’s father Ōtomo Sōrin [大友 宗麟] (1530 – 1587) was killed in a battle, and his spirit demanded revenge. To appease her late father's spirit, Princes Wakana acquired the power of the Earth Spider. She often appears in prints with a magic scroll, which helps her fight various enemies. Sawamura Tosshō II [二代目沢村訥升] (Japanese, 1854 – 1879); other names: Kōga [高賀] (poetry name), Sawamura Genpei II [二代目沢村源平], Sawamura Sōjūrō [澤村宗十郎], Suketakaya Takasuke IV [四代目助高屋高助], Sawamura Tosshi VI [六代目澤村訥子] (poetry name), here in the role of Ashikaga Sanshichirō [足利三七郎] (L) with a horse. According to Markus Sesko, the scene comes from the kabuki play Umakiri (馬斬り) by Tatsuoka Mansaku [辰岡万作] (17432 – 1809), which premiered in 1794. It was later assimilated into the Kabuki play Kozotte Mimasu Kuruwa no Datezome [襷廓三升伊達染], which was staged in the 1st lunar month of 1853 at the Nakamura-za. Umakiri is based on a Kyōgen play featured in Hideyoshi’s biography Taikōki [太閤記]. Its plot is that Ashikaga Sanchichirō Yoshitaka [足利三七郎義孝・義高], who is supposed to allude to Nobunaga’s son Oda Sanshichirō Nobutaka [織田三七郎信孝], attacks and kills a horse that is carrying 3,000 ryō (金三千両), money Mashiba Hisayoshi [真柴久吉] (an allusion to Hashiba Hideyoshi [羽柴秀吉]) had sent to be donated to a shrine on Mt. Kōya. The surrounding people try to catch him, but when they hear it is Yoshitaka who killed the horse, they fall to the ground and prostrate, and Yoshitaka leisurely leaves with the money. The plot is very simple, but Yoshitaka’s dashing appearance makes it very pleasing to watch. There are also prints that quote the main protagonist as Ashikaga Sanshichirō Harutaka [足利三七郎春高], and there is another title for the play, Sanzen-Ryō Kogane no Kurairi [三千両黄金蔵入] (Pocketing 3,000 ryō of gold). For reference, see also the BLOG. What these two characters are doing in one play remains a riddle. As Mr Graebner comments: "Most kabuki plays were only performed for one season (two months), and the books were lost. The playwrights have repeatedly used parts of plots from other plays, they have adopted characters, sometimes with the same or similar names. What can be found is the Kabuki Playbill (Tsuji banzuke) with cast and roles; the content is lost".

    MBA-Boston Accession number 11.28192

    Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Horst Graebner of the Kunisada Project and to Markus Sesko of The Metropolitan Museum, NY, for the analysis of the image and their invaluable contribution. For reference, see also:        
  • An uncut fan print showing Otsu-e [大津絵] (Otsu pictures). Artist: Utagawa Sadahide [歌川貞秀] (Japanese, 1807 – 1879). Signed: Gountei Sadahide ga [五雲亭貞秀画] (Picture by Gountei Sadahide); characters on the Otsu-e. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, c. 1815 – 1869). Published: c. 1849. Inscription in a paper-weight shaped cartouche: [大津追 分絵の図] Ōtsu-oi wake-e no zu (Following Otsu – image of separate pictures) No date seal, no censor seal (privately printed?) Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 235 x 298 mm.