[Collective work, edited and published by Michel Groell, Dresden]

Bibliothèque du Théâtre François, depuis son origine

Publisher: Dresden: Chez Michel Groell, Libraire, 1768.

Illustration: Three engraved allegorical frontispieces by Charles-Nicolas Cochin fils (1715–1790), engraved by N. de Launay and Masard, dated 1767.

Edition: First edition, 1768.

Binding: Contemporary mottled calf, gilt-tooled spines with floral motifs, red morocco title labels, all edges stained red. Three volumes, octavo.

Description: A monumental reference work of 18th-century French drama, this Bibliothèque du Théâtre François was published in Dresden by the French expatriate printer Michel Groell in 1768. It offers a comprehensive survey of French theatre from its origins in medieval mystery plays through the great classical tragedies of Pierre Corneille, with subsequent volumes extending the record up to the contemporary stage.

The set includes:

Extracts of plays written for the French stage from its beginnings through Corneille.

A chronological list of theatrical works composed since that era.

Two extensive alphabetical indexes, one of authors and one of plays, making it an indispensable bibliographic tool.

Each volume opens with a splendid allegorical engraved frontispiece, designed by Charles-Nicolas Cochin fils and engraved in 1767 by N. de Launay and Masard. The plates dramatize the triumph of taste (Le Triomphe du Goût), the struggle against folly (Le Goût commence à s’affranchir des Liens de la Sottise), and the lament under folly’s rule (Le Goût gémit sous les loix de la Folie). These vivid engravings encapsulate the Enlightenment’s view of theatre as both entertainment and moral edification.

This three-volume set embodies the encyclopedic spirit of the Enlightenment, where theatre was considered not only art but also a mirror of society. Issued outside France, in Dresden, it also reflects the pan-European appetite for French culture and letters on the eve of the Revolution.

Condition: Fair to Good. Bindings rubbed with surface losses and chipping at spines, corners bumped, hinges tender. Red-stained edges still vivid. Interiors generally clean, engravings sharp with only light marginal spotting and minor stains. Complete as issued.

Annotation: With three allegorical frontispieces engraved after C.-N. Cochin fils (1767).

Item #139

Price: $450.00

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