Classical epics, French theatre, belles-lettres, and art theory. From Homer and Lucan to Molière and Laugier. Poetry, prose, and illustration reflecting the aesthetics and wit of early modern Europe.
Paris: L. Cellot, Imprimeur-Libraire; successor to Ch.-Ant. Jombert, 1783. Illustration: Typographic ornaments; includes Italian ode by Laura Battiferri Edition: First edition Binding: Contemporary full mottled calf, spine gilt in compartments with floral tools, red morocco title label gilt, marbled endpapers, edges sprinkled Description: First edition of Abbé Hauchecorne’s biography of.....
Paris: Société des Libraires, 1757. Edition: Early edition (second French edition, 1757) Binding: Contemporary original paper wrappers, manuscript title to spine, edges untrimmed, fragile with wear at spine and corners; unrestored. Description: Rare early Paris edition of the scandalous epistolary novel Lettres de Mistriss Fanni Butlerd, presented as the private.....
Paris & Orléans: Paris: “Édition de Cazin, Rue des Maçons,” & Orléans: C.A.I. Jacob, 1786. Illustration: Engraved frontispiece depicting allegorical and comic figures; ornamental devices and woodcut tailpieces throughout. Edition: Paris & Orléans printing, “Édition de Cazin,” 1786. Binding: Contemporary speckled calf, gilt-ruled, spine gilt with floral tools and red.....
Paris: Marcello Prault; Prault, 1768; 1767. Illustration: Charles Eisen, illustrator; Louis Legrand, engraver; Moreau le Jeune, engraved title Edition: Algarotti: later illustrated edition. Montesquieu: first edition of Carlo Vespasiano’s Italian translation, with French and Italian text. Binding: Apparently contemporary mottled calf, smooth gilt-decorated spine with leather title labels, marbled endpapers.....
France: 1780-1820. Illustration: None (manuscript in a single hand) Edition: Unique manuscript (autograph or scribal copy), late 18th–early 19th century Binding: Contemporary green paper-covered boards, spine plain, edges stained red. Some rubbing, corners worn, but binding intact and attractive for a manuscript of this type. Description: Unique French manuscript pastoral.....
Paris: Prault Père, 1748. Illustration: Frontispiece engraved by J.P. Le Bas after Eisen (engraved title vignette, allegorical scene). Edition: First edition (1748). Binding: Contemporary mottled calf, gilt floral spine in compartments, red morocco label lettered gilt, marbled endpapers, sprinkled edges. Description: A handsome first edition of this mid-18th century French.....
La Haye (The Hague): “A La Haye” [likely false imprint, probably Paris or Amsterdam], 1764. Edition: First Edition Binding: Contemporary full calf, gilt-tooled spines with floral motifs, contrasting red leather title labels. Four volumes bound in two (vols. I–II: Les Epoux Malheureux; vols. III–IV: Recueil de Procès). Red edges. Bindings.....
Paris: Chez la veuve Jean Remy, rue Saint-Jacques, à l’image S. Remy, près le Collège du Plessis, 1649. Illustration: Woodcut title vignette of the Crucifixion Edition: First Edition Binding: Later quarter calf with marbled boards and patterned endpapers. Contains a single early printed liturgical leaf (two pages, rubricated in red.....
Bordeaux: Jaques L’Aveugle, 1710. Edition: Early edition (Bordeaux, 1710) No (first c. 1710 Geneva, though attribution is complex) Binding: Contemporary full calf, gilt spine with raised bands, red morocco label “Voyag[e] de Massé”; boards rubbed and worn, spine chipped at head and foot, joints cracked but holding. 12mo format. Description.....
Paris: Chez Dauthereau, Libraire, Rue Richelieu No. 17, 1828. Edition: Fourth edition Binding: Contemporary calf, gilt border tooling, ornamental gilt to spine compartments, raised bands, marbled endpapers. Covers with central gilt monogram (“MB”), edges worn, joints splitting, corners bumped, and head/foot of spine chipped. Description: Early Paris edition of Adolphe.....
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.....
Leiden (Lugd. Batav.): Ex Officina Hackiana, 1670. Illustration: Engraved allegorical title-page; engraved author portrait of Schrevelius (by R. a. Persyn). Edition: Seventeenth-century Hackiana edition. Binding: Contemporary full calf, spine gilt in compartments, raised bands, heavily rubbed and worn with chipping to head/tail, joints cracked but holding; boards scuffed, corners worn.....
![Item #143 Simple Histoire [with] Mistress Walter, ou Seconde et Dernière Suite de Simple...](https://elsabiobooks-ca.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/143.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1757590262)
Paris: Chez Louis, Libraire, rue Séverin, An III (1794–1795) [Simple Histoire] and 1800 [Mistress Walter]. Illustration: Engraved plates (unsigned; French school, late 18th c.) Edition: Fourth French edition of Simple Histoire; first French edition of Mistress Walter (1800). Binding: Uniform contemporary calf, spines gilt-tooled with floral ornaments and volume numbering.....
Paris: Mme Vᵉ H. Perronneau, 1819. Edition: First French edition of this translation, 4 volumes bound in 2 Binding: Contemporary half red morocco over marbled boards, gilt-tooled spines with floral motifs and volume numbers. Rubbed with some losses to spine leather, but sound and decorative. Description: A scarce Parisian edition.....
La Haye: Pierre Gosse & Jean Neaulme, 1732. Edition: Nouvelle édition, revue, corrigée et augmentée Binding: Contemporary full calf, spine with gilt floral tooling and raised bands, original black spine label; spine worn with loss at head, corners rubbed, joints tender but holding. 12mo. Description: A classic of French libertine.....
Cologne [actually Holland or France]: Charles Savoret [fictitious imprint, Cologne], 1709. Illustration: Woodcut printer’s device of rider on flying horse to title Edition: Cologne (fictitious imprint), 1709 Binding: 18th-century quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt spine with floral tools and raised bands, marbled endpapers, blue ribbon marker. Binding with light.....
Paris: Jean-Baptiste Loyson, 1670. Illustration: Numerous full-page engraved plates (frontispiece + plates at the head of each book) Edition: Early French verse translation, Paris 1670 Binding: Contemporary full calf, spine gilt in compartments with floral tools and gilt title label. Boards rubbed, corners worn, joints cracked but holding; loss to.....
Amstelodami [Amsterdam]: Daniel Elzevir, 1678. Illustration: Engraved title-page depicting classical tragic scene Edition: Elzevir edition Binding: Contemporary full calf, spine gilt in compartments with floral tooling and title “SENECAE TRAGO.” Worn with loss at head and tail of spine, joints cracked, corners rubbed. Binding still holding though distressed. Description: A......
Paris: Chez Maradan, Libraire, 1808. Edition: Early 19th-century Paris edition (one of the important Maradan printings following Marmontel’s controversial novel) Binding: Contemporary full calf, spines gilt in compartments with small star tools, black morocco spine labels with gilt volume numbers. Boards plain with simple gilt roll-tooled borders, marbled endpapers (pink.....
Paris: Chez Duchesne, Libraire, rue Saint-Jacques, au-dessous de la Fontaine Saint-Benoît, au Temple du Goût, 1755. Illustration: 8 folding engraved plates illustrating classical orders and architectural details Edition: Nouvelle édition (revised and expanded) Binding: Contemporary mottled calf, spine with raised bands and gilt floral tooling. Rubbed and worn with losses.....
Paris: Jean Bessin, rue de Reims, 1652. Edition: Early French edition (Paris, Jean Bessin, 1652) Binding: Contemporary limp vellum with manuscript title (“Ciceron”) and date (1652) to spine; vellum spotted and warped with age, but original and complete. Description: A scarce 1652 Paris edition of Cicero’s Catilinarian Orations, one of.....
Paris (Quai des Augustins, no. 19). Chez Salmon, Libraire. 1825. Illustration: Engraved frontispieces (one per volume, depicting key episodes of the novel). Edition: Early 19th-century French translation by Filleau de Saint-Martin. Binding: Eight volumes in matching contemporary publisher’s patterned boards, blue with gilt titling to spines, yellow edges. Some rubbing.....
Paris: Robert Sara and Simeon Piget, 1633 - 1654. Edition: Collected edition (sammelband) of separate Paris printings, 1633–1654 Binding: Contemporary full darkened vellum, handsomely aged to a rich brown tone, boards slightly bowed, spine with traces of ink titling, structurally sound and appealing in hand. Description: A remarkable 17th-century sammelband.....
Paris: (not stated, as common in such Paris printings), 1792. Illustration: Engraved portrait frontispiece of the author (after Largillière, engraved by Delvaux) Edition: Collected edition Binding: Contemporary full mottled calf, spines richly gilt in compartments with floral tooling, contrasting red morocco labels for title and volume numbers, gilt roll-tooling to.....
Lugduni Batavorum (Leiden): Ex Typographia Rediviva, 1648. Edition: Early collected edition Binding: Contemporary full limp vellum, yapp edges, faint contemporary ink titling to spine and cover, early hand-lettered spine title visible beneath vellum aging. Description: Charming and scarce mid-17th-century compendium of erotic and rhetorical writings, including Philippus Beroaldus’s Practica Artis.....