Carteret, III, 245-251; Vicaire, III, 794-803; Ray, 227.<\/i><\/p>\n
First edition.<\/p>\n
A copy of which all volumes were printed by Schneider et Langrand (except for the Prisme, which was printed by Rignoux). Launched in 1839, in the form of 422 issues, the publication comprises five volumes for Paris, three for La Province, as well as Le Prisme, distributed as a bonus to subscribers.<\/p>\n
Carteret believes that “cette publication est la plus importante des \u00e9ditions Curmer, l’\u00e9diteur avait mis tout en \u0153uvre pour r\u00e9ussir”. Publisher L\u00e9on Curmer called on a brilliant array of authors for this publishing venture: Balzac, Th\u00e9ophile Gautier, G\u00e9rard de Nerval, P\u00e9trus Borel, Jules Janin, Henry Monnier, Charles Nodier, George Sand, etc., who, according to their qualities, gave the texts the form of short stories, journalistic investigations or more simply portraits, often caustic, of professions or easily recognisable “types”.<\/p>\n
This collection, a veritable fresco of contemporary society, is the most important achievement of all the “physiological literature” in vogue. The series of monographs, from the first, “The Grocer” by Balzac, to the last, “The Corsican”, remains the unrivalled record of a gigantic social survey.<\/p>\n
Carteret and Vicaire give details of the slight differences in print runs, due to a succession of printers in the production of this very fine text. Finally, Vicaire concludes that : “En absence de preuves mat\u00e9rielles, il me semble donc difficile d’\u00e9tablir d’un fa\u00e7on certaine la part qu’a eue, \u00e0 l’origine des la publication des Fran\u00e7ais<\/i>, chacun des imprimeurs dont on trouve les noms soit sur les titres, soit sur les couvertures de livraisons, soit \u00e0 la fin du texte, \u00e0 savoir : Everat et Cie., D\u00e9courchant, Rignoux, Schneider et Langrand”.<\/p>\n
The details of this copy correspond well to that described by Carteret for volume I with the two redone plates (Femme \u00e0 la mode, and Le Ma\u00eetre d’\u00e9tudes). The article on the Canut (Province, volume I) is present in the first printing and occupies pages 281 to 288: “The notice of the Canut, sheet 36, printed on pages 281 to 288, is rare in this first text because it was modified and reprinted by mistake on pages 285 to 292 following a scene that took place in Lyon, in the shop of the bookseller Nourtier” (Carteret). Appropriately, the title changes slightly from volume IV in Paris to the last volume in the provinces, where we now find the addition: “Encyclop\u00e9die morale du Dix-Neuvi\u00e8me si\u00e8cle”.<\/p>\n
“Les Fran\u00e7ais peints par eux-m\u00eames was Curmer’s most ambitious undertaking, far surpassing even Paul et Virginie in extent and complexity. When its 422 part-issues, which appeared several times a week, reached completion in eight volumes, they included over 400 plates and about 1500 smaller wood engravings… Gavarni was beyond comparison the leading artist of Les Fran\u00e7ais peints par eux-m\u00eames. His designs for the first three volumes established both the form and the style of the book’s illustrations” (Ray).<\/p>\n
An exceptional copy<\/p>\n
This copy is complete with the 8 frontispieces, the map, the 406 plates and the portrait of Napoleon. All the plates (except the portrait of Napoleon) and the frontispieces have been finely coloured in the period and enhanced with gum arabic; the map has been printed in colour.<\/p>\n
All the great artists of the time contributed to this monumental illustration, including Daumier, Gavarni, Grandville, Johannot, Mali, Monnier, Travi\u00e8s and others.<\/p>\n
Among the contributions is Charles Nodier’s amusing article for L’Amateur de livres: “L’amateur de livres est un type qu’il est important de saisir, car tout pr\u00e9sage qu’il va bient\u00f4t s’effacer. Le livre imprim\u00e9 existe d\u00e9j\u00e0 depuis quatre cents ans au plus, et il s’accumule d\u00e9j\u00e0 dans certains pays de mani\u00e8re \u00e0 mettre en p\u00e9ril le vieil \u00e9quilibre du globe… A consid\u00e9rer l’amateur de livres comme une esp\u00e8ce qui se subdivise en nombreuses vari\u00e9t\u00e9s, le premier rang de cette ing\u00e9nieuse et capricieuse famille est d\u00fb au bibliophile. Le bibliophile est un homme dou\u00e9 de quelque esprit et de quelque go\u00fbt, qui prend plaisir aux \u0153uvres du g\u00e9nie, de l\u2019imagination et du sentiment” (Charles Nodier, volume III, p. 202).<\/p>\n
Occasional foxing.<\/p>\n
A very fine copy, with the coloured plates, preserved in its beautiful rocaille-style binding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
9 volumes, large 8vo (257 x 152 mm). Paris : frontispiece, 2 unn.l., XVI, 380 pp., 4 unn.l. of table, 47 woodcuts for the volume I ; frontispiece, 3 unn.l., XVIII, 376 pp., 48 plates for the volume II ; frontispiece, 3 unn.l., XL, 352 pp., 4 unn.l., 48 woodcuts for the volume III ; frontispiece, 3 unn.l., 392 pp., 4 unn.l., 49 woodcuts for the volume IV ; frontispiece, 3 unn.l., CVII, 376 pp. 4 unn.l., engraved portrait of Napol\u00e9on, 62 woodcuts for the volume V. Province : frontispiece, 3 unn.l., 392 pp., 4 unn.l., 49 woodcuts for the volume I ; frontispiece, 3 unn.l., 396 pp., 4 unn.l., 50 woodcuts for the volume II ; frontispiece, 3 unn.l., 1 double pages map, VIII, 460 pp., 5 unn.l., 37 pp., 1 unn.l, 53 woodcuts for the volume III. Prisme : 2 unn.l., 480 pp. Uniformly bound in red morocco, boards decorated with a large plaque in the rocaille style, with a double blind fillet, flat spine decorated with a plaque, title and series gilt, gilt edges (contemporary binding, in style of Boutigny<\/i>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":74600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[544],"product_tag":[604,598,1267,1450],"class_list":{"0":"post-74613","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-literature","7":"product_tag-19th-century-illustrations","8":"product_tag-19th-century-literature","9":"product_tag-binding","10":"product_tag-first-edition","11":"pa_auteur-anonyme-4","12":"pa_type-de-livre-printed-book","14":"first","15":"instock","16":"shipping-taxable","17":"purchasable","18":"product-type-simple"},"acf":{"artist":"[ANONYME]","chapeau":"Binding in red morocco gilded with plaque and with all the plates in colour.","adresse_bibliographique":"Paris, imprimerie Schneider & Langrand pour Curmer","book_type":"Printed book","provenance":"","afficher_prix":""},"yoast_head":"\n