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LES PIÈCES DE MOLIÈRE.
(Paris: Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1888-96). 180 x 110 mm. (7 x 4 1/4"). 30 volumes. ONE OF 25 COPIES on papier de Chine fort (as well as 20 on Japon and 25 on Whatman paper).
VERY DECORATIVE CONTEMPORARY CRIMSON MOROCCO, INTRICATELY GILT (16 volumes stamp-signed Bretault on front turn-in), covers with gilt French fillet, raised bands, spines very densely gilt in compartments (10 with a floral centerpiece and 20 with a scroll centerpiece), wide turn-ins gilt with elaborate floral scrolls, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, original printed paper wrappers bound in. Six volumes in (slightly worn) marbled paper slipcases. WITH 60 PLATES (each of the 30 volumes with two states of an engraving) by Champollion after Louis Leloir, many retaining their original tissue guards. Title pages printed in black and red. A few gatherings unopened. Ray, 272 (first Jouaust edition). Spines slightly darkened (though hard to tell this because of all the gilt) one volume with front joint a bit rubbed, about a third of the volumes with occasional minor foxing, a few marginal stains and soiling, other trivial imperfections, but A VERY FINE SET, clean, fresh, and unusually bright internally, and in very pleasing, scarcely worn bindings.
Printed on fine paper and in richly decorated bindings, this is a handsome set of the works of the great French playwright. Under the stage name "Molière," actor and playwright Jean-Baptist Poquelin (1622-73) penned and produced satirical plays--many of which caused considerable scandal--at the Parisian theater now known as the Comédie Française. According to Britannica, "the actor in him influenced his writing, since he wrote (at speed) what he could most naturally act. . . . He is a classical writer, yet he is ready to defy all rules of writing." The present multi-volume edition was produced by the Librairie des Bibliophiles, founded by printer Damase Jouaust (1834-93), who specialized in luxury printings intended for bibliophiles, issued on special papers, and often with attractive etchings, as here. Ray writes that Jouaust's Moliere, first published in 1876-83, was "his most ambitious undertaking." The present smaller-format reprinting contains new plates after the same illustrations by Louis Leloir, which Ray tells us were "carefully meditated," with great attention to accurate depictions of the period. The fine paper is thick and creamy, and, fortunately for us, the pages bear almost no signs of use. Joseph Brétault (1856-1903), whose atelier was known for its fine work, bound 16 of the volumes here, while the remaining (unsigned) bindings are in consistent red morocco, with well executed and elegant gilding. (ST20760-04)
Price: $4,500.00