La Fontaine, Jean de | With Moreau's plates in two states

Property from the Library of John M. Schiff

La Fontaine, Jean de

Les amours de Psyche et de Cupidon. Paris: Didot le Jeune, L'an Troisieme (1795)

Folio (360 x 265 mm). Half-title, title-page, frontispiece portrait of La Fontaine, dedication to the Duchess of Bouillon, 16 plates after Moreau overall, with the 8 plates called for extended by the inclusion of their earlier states inserted, some before lettering, by Dambrun, Hubert, Halbou, Simonet, Duhamel, Petit, Parquet, Dupreel, and De Ghends, large margins; some marginal foxing, very light offsetting from plates, pp.47/46 with closed marginal tear not affecting text, pp.53/54 and 63/64 with a small hole at the bottom corner, pp.131/132 with a similar hole and short closed tear at foot, stray mark in pencil to margins of pp.144/145, loss to corner of pp.183/184. Contemporary half red morocco over red speckled boards, spine in 6 gilt tooled compartments, second lettered in gilt; overall worn though spine gilt is bright, morocco lost at corners, some loss at head of spine, rubbed and bumped at extremities.

A handsome large paper copy of La Fontaine's paraphrase in prose and verse of the famous novella of Apuleius, with Moreau's plates in two states.

REFERENCE:

Ray, French 56; Rochambeau 24; Bocher (Moreau) 924-931; Lewine, p. 283

PROVENANCE:

Robert Hoe (gilt morocco bookplate to pastedown)