LA FONTAINE (Jean de). Tales and Short Stories in Verse. Ams - Lot 81

LA FONTAINE (Jean de). Tales and Short Stories in Verse. Amsterdam (Paris), 1762. Two in-8 volumes, contemporary red morocco binding, ribbed spine decorated with title and volume number labels in green morocco, wide and very fine gold lace with small ironwork on the covers, lining and endpapers covered with gold-starred paper, interior lace, gilt and chiseled edges. A famous edition, known as the “Fermiers généraux” edition, as it was financed by them. It is the finest edition of La Fontaine’s Fables, Eisen’s masterpiece, and undoubtedly the most iconic book of the French 18th century. The first printing is adorned with two portraits of La Fontaine and Eisen engraved by Fiquet, 80 exquisite full-page illustrations engraved from Eisen’s drawings, 4 vignettes, and 53 remarkable end-piece engravings—masterpieces by Choffard, who depicted himself in the last one. The illustrations for *Le Cas de conscience* and *Le Diable de Papefiguière* appear here in two versions: covered and uncovered. A magnificent copy in red morocco leather adorned with sumptuous and very fine lacework, elegantly enhanced with ermine speckles and hearts pierced by arrows at the four corners—symbols of love and purity. While the lace decorations on this edition are most often the work of Derome, this delightful binding with chiseled edges seems to us more likely to be attributed to Douceur. It is preserved in the most pristine condition. The copy originally belonged to the farmer-general René Albert Saulot de Bospin, for whom it was undoubtedly bound and whose coat-of-arms ex-libris appears on the front endpaper. A native of Rouen, Saulot de Bospin (1734–1811) served as deputy steward at the Ferme Générale during the David lease (1774–1780), overseeing the Soissonais and Picardy regions. After 1780, he was appointed steward of the new General Administration of Domains, created by Necker’s reform, which reduced the number of tax farmers from sixty to forty. Arrested during the trial of the farmers-general (May 5–8, 1794), he was acquitted by the Revolutionary Tribunal and escaped the guillotine. He had amassed a fine library, which was dispersed in 1804. Depending on when they were acquired, his books bear his bookplate as “Fermier général,” as seen here, or as “Administrateur général des domaines” from 1780 until the Revolution. Acquired by Émile Rossignol in 1964. Madame de La Borde’s copy

Estimate:£12,783.52

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