Fables de La Fontaine, Vols. III and IV

Abstract

This is a fascinating little book for several reasons. A first reason is that it is interiorly a lovely addition to the collection, with a total of 17 full-page illustrations. Secondly, it is poorly reconstructed. Its spine is even upside down! Thirdly, it fits in a curious way with a book already in the collection. In 2019 I found a book on World of Books through Ebay that seems to be a derivative of the first two volumes of the set for which this present book contains the last two volumes. The present book matches Bodemann's description of #238 perfectly. Her description is accurate: "Feine, nahezu wissenschaftlich exakte Tierzeichnungen, doch mit eher menschlichen Physiognomien; oft ungwöhnliche Konfiguration der kulissenbildenden Tier- und Pflanzenwelt. Verquickung mit tropischen Arten. Kontrastreiche Schattierungen ähnlich wie in den Stichen von Simon und Coiny."