Phaedri, Augusti liberti, Fabularum Aesopiarum libri quinque
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1838
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Book, Whole
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This is a lovely book, with, as the seller notes, original marbled-paper endpapers and the original leather binding, and marbled-paper covered boards. I find illustrated Phaedrus editions to be quite rare. None had been done before this one since 1806. This book is in neither Carnes nor Bodemann. However, Carnes has two brief listings of books done in 1837 and 1838, respectively, and with the same exact title and page count as this volume. The word schematibus in the title of both appears in only these two titles in the whole of Carnes' catalogue. Here are Carnes' two references: Phaedri, Augusti liberti, Fabularum Aesopiarum libri quinque / quibus accedunt fabulae novae ex codice Perottino. Ed. nova ex optimis exemplaribus emendata et schematibus illustrata. Paris: Henriot, 1837, 172 pp. UBN. Nijmegen. And Phaedri Fabularum Aesopiarum libri quinque, quibus accedunt fabulae novae ex codice Perottino. Editio nova, ex optimis exemplaribus emendata et schematibus illustrata. Paris: R. Bregeaut, 1838. 172 pp. LC, NYPL. Bodemann does have Delloye publishing a Florian in 1838. The artist there was Victor Adam. Might he have been the artist here too? Jules David also did a LaFontaine in 1837/38, as did of course Grandville. The illustrations -- and their printing here -- are of high quality. There are also abundant printer's devices. A strange thing happens after the eighteenth fable of Book I: the text changes from movable print to script. That pattern perdures through Fable XXVI of the first book. In that section, the printer's designs are also replaced by hand-drawn symbols. The paper is also thinner. On 36, a strong design sweeps outside the margins. Who were the illustrators here? One of the fine partial-page designs is signed T. P. Molet (52), who is not in Bodemann. Another is signed H. Faxardo (64), also not in Bodemann. Still another is signed Lesestre, who is listed in Bodemann for engraving a La Fontaine in 1851. He may have the best fable illustration picturing the owl and cicada on 86. Verdeil on 73 is listed three times in Bodemann between 1837 and 1852. Altogether, this is a fascinating and unusual book! Is it an insult to a book to say that its best feature may be its printer's devices? There is an AI at the back.
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H. Delloye
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10483 (Access ID)