Two Volumes. pp. xiv, [2], 268, [2], 8; [2], viii, [2], 306, [4], [9]-16 + Plus a remarkable group of elegant engravings, including: Two frontispieces by Fiquet, after Rigault and Vispre; over fifty vignettes and culs-de-lamp by Choffard; and 80 full-page plates after Eisen by - Aliamet, Baquoy, Choffard, Delafosse, de Longueil, Flipart, Le Mire, Lempereur. Leveau, Ourvrier, et. al. One plate is apparently from a different copy. Some slight age foxing. ALSO: Two plates that are often censored - Cas de Conscience & Diable de Papefiguiere - do not seem to appear at all in my examples. 12mo (in 8s). 185 mm. Attractive contemporary French red morocco gilt bindings, with only very slight defects. First Edition. Provenance: The set belonged to Edwin Wolf II (1911 1991) - famous as the Librarian of the Library Company of Philadelphia, and as a collector, and an employee of the renowned Rosenbach Co. from 1930 to 1952. The Family Album purchased a large part of his collection of early books in 1992. About this work : The world famous tales and fables of Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695), neatly printed in verse, are joined by a 'Dissertation sur la Joconde' by Nicolas Boileau Despreaux (1636-1711); and the best work of the great illustrators & engravers Charles Eisen (1720-1778) and Pierre-Philippe Choffard (1730-1809). Justly considered one of the greatest examples of French rococo illustration. The Fermiers Generaux, an entrepreneurial financial association responsible for gathering and banking certain kinds of taxes, commissioned this edition of La Fontaine's zesty tales. Determined that the book should be the best of its kind, they allowed their agent, the Chevalier d'Agincourt, unlimited resources. It is still provocative to consider that patronage of the arts by this new plutocracy produced the greatest monument and triumph of this renowned age of illustration. See: Cohen-de Ricci 558-571; Ray. 'Art of the French Illustrated Book' p. 54-56; Holloway. 'French Rococo Book Illustration' pp. 21-24; & Etc. THE IMMORTAL FERMIERS GENERAL EDITION OF THE TALES OF LA FONTAINE. **PRICE JUST REDUCED! SAFE ADD 1
