A Paris, l’An Ier de la République Française, 1792. Imprimé l’An II, 1793.
8vo [219 x 130 mm] of xxiv pp., 254 pp., 26 engravings in 55 plates (25 in colour, 30 in black) including 23 duplicate, 3 triplicate and 2 on blue paper.
Red morocco, triple gilt fillet around the covers, decorated flat spine. 19th century binding.
Rare first edition of this anticlerical essay illustrated with 26 plates.
Cohen 111; Brunet, IV, 1070-1071.
Deluxe copy on vellum paper.
‘Part I (the only one published): XII-254 pp., plus 26 plates drawn by Bar and engraved by himself in ink wash painting” (Cohen, 111).
« This is the beginning of a reduction of the great work described above. Rabelli is only Bar’s Italian anagram ». (Cohen, who values basic copies from 80 to 100 F OR, which places this illustrated among the significant books of the 18th century).
« This plates were engraved by Bar in ink wash painting and were hand-coloured by himself.
During the Revolution, as a precaution, Bar changed his name to Rabelli and called his book les Mascarades monastiques. He also published under this title a reduced edition which we will find described here. »
Cohen only describes one copy illustrated with 26 colored plates without specifying the print run: “La Bedoyère, today at the B.n.F.”.
Outstanding copy, untrimmed, illustrated with 55 engravings – 25 hand-colored, 30 in black, including 3 in triplicate, 23 in duplicate, 2 engravings are engraved on blue paper.
It bears the famous blue ex-libris, n212, cyphered LM.
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