A Paris, chez Duflos le jeune, 1779.
Folio of (2) ll. for the title and the notice to the reader, 128 plates out of pagination finely watercoloured at the time, framed with an illuminated fillet, with the original silky papers preserved. 1 plate with waterstains, handwritten signature on the back of plate 88.
– [With] Recueil d’estampes représentant les Grades, les Rangs & les Dignités, suivant le costume de toutes les Nations existantes ; avec des Explications historiques, & la Vie abrégée des grands Hommes qui ont illustré les dignités dont ils étoient décorés : Ouvrage dédié au Roi, et divisé en cinq classes ; La première, destinée aux Souverains de toute la terre : La seconde, à l’Église dans toutes les Religions : La troisième, à l’État Militaire de chaque Nation : La quatrième, à la Magistrature : La cinquième, aux Gens-de-Lettre & aux Artistes.
A Paris, chez Duflos le jeune, 1780.
Folio of (2) ll. for the title and the dedication to the King, 112 plates out of pagination finely watercoloured at the time, framed with an illuminated fillet, with the original silky papers preserved.
– [With] : Deuxième Recueil des Portraits des Hommes et des Femmes illustres, de toutes les nations connues, présentés sous le costume de leurs dignités…
A Paris, chez Duflos le jeune, 1787.
Folio of (1) title l., 6 plates, 22 numbered pp.
A total of 246 plates.
Set of 2 volumes bound in full granite-like calf, spine ribbed and decorated with gilt tools and fleurons, lettering pieces in light brown and blue morocco, red edges. Contemporary bindings.
398 x 263 mm.
First edition and first issue of one of the most famous costumes and historical portraits collections of the 18th century.
Colas, 250; Lipperheide 38; Brunet, II, 862; Vinet, 2104.
It is one of the most precious since the beginning of printing since the sole portrait of “Marie-Antoinette en costume de cour, d’après Touzé, s’est vendu seul 265 F or, vente Behague (Marie-Antoinette in her court costume was sold alone for 265 gold F at the Behague sale)” (Cohen, I, 334). Yet a book of bibliophily was sold then from 10 Gold Fr.
Precious copy of this sumptuous work (published in 44 parts of 6 plates each) here in the luxury issue with the rare portrait of Marie-Antoinette after Touzé.
All the plates have been watercoloured at the time (one of them bears the autograph signature of Duflos on the back).
“Only a small number of copies have been printed colored and with the plate framed with gilt fillets” (Bulletin Morgand et Fatout, n°8154).
Among the characters represented we can see for example Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Mehmed II, Henry VIII, Christina of Sweden, dignitaries such as the Mufti, the Persian High Priest, the Tartar Lama, the Great Lama, the Brahman, the Grand Vizier, the Emir Pasha, Tchorbadgi, Boluch-Bassi, Oliver Cromwell, a Japanese Shogun, a Hindustan lady, a Patagon, a Caribbean woman, Alkmey (King of Guinea), an Indian nobleman from the nation of Ottawa, a woman from Kamchatka, a woman from Congo, Samba Pango (King of Loango).
Cohen, describes a complete copy with, as here, the title, the dedication to King Louis XVI and the Notice to the reader. Colas also mentions a second title-page, a notice to nobility and 17 ll. of text that we almost never see. The number of engravings varies from one copy to another. The most complete ones or those completed contain 264 engravings. Cohen and Colas do not mention any copy in this condition. Cohen only mentions “a beautiful copy bound in red morocco containing such as this one, a title, a dedication to the king and a notice to the reader, followed with 240 engravings; Colas describes the Bethmann copy with 254 plates and the Jonghe’s one with 258 plates, but the latter in modern binding was missing the title-page.
The copy is complete with the engraving representing Marie-Antoinette, “which is traded at premium price.”
The interest of this book lies in the fact that it depicts many famous characters from the arts, literature and from the political world in France and England. Copies not comprising the portrait of Marie‑Antoinette are depreciated.
“Very beautiful and rare work on costumes from all over the world by all kinds of people, including militaries, artists and kings i.a. Peter the Great, joan of Arc, René Descartes, but also rulers from America, China, Congo, etc. i.a. “Timur-Bek ou le grand Tamerlan, empereur du Mogol”, “Mani-Monbada, reine de Congo”, “DonAlvare, roy de Congo”, “Cunne shote, chef des Chiroquois” etc”.”
Beautiful copy in contemporary coloring, each frame highlighted with gold, printed on large-paper, preserved in its contemporary binding.
