LA FONTAINE (J. de). Contes et nouvelles en vers. Amsterdam, - Lot 37

LA FONTAINE (J. de). Contes et nouvelles en vers. Amsterdam, 1762, 2 vol. in-8°, red morocco, gilded lace around covers with a set of straight or serrated fillets, ornate smooth spines, gilded edges (period binding). Collation : T. I : XVI pp. 1 f. n. ch. with a vignette by Choffard dated 1762, 268 pp. 1 f. de Table, 8 pp. "Avis au relieur", portrait and 39 figs. / T. II: 1 f. de faux-titre, VIII pp. 1 f. n. ch. with a vignette by Choffard dated 1762, 306 pp. 2 pp. de Table, portrait and 41 figs. First edition. "Among the illustrated books of the eighteenth century, this edition of the Contes de La Fontaine, known as the Fermiers généraux edition, because they paid for it, is the most beautiful and pleasing overall; it is also Eisen's masterpiece." (Cohen, I, 558-570) 2 portraits by Rigaud and Vispré, 80 figures by Eisen, 4 vignettes and 53 culs-de-lampe by Choffard. Copy in elegant decorated contemporary bindings. Le Cas de conscience and Le Diable de Papefiguière are from the covered state. The Avis au relieur on T. II has not been preserved. Dimensions: 177 x 114 mm. Provenances: R. Hoe (Cat., 1912, no. 1871), with his bookplate; Chr. Lazard (Cat., 1967, no. 34, reproduction, "Très belle reliure, à large dentelle, attribuable à Padeloup"), with his bookplate. Portalis (R.), Les Dessinateurs d'illustrations au dix-huitième siècle, pp. 190-213 ("We are anxious to arrive at what is considered Eisen's masterpiece, at this book which has long passed for the most successful of the eighteenth century, an inimitable book indeed, due to the collaboration of three charming artists, 'Les Contes de La Fontaine' (1762), printed by Barbou at the expense of the Fermiers généraux.").