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Author: Grandville, [J.J.]
Title: Scenes de la vie Privee et Publique des Animaux
Place Published: Paris
Publisher:J. Hetzel
Date Published: 1842
Description:

2 volumes. [8], 386, [6]; [4], 390, [6] pp. Text by P.J. Stahl & others. Additional engraved title page as frontispiece. With 201 wood-engraved plates from drawings by Grandville, head- and tailpieces with vignettes in each volume. 26x18 cm (10¼x7"), publisher's original de luxe binding in red/brown full morocco stamped in gold on backstrips with gilt vignettes on both covers of each volume, all edges gilt, moiré silk endpapers. First Edition in book form.

A first edition of great rarity in the publisher's de luxe binding. Carteret III, 552-559; Ray: "Art of the French Illustrated Books" #194; Vicaire VII: 405-416; Brivois p. 370; Sander 312. "The moving force behind this book was its publisher P. J. Hentzel, who himself contributed many chapters under the pseudonym P. J. Stahl. Hentzel's primary objective, as he remarks in his preface was 'to give words to Grandville's marvelous (people-like) animals, and to join our pen with his pencil, thereby coming to his assistance in criticizing the aberrations of our epoch, and by preference among these aberrations, those which are of every period and every country'. Bouchot described the result as the best satire on French manners during the middle of the century.." Ownership marks of early owner on front preliminary blank.

Slight fading to spines with light rubbing at extremities; generally a bright clean copy in very good or better condition.