1734 ❧ FÉNELON, FRANÇOIS DE SALIGNAC DE LA MOTHE. 1651-1715. Les Avantures de Télémaque, Fils d'Ulysse. Amsterdam and Rotterdam: J. Wetstein & G. Smith; Jean Hofhout, 1734. Folio (68 x 273 mm). Engraved frontispiece by Bernard Picart, portrait of Fénelon by Drevet after Vivien, 24 full-page copper-engraved plates engraved by Folkéma, Tanjé, and others after Debrie, Dubourg, and Picart; title printed in red and black with engraved allegorical vignette, text printed within elaborate typographic ornamental borders, 45 head- and tailpieces. Without the suppressed material originally designed to follow p.395 as usual, occasional light internal spotting or minor marginal smudging. Contemporary French mottled calf, sides with the large gilt armorial device of Le Clerc de Lesseville, spine in 8 compartments with 7 raised bands gilt, red morocco lettering-piece. Minor scratching and light rubbing to extremities. Provenance: Charles-Nicolas Le Clerc de Lesseville, 1679-1749 (gilt arms on binding). DELUXE FOLIO EDITION, one of 150 copies printed on Grand Papier. This 1734 Amsterdam folio edition, produced under the supervision of the Marquis de Fénelon, represents the definitive text of Fénelon's utopian political epic, corrected from previous corrupt editions. Conceived as a didactic tool to tutor the grandson of Louis XIV on moral leadership and the dangers of absolutism, the work became a foundational text of French political philosophy. This limitation was printed on heavy-stock large paper intended a prestige acquisition for the great libraries of Europe. This copy is elevated by its binding executed for Charles-Nicolas Le Clerc de Lesseville (1679-1749), one of the premier bibliophiles of the French administrative nobility (noblesse de robe). Brunet II: 1214; Cohen-de Ricci 381-82; Graesse II, 564; Ray, French Illustrated Books 1 ('This comprehensive allegory in the high baroque manner is developed with exceptional spirit and inventiveness'). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing