1791 ❧ Les amours de Psyché et Cupidon. Édition ornée de Figures imprimées en couleurs, d'après les Tableaux de M. Schall. Paris: De l'Imprimerie de P. Fr. Didot Jeune, Chez Defer de Maisonneuve, 1791. Royal 4to (335 x 255 mm). 4 fine stipple-engraved plates by Bonnefoy, Demonchy, Madame de Cernay, and Regnault after Jean-Frédéric Schall, all magnificently printed in colors à la poupée (with additional delicate hand-finishing as issued), before letters, with protective tissue guards. Light spotting. Contemporary calf framed by gilt rolls, sympathetically rebacked with black lettering piece and remainder of spine rather elaborately gilt with a diaper pattern. Provenance: Lord Gray (bookplate); W. A Foyle (bookplate and sale?); The Stock of H. P. Kraus (bookplate and sale?). A MONUMENT OF 18TH-CENTURY FRENCH COLOR-PRINTED ILLUSTRATION. This landmark publication represents one of the absolute pinnacles of late 18th-century French book production, bringing together the unmatched typographic precision of the Didot press and the delicate, sensuous designs of Jean-Frédéric Schall (1752-1825). Schall's elegant, Rococo-infused paintings of the myth of Cupid and Psyche were masterfully translated onto copper plates using the stipple engraving technique, which allowed for soft, painterly gradations of tone. Rather than being hand-colored over a black-and-white print, these plates were painstakingly inked in multiple colors directly on the metal plate (à la poupée) before passing through the press, a highly luxurious and technically challenging process. Cohen-de Ricci 582; Rochambeau 39; Reynaud 283. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing