LA FONTAINE Jean de. Selected Fables, set in verse.... Lot 44

LA FONTAINE Jean de. Selected Fables, set in verse. By M. de la Fontaine. Paris, Claude Barbin, March 31, 1668; in-4° (Height : 245 mm) of [28] ff, 284 p., [2] ff the last one blank, Second Empire binding in midnight blue morocco, spine ribbed and decorated with gilt motifs, inner lace and gilt edges (Trautz-Bauzonnet). FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE CLASSIC WORKS OF WORLD LITERATURE. It is dedicated to the great Dauphin, father of the duke of Burgundy, grandfather of Louis XV with his arms engraved on the title page. This collection contains the first six books, that is 124 fables accompanied by 118 quarter-page VIGNETTES DRAWN AND ENGRAVED IN EAU-FORTE BY FRANÇOIS CHAUVEAU. The six other books were published in 12-page format from 1678 to 1693. The copy is distinguished by the following particularities: on page 45, line 18, the word "fatras" remains instead of "tracas" used in the reprints; on page 57, the word "pas" has been crossed out by a contemporary hand and replaced by the word "plus"; on page 76, line 14, the word "bien" has been cancelled in pen. The very vigorous printing of the engravings has sometimes caused some slight of the engravings. Copies in contemporary bindings are rare. By a singular chance, however, two copies were sold at short intervals. The Pierre Berès copy in contemporary vellum was sold for € 275,000 on 20 June 2006 and five months later, on 1 December, the Louis Buber copy with a few defects sold for € 100,000. - Reproduction opposite. A LUXURIOUS EXAMPLE, VERY PURE, PAST IN THREE PRESTIGIOUS LIBRARIES, those of Baron Sosthène de la Roche-Lacarelle (catalogue, 1888, no. 246), Eugène-Gabriel Marigues de Champs-Repus (catalogue, 1893, no. 141) and the jeweller Raphaël Esmerian (catalogue, II, 1972, no. 135). "If a book comes from Gros de Boze, La Roche-Lacretelle or Rahir, its value is increased because these names If a book comes from Gros de Boze, La Roche-Lacretelle or Rahir, its value is increased because these names bring the guarantee of a knowledge and a faultless judgment" (Manuel de Bibliophilie, 1997).