BALZAC (Honoré de). The Cabinet of Antiques. Scenes... Lot 6

BALZAC (Honoré de). The Cabinet of Antiques. Scenes of provincial life. Paris : Hyppolite Souverain, 1839. - 2 volumes in-8, burgundy half calf, spine ribbed and decorated, marbled edges (early 20th century binding). First separate edition of this provincial novel and first edition of "Gambara". "Despite the title, in Le Cabinet des Antiques there is no antique cabinet, no antique dealer, no collection of old objects: Balzac seizes on a recurrent theme in the literature of the time and uses it as a simple metaphor. "Cabinet des Antiques" is the contemptuous sobriquet by which the liberals of the town of Alençon refer to the aristocratic salon of the Marquis d'Esgrignon, that "little provincial faubourg Saint-Germain". There meet the ultras whose fidelity to the Kings has never failed, not even during the revolutionary storm; the habitués of this salon are doubly decrepit, both physically and ideologically. These crumbling old men look more like dusty mummies than women and men" (Stefano Lazzarin, "Balzac et le corps des nobles: à propos du Cabinet des Antiques", in: "Corps, littérature, société (1787-1900)", University of Saint-Étienne, 2005, page 176). The short story "Gambara" appears here for the first time in volume. It is the third part of a trilogy that includes "Massimilla Doni" and "The Unknown Masterpiece". A fine copy, washed, in a pastiche binding of the early 20th century.