Vernet, Carle & Horace ; Le Vachez, Charles-F... Lot n° 257

VERNET, Carle & Horace Recueil de chevaux de tous genres [...]. Paris (Auber ; Auber & Boissel) [1794-1807] Folio, obl., 35,5 x 51 cm: engr. title, 55 (of 60) pl. (occ. very marg. tears often restored, occ. sl. spotting or sm. stains mainly in the margins). Late 19th-c. half green sheep cased binding, marbled paper on boards, flat gilt-ruled spine (loose binding, rubbing and scratching on spine). Inside very fresh and clean. First and only edition of this very popular collection rarely complete. Our copy contains the ill. title and 55 engr. (num. 1 to 55) of horses by Le Vachez in a mixed method (mezzotint and soft-ground), after drawings of father and son Vernet, all hand-coloured, among which 21 on hunting, the others on horses for leisure, coach horses, horses in military and battle scenes, in oriental settings, horse racing, etc. According to the title, the book was issued in 5 suites of 12 engr. each and Thiébaud mentions 60 numb. pl., but according to Dejager, "the only comprehensive description of copy, by Podeschi, in the Mellon collection, refers to the same number of plates (55) as in our copy" (Dejager, p. 639). It is generally believed that the book was published in 1811, but on the two first plates is printed the mention "Déposé à la Bibliothèque nationale, le 13 ventôse an II [= 1794]". "Cet album, infiniment rare, surtout en couleurs, est une des plus belles productions de Carle et Horace Vernet [...]. Il est à peu près impossible de trouver aujourd’hui une série complète en couleurs, les marchands d’estampes et les amateurs s’étant chargés de dépecer les exemplaires" (Thiébaud). Ref. Thiébaud 927-929 (60 pl.). - Schwerdt I:281-282 (15 pl.). - Mennessier de La Lance II:617-618 (only comments on Vernet's equestrian work). - Dejager, Bibliotheca Hippologica, 317 (55 pl., in black). Prov. Printed shipping label "L'Étrier belge société coopérative [...]. Exposition l'Art et l'équitation du 9 mai au 1er juin 1936" with ms. mentions.