La Fontaine, Les amours de Psiche et Cupidon and Adonis, Paris, 1669, contemporary mottled calf
Auction Closed
July 11, 03:42 PM GMT
Estimate
800 - 1,200 GBP
Lot Details
Description
LA FONTAINE, JEAN DE. Les Amours de Psiche et De Cupidon. Paris: Claude Barbin, 1669 [bound with:]
Adonis. Poëme. [Paris: Claude Barbin, 1669]
FIRST EDITIONS OF BOTH WORKS.
Adonis, LA FONTAINE'S FIRST ORIG🌱INAL POEM, was written for his patron the finance minister Fouquet. His version of the classical tale of Psyche and Cupid is set in the gardens of V💮ersailles which were still being constructed at the time.
8vo (182 x 116 mm). Roman and italic type, 22 lines plus headline. collation: ā8 ē4 A-Z8 Aa-Dd8 Ee4; [π]2 Ff-Hh8 Ii4: 232 + 30 leaves. Woodcut device on first title-page, woodcut initials and headpieces. (Occasiona🐻l minor st♌ains.)
binding: Contemporary mottled calf (190 x 128 mm), edges of covers gilt, spine with 5 bands, 3-line title in second compartment, gilt fleuron and cornerpieces in others, edges sp💦eckled red.
acquisition: Purchased in 1985 from Librairie Thomas-Scheler, Paris. references: Tchemerzine VI, p. 394