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a drawing of a man and a dog in a wooded areaan old book with a picture of a man kneeling in front of a group of angelsan open book with music notes on itan old engraving of a woman in a long dress standing in a wooded areaa drawing of a man on a boat in the wateran old book with music notes on it sitting on top of a tablean old picture of a group of people sitting around a tablea red book sitting on top of a white table next to a white wallan open book with a picture of a man on it
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409 - LABORDE (Jean-Benjamin de). A Selection of Songs Set to Musi…
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Estimate €2,000 - €4,000
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Description
LABORDE (Jean-Benjamin de). A Selection of Songs Set to Music. Paris: de Lormel, 1773. 4 volumes in 2 parts, large 8vo (246 x 163 mm), comprising [1] frontispiece, 154 pp., 2 unnumbered folios; [1] frontispiece title page, 153 pp.; [1] portrait engraved by Moreau the Younger after Denon, [1] frontispiece title page, 150 pp., 2 unnumbered folios; [1] frontispiece title page, 150 pp., 2 unnumbered folios. Red morocco, ribbed spine with decorative bands, title and volume number in gold, place and date at the tail, triple gold fillet framing the covers, double gold fillet on the edges, interior lace, gold edges on marbled paper (Hardy-Mennil). Small tear at the top of the tail. Entirely engraved volume: title page with a floral ornament by Moreau, 4 frontispieces including a portrait of Laborde with a lyre (engraved only in 1774 and characteristic of fine copies) by Moreau, Le Bouteux, and Le Barbier, and 100 illustrations by Moreau, Le Barbier, Le Bouteux and Saint-Quentin. Dedication page bearing the coat of arms of Marie-Antoinette, Dauphine, designed by Moreau; text and music engraved by Moria and Mlle Vendôme. This book, one of the finest of the 18th century, is perhaps, alongside La Fontaine’s ‘Fables’, the most delightful for the charm of its subjects and the variety of costumes depicted therein. The author, a close associate of Louis XV and Madame Du Barry, had begun the work with Moreau. It is a great pity that a disagreement led the artist to abandon the project after the completion of the first volume. The illustrations were then entrusted to Le Bouteux, Le Barbier & Saint-Quentin, painters of merit but mediocre draughtsmen, whilst the engraving was entrusted to Née and Masquelier; consequently, the last three volumes are inferior to the first, which is a minor masterpiece of composition, wit and execution. (Cohen, 534/538.) A very fine copy in a signed morocco binding, embellished with an engraved portrait of the pregnant Mme Laborde by Née and Masquelier (ed. M. Magnier et cie) and two pages of handwritten music between pages 14 and 15.
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About the sale Bibliophilia (sale without a live event)
Auction location
Auction time 09/09/2026 at 1:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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