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Description
[LITERATURE]
NOUGARET (Pierre-Jean-Baptiste).
A Moving Portrait of Paris, or Amusing Varieties; a work enriched with historical and critical notes, and brought to light by Mr Nougaret
London, Thomas Hookham; Paris, the widow of Duchesne, 1787.
3 vols. in-12, xiv pp., 360 pp.; title page, 358 pp., one folio of errata; title page, 359 pages. Light brown sheepskin half-binding (added after the book was published).
First edition under this title, but the content largely mirrors that of *Astuces de Paris, anecdotes parisiennes*, in which we see the ruses employed by schemers and certain pretty women to deceive simple folk (1776).
The prolific writer Nougaret (1742–1823) produced several atmospheric novels set in Paris during the Ancien Régime, the Revolutionary period or the Directoire. Leaving aside stylistic considerations, these are rather interesting accounts of the daily lives of Parisians in a capital undergoing rapid change.
Part of Volume I is devoted to the Montgolfier brothers and ballooning. A significant portion of Volume II (pp. 112–272) is devoted to the craze for animal magnetism and, in particular, mesmerism. Quérard VI, 459. Cioranescu, XVIII, 48 427.
See original version (French)
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About the sale
Bibliophilia – A fine selection of antique and modern books
Auction location
Auction time
10/15/2026 at 1:00 PM
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