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AGUTTES
127
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François-René de CHATEAUBRIAND.
See original version (French)
127
-
François-René de CHATEAUBRIAND.
See original version (French)
Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
Voluntary lot
Description
François-René de CHATEAUBRIAND.
An Essay on English Literature and Reflections on the Genius of Men, Times and Revolutions.
Paris, Charles Gosselin & Co. and Furne, 1836.
2 volumes in-8, (2) folios, 370 pp. and (2) folios, 404 pp. Red long-grain half-maroquin with corners, spine with decorated false raised bands, decorated panels, author’s name, title and volume number in gold, gold fillet on the covers, uncut with gilt top, cover and spine preserved [Canape] (caps, corners and edges very slightly rubbed; copy possibly washed; gilder’s error on the spine).
Provenance:
Ex-libris J. Le Roy. Escoffier, *Le Mouvement romantique*, 1186: ‘What is of paramount importance, at this point in 1836, is Chateaubriand’s assessment – lost in Volume II, p. 253 – of the Romantic movement.’
Bibliography:
Carteret, *Romantique et moderne*, I, 163.
Description:
First edition.
A beautifully produced copy by Canape, complete with covers printed on yellow paper.
An ambitious essay, emblematic of Chateaubriand’s desire to combine literature and politics, a blend of visionary reflections on the future of the world and of art: “I concern myself with everything—the present, the past, the future; I wander here and there; when I come across the Middle Ages, I speak of them; when I encounter the Reformation, I dwell upon it; when I come across the English Revolution, it brings our own to mind, and I cite its men and events.”
Chateaubriand included in it previously unpublished fragments from the *Mémoires d’outre tombe*, which were subsequently revised (Carteret).
A fine copy bearing an autograph ‘ex dono’ inscription by the author:
Presented by the author to Mr Chardel, / Chateaubriand.
Casimir Chardel (1777–1847) of Rennes served as a Member of Parliament until 1834. A magistrate under the Empire, he welcomed the return of the Bourbons. “Having displayed ‘constitutional’ and liberal leanings during the final years of Charles X’s reign, he was chosen by the electors of the 6th arrondissement of Paris to represent them in the Chamber of Deputies” (Dictionnaire des parlementaires français, II, 1890, 50–51). Once elected, he took part in the July Days of 1830, chairing an insurrectionary committee.
A copy belonging to the former minister Philippe de Villepin, bearing his colour ex libris designed by the Chinese artist Zao-Wou-Ki.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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