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Carrère et Laborie

78 - PIDANSAT by MAIROBERT: Secret Memoirs to Serve the History o…
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Estimate €120 - €150
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Description
PIDANSAT by MAIROBERT: Secret Memoirs to Serve the History of the Republic of Letters in France, from 1762 to the present day; or Journal of an Observer, containing Analyses of the Plays that have appeared during this period; reports on literary gatherings; reviews of new, clandestine and banned books; fleeting, rare or manuscript works, in prose or verse; court vaudevilles; anecdotes and witticisms; eulogies of scholars, artists and men of letters who have passed away, etc., etc., etc. London, Adamson, 1784. 29 volumes in 12mo, contemporary marbled calf, plain spine with decoration, coat of arms scraped off the front covers (probably that of the d’Arcangues family; minor defects to the bindings). We have 29 of the 36 volumes: volume 18 and volumes 31 to 36 are missing. The Secret Memoirs, known as those of Bachaumont, constitute a collection of anecdotes, epigrams, songs, satires, echoes of pamphlets, “it is said”, rumours and various backroom secrets that stirred up the City and the Court, public and social life, in the second half of the 18th century. They also provide a critique of cultural events: painting salons, publications of new engravings, theatre gazettes, literary news, etc. Originally published from 1777 onwards, these Memoirs – written by two famous short-story writers, Pidansat de Mairobert (1727–1779) until his suicide, and then Mouffle d’Angerville (1728–1795)—present a retrospective chronicle spanning from 1762 to 1787. Their immediate success led to several editions, or partial reissues supplementing existing series. Our copy, dated 1784 to 1786, constitutes one of these major issues duly catalogued by historians (cf. Sgard, Dictionnaire des journaux, II, p. 829).
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About the sale Ancient and modern books and manuscripts
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Auction time 06/26/2026 at 2:00 PM
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