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several old books are stacked on top of each other on a tableseveral old books stacked on top of each other on a white surfacea drawing of a billiards game being played by a group of peopleseveral old books are stacked on top of each other on a tablean old book with a picture of a bird on ita drawing of a man walking down a street with a bird on his headseveral old books stacked on top of each other on a white surfacedrawing of a group of children playing a game of cards in a rooman old picture of a man and a woman sitting on a bench
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241 - RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE, Nicolas-Edme.
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Estimate €500 - €800
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Description
RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE, Nicolas-Edme. *Les Nuits de Paris ou le Spectateur nocturne*. London [Paris], n.p., 1788–1789–1790 In-12 (18 x 11 cm), paperback volumes, in pink covers, a copy as published at the time, with full margins. 13 vols. with continuous pagination (13 parts): 3,119 pp. + 1 bound vol. (parts 13, 14 and 15): pp. 2,884–3,359 – 264 pp. Scuffs and soiling on the covers. A few pinholes. Scuffing to the binding. First edition of one of Restif de la Bretonne’s most sought-after works. The work is divided into 16 parts and 8 volumes totalling over 4,000 pages. The first 14 parts were published in 1788–1789 and have continuous pagination (pages 1 to 3,359). Restif de la Bretonne had originally intended to have them bound in pairs to form 7 volumes. After the Revolution, Restif published two further parts: a 15th in 1790 and an extremely rare 16th in 1796, which definitively completed the set (8 volumes). This copy comprises the first 13 parts (7 tomes in 13 volumes), to which is attached a separate volume containing the 13th, 14th and 15th parts. It is illustrated in the first edition with 16 fine engravings (which Cohen attributes to Binet), in which Restif is almost always depicted in his characteristic ‘nocturnal spectator’ costume. It notably includes the plate ‘Le Billard’, which was rarely included and is missing from many copies. There is also a coloured portrait of the author as the frontispiece to the twelfth part. In the first 14 parts, Restif’s *Le Spectateur nocturne* paints an extraordinary picture of Paris before the Revolution. “This great, essentially Parisian work has always been sought after, even whilst Restif’s works were still disparaged, neglected and almost unknown.” “It is a unique book that captures the moral character of Paris at the end of the 18th century.” A precious first edition of the first 13 parts, well preserved in their beautiful pink period paperbacks, accompanied by the 14th and 15th parts in a bound volume included with this extremely rare set.
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About the sale Collectors’ books for sale – First editions – Illustrated editions – Varia IV
Auction location
Auction time 11/02/2026 at 2:00 PM
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