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an old blue book sitting on top of a table next to a white wallan old book sitting on top of a table next to a white wallan old blue book sitting on top of a white tablea drawing of a man holding a baby in his armsan open blue book sitting on top of a white surface
KÂ- MONDO / KAPANDJI MORHANGE

242 - RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE, Nicolas-Edme.
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Estimate €80 - €130
Sale commission
Description
RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE, Nicolas-Edme. *Les Provinciales* [*The Year of the National Ladies*]. Paris, J.B. Garnery, 1796. In-12 (17.5 x 11 cm), Bradel style, navy blue percaline, plain spine. Modern binding. pp. 3228–3825. Spine worn, paper yellowed, some foxing and water stains. Untrimmed. Second edition (with a modified title) of the twelfth and final volume of *L’Année des dames nationales*, one of Restif de La Bretonne’s most significant works on the history of social mores during the Revolution. Comprising 12 volumes, one for each month of the year, this novel of manners consists of nearly 600 stories, a veritable melting pot of literary inspiration, as highlighted by bibliographers: “all containing strange events and well-suited to providing playwrights with subjects for plays of every genre.” The work, which features many famous women of the Revolutionary era, is brimming with anecdotes and highly colourful details which Restif drew chiefly from the Marquis de la Grange, a former officer of the Musketeers, who attended the Countess de Beauharnais’s literary suppers every Friday. “There, around three o’clock in the morning, the Marquis would begin to recount the secret anecdotes of the courts of Louis XV and Louis XVI.” Furthermore, in order to obtain authentic information on each of France’s provinces, Restif had his publishers write to people in characteristic towns to gather “all the details concerning the women and girls of that town…”. He thus received 500 detailed replies, which he adapted for his short stories. The original was published between 1791 and 1794.
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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
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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