Les Fables de Jean-Pierre-Claris de Florian

Abstract

Bodemann 381.1. This is a beautiful book. On the cover is an animal excursion led by the monkey with a magic lantern on his back. The frontispiece is an animal parade led by the fox barrister. All 110 fables are represented. Bodemann counts 75 illustrations in the text. Of these I find three (Bodemann counts only two) that are full-page colored illustrations: Le Singe qui montre la Lanterne magique (34), L'habit d'Arlequin (84), and Le Léopard et l'Ecureuil (118). We both count five further colored illustrations: La Carpe et les Carpillons (10); Le Danseur de corde et le Balancier (42); Le Paon, les deux Oisons et le Plongeon (68); Le Lapin et la Sarcelle (95); and Le Procès des deux Renards (111). The uncolored drawings are also often delightful. Particularly spirited are these illustrations: Le Boeuf, le Cheval et l'Ane (5); L'âne et la Flûte (115); and Le Crocodile et l'Esturgeon (124). There is a full T of C at the end. The first copy was in the Alliance Française Library in Poughkeepsie. Because both copies have some flaws, especially to their covers, I will keep both in the collection.