Fables de La Fontaine, Tome Premier

Abstract

This is a beautifully produced and bound pair of little (3 x 4¾) volumes. Bodemann #238.4 describes them well. This first volume starts with a Notice on La Fontaine by Walckenaer, an Eloge of La Fontaine by Chamfort, the dedication to the Dauphin, a preface, a life of Aesop, an AI, and the fables of the first six books, finishing on 212. The small but fine engravings here include a frontispiece portrait of La Fontaine; WL (16); Les Frelons et les Mouches (33); LM (54); Le Loup Devenu Berger (79); Le Cygne et le Cuisinier (93); Le Lion Amoreux (104); Le Loup, le Chevre et le Chevreau (132); Le Cheval et le Loup (160); Le Renard, le Singe et les Animaux (188); and La Jeune Veuve (209). My votes for the best of these go to WL; Le Loup Devenu Berger; Le Cheval et le Loup; and La Jeune Veuve. There is a lovely bit of embossing on the front and back covers as well as the spine.