I have been in the rare and antiquarian book business for over forty years; my family has been in the rare books business since 1876. Rare books are in my blood.
Chansons de P.J. Béranger Anciennes, Nouvelles et Inédites,
Paris: Baudouin Frères, Éditeurs, 1828. Item #04871
Pierre-Jean de Béranger "The Most Popular French Songwriter of All Time"
"The First Superstar of French Popular Music"
Thirty Three (of Forty) Hand Colored Lithograph Plates by Henri Monnier
MONNIER, Henri, illustrator. Chansons de P.J. Béranger Anciennes, Nouvelles et Inédites, avec des vignettes de Devéria et des dessins coloriées d'Henri Monnier. Suivies des Procès Intentés a l'Auteur. Paris: Baudouin Frères, Éditeurs, 1828.
First edition. Two octavo volumes (8 1/8 x 5 1/8 inches; 207 x 130 mm.). [ii], [1]-439, 1, blank]; [iv], [1]-438 pp. Some light waterstaining to the top edge of the first few leaves in volume one, not affecting text.
**Thirty-three (of forty) superb hand colored lithograph plates by Henri Monnier and numerous charming black & white vignettes by Achille Devèria. The color plates have the original tissue guards. The plates that were never included in this copy are numbers: 21, 26, 28, 31, 35, 37, & 39.(These seven plates are highlighted below within the listing of all 40 plates).
Contemporary quarter russia over blue boards, spines decoratively ruled in gilt, two black morocco labels lettered in gilt, pink marbled endpapers. Head and tail of spines expertly and almost invisibly repaired, corners rubbed. Bookplates removed from front pastedowns. A very good copy.
**"The forty drawings by Henri Monnier, lithographed with a pen on stone and colored with a brush, are very rare complete. Seven of these lithographs are often missing, they are: The Court Dress, The Exile, The Good Old Man, The Marquise of Pretintaille, The Flight of Love, The Voyager, The two Grenadiers." (Carteret III, p. 72).
KVK locates no complete copies; OCLC locates just one complete copy in libraries and institutions worldwide: Paris-Est Marne-La-Vallee-Bu (France). All other copies that are recorded or that we know of have the same thirty-three (of forty) hand colored plates. It would appear that the seven plates numbers 21, 26, 28, 31, 35, 37, & 39 were either destroyed soon after printing or purposely left out in all but the very first copies.
Pierre-Jean de Béranger (1780-1857) was a prolific French poet and chansonnier (songwriter), who enjoyed great popularity and influence in France during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity in the decades following his death. He has been described as "the most popular French songwriter of all time" and "the first superstar of French popular music". The Chansons were composed with fastidious care and are most notable for their clarity, wit and incisiveness, however the socialist and revolutionary content of his songs resulted in several brushes with the authorities, resulting in his nine month incarceration in La Force Prison.
Stephens Lyne-Stephens (1801-1860) was an English Tory politician who represented Barnstaple before the 1832 Reform Act. After inheriting a family fortune from glass manufacture in Portugal, he was later reputed to be the richest commoner in England.
The plates:
1. Le Roi d'Yvetot
2. La Bacchante
3. Le Sénateur
4. La Gaudriole
5. Roger Bontemps
6. Ma Grand'Mère
7. Ma Mère Aveugle
8. Le Petit Homme Gris
9. La Bonne Fille
10. L'Éducation des Demoiselles
11. Madame Grégoire
12. Les Gueux
13. Le Vieux Célibataire
14. Le Commencement du Voyage
15. Requête des Chiens de Qualité
16. Vieux Habits! Vieux Galons!
17. Le Nouveau Diogène
18. Le Maitre d'École
19. La Chatte
20. Bon Vin et Fillette
21. L'Habit de Cour ***(p. 205)
22. Ce n'est plus Lisette
23. L'Hiver
24. la Bonne Vieille
25. La Vivandière
26. L'Exilé ***(p. 285)
27. La Bouquetière et le Croque-Mort
28. Le Bon Vieillard ***(p. 315)
29. L'Aveugle de Bagnolet
30. Les Cartes ou L'Horoscope
31. La Marquise de Pretintaille ***(p. 402)
32. Le Tailleur et la Fée
33. Le Violon Brisé
34. Les Hirondelles
35. La Fuite de l'Amour ***(p. 87)
36. Le Vieux Sergent
37. Le Voyageur ***(p. 111)
38. Le Grenier
39. Les Deux Grenadiers ***(p. 169)
40. Les Souvenirs du Peuple
Champfleury, Monnier p.364; Escoffier, The Romantic Movement N°675; Marie, 653-692; Vicaire I-402.
Price: $1,750.00