VENDU
7 parts in 4 volumes, 12mo (131 x 77 mm) 2 nn.ll., 218 pp., 1 nn.l. (blank) for part I; 1 nn.l., 173 pp. for part II; 232 pp. for part III ; 2 nn.ll. (first blank), 221 pp. for part IV; 4 nn.ll. (half-title indicating “Mémoires…. Tome V”), 288 pp. for part V; 2 nn.ll. (half-title indicating “Mémoires… tome VI”), 283 pp. for part VI; 2 nn.ll. (half-title indicating “Mémoires… tome VII”) 344 pp. for part VII. Contemporary speckled calf, central coat of arms of Michel Robert Le Peletier des Forts (OHR, 893, tool 3), spine gilt with raised bands, res speckled edges.
1 in stock
Brunet, IV, col. 867 ; Tchemerzine-Scheler, V, pp. 217-218, b ; En français dans le texte, n° 144 ; V. de Diesbach, Six siècles de littérature française. XVIIIe siècle. Bibliothèque Jean Bonna, n° 111 H ; Harrisse, Bibliographie de Manon Lescaut, Paris, 1877, p. 10, A, et p. 49, n° 3 ; M. Brun, “Contribution bibliographique sur les éditions des Mémoires et avantures d’un homme de qualité et de Manon Lescaut publiées du vivant de l’abbé Prévost”, in : Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut, Paris, 1960, pp. 329-388 ; A. Holland, Manon Lescaut, Genève, 1984, pp. 10-23.
First edition of Manon Lescault, one of the great books of French literature, bound for Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau.
Copy of the issue “A” according to Harrisse, Brun and Holland (copper-engraved title vignette for titles of parts I, III, V et VII, and woodcut vignette on titles to parts II, IV et VI ; only parts V to VII have a half-title, as indicated by the bibliographers).
Parts I to IV were first published in 1728 and 1729. Volumes V to VII appeared in Amsterdam in 1731, where the author had taken refuge. The Compagnie des libraires d’Amsterdam republished the first four volumes at the same time in order to form a homogeneous whole.
A very fine copy of this rare edition bound with the arms of Michel Robert Le Peletier des Forts, comte de Saint-Fargeau (1675-1740) was maître des requêtes in 1698, intendant des finances in 1701 and conseiller d’État in 1714 under Louis XIV, then contrôleur général des finances from 1726 to 1730. His library was sold at auction in 1741.
Provenance : Michel-Robert Le Peletier des Forts, comte de Saint-Fargeau (1675-1740; his sale, Paris, 1741, lot 1418, 8 livres 10 sols) – unidentified bookplate with the monogramm ‘RS’ in the first volume.
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