Fables nouvelles

DORAT Claude-Joseph (Paris, 1734 - 1780) New Fables In The Hague and found in Paris, at Delalain, rue de la Comédie Françoise. Octavo (8vo) bound (19.8 x 13 cm), two volumes in 1. XXII (preliminaries), 2 leaves including frontispiece, then frontispiece between pp 176 and 178; 309 pp; 2 leaves of Table. Full calf leather. Spine with 5 raised bands, decorated with floral motifs and title. Richly illustrated with 99 headpieces and 99 tailpieces by Clément-Pierre Marillier and engraved by Arrivet, Baquoy, Duflos, Lebeau, Lingée, de Longueil, Née, Ponce, etc. Enhanced with 6 vignettes and one tailpiece as a separate plate. Work in beautiful condition, very fresh and solid binding. Note a well-done graft on the upper board joint, and some minor traces of dampstaining. Headcaps and corners in good condition. "This work, which rivals in perfection with the Baisers, is Marillier's masterpiece, in terms of the finesse of execution and the spirit in all the subjects that adorn it." Cohen. Claude-Joseph Dorat was a writer of the Enlightenment. He was a poet, playwright, novelist, and fabulist, known for his elegant style. Clément-Pierre Marillier (1740–1808) was a designer and engraver. He marked his era by becoming one of the great illustrators of his time, contributing to the dissemination of Enlightenment culture through image and publishing. Bookplate of Henri-Edouard Weber, a French industrialist who developed ski lifts in the French Alps. This activity is depicted by cable cars in his bookplate.