Napoleon - RAFFET (Auguste). Lithographic albums. Paris, Gih - Lot 68

Napoleon - RAFFET (Auguste). Lithographic albums. Paris, Gihaut Frères, 1830-1837. Eight albums in one oblong folio volume (263 x 368 mm), 104 plates mounted on tabs. Half dark green long-grained morocco with corners, smooth spine decorated in gold and cold, author, title and dates gilt, gilt fillets on covers, gilt head (Yseux Sr de Thierry-Simier). Remarkable complete collection including 8 frontispieces and 96 beautiful plates, most of them depicting Napoleon and his men; These lithographic albums, published annually from 1830 to 1837, contain many of the artist's most famous lithographs, including "Ils grognaient et le suivaient toujours", in which the grenadiers of the Guard march behind the Emperor, tilting their bear hats in the pouring rain. Auguste Raffet (1804-1860) was one of the main illustrators of the Napoleonic legend. For Beraldi, he is "one of the greatest names in French art. With him, original printmaking emerges from the insignificance of subject matter that all too often characterizes it, and at last rises to an incomparable theme: the epic of the Republic and Empire, Napoleon, the French army." Detailing the lithographs in the albums, Beraldi adds, "Raffet is at the height of his talent and his great manner." Freckles, 2 plates browned, inner margin wetness of the last 3 albums affecting some lithographs otherwise a good copy perfectly established by Yseux in the Romantic taste. (Beraldi, Les Graveurs du XIXe siècle, XI, pp. 61-149).