LA FONTAINE (Jean de) - [original drawings]. Les Amours de P - Lot 149

LA FONTAINE (Jean de) - [original drawings]. Les Amours de Psyché et de Cupidon, with the poem of Adonis. Paris, Didot le jeune, an III [1795]. Large in-4, red morocco, richly decorated ribbed spine, wide gilt motif including triple fillet framing the boards, gilt fillet on the edges, wide gilt inner border, gilt edges. Fine typographical edition on Didot wove paper. It is illustrated with a portrait of La Fontaine engraved by Audouin after Hyacinthe Rigaud and 8 out-of-text figures by Moreau le Jeune, interpreted under his direction by Dambrun, Duhamel, Dupréel, de Ghendt, Halbou, Petit and Simonet, 2 of which are ORIGINAL DRAWINGS (Cohen 583). Also added: - La suite des figures pour illustrer l'édition imprimée chez Saugrain en 1797 soit 1 portrait d'après Rigaud et 8 figures de Moreau, gravées par Delvaux. (Cohen 584.) - The suite of figures to illustrate the edition printed by Didot in 1797: 5 figures by Gérard, here in 2 states (before and with the letter), engraved by Blot, Marais, Mathieu, Nicollet & Tardieu. (Cohen 584.) - 1 figure "Psyché" engraved by Simonet after Moreau le Jeune, printed on chine. - 1 figure engraved by Saint-Aubin after Cochin - 4 other unsigned figures. A precious copy from the library of Horace de Landau (1824-1903), head of the Florentine Rothschild bank. He collected medieval manuscripts, incunabula and bibliophilic editions. His library, for which he had a catalog printed at his own expense, numbered some 90,000 volumes. Some scattered foxing.