Accession number
Heineman 314
Creator
La Fontaine, Jean de, 1621-1695.
Published
Paris, De l'imprimerie de P. Didot l'aîné, 1795.
Credit line
Gift of the trustees of the Dannie and Hettie Heineman Collection, 1977.
Notes
Engraved title vignettes by P.P. Choffard.
Frontispiece portrait of the author by Edelinck after Hyacinthe Rigault.
"Dissertation sur la Joconde. À Monsieur B*** [by N. Boileau Despréaux]"--v. 1, p. [255]-280.
Pierre Didot's illustrated edition of La Fontaine was originally intended to be published with a total of 80 plates after designs by Fragonard, to be issued in 8 numbers containing 10 plates each, to illustrate the 2 quarto volumes of text. While the completed text appeared in 1795, only 2 of the projected 8 numbers of plates, comprising 20 finished engravings, were ultimately published to accompany it. These 20 plates included 16 engravings after Fragonard, 2 after Touzé, and 1 each after Mallet and Monnet. 17 additional designs, 5 of them by Fragonard, were eventually brought to various stages of completion by the engravers, bringing the total number of extent plates for Didot's edition of Fontaine's Contes et nouvelles to 37, including plates after 21 of the 57 drawings created by Fragonard to illustrate Fontaine. Individual copies of this book may vary greatly in their illustrative content, with examples containing only the 20 published plates in their finished states, as issued by the publisher, and inserted into volume 1, being the most common. Some copies, however, can be found variously illustrated with early and variant states of the 20 published engravings, as well as impressions of the 17 additional plates. Cf. Ray and Wolf.
Plates engraved by Lingée, Delignon, Trière, Dambrun, Patas, Tilliard, and others, after designs by Fragonard, Lebarbier, Monnet, Mallet, and Touzé; some of the plates etched by Duclos and L. Petit.
Library's copy contains a total of 50 plates created for Didot's Fragonard edition of Fontaine's Contes et nouvelles, including variant states of 29 of the 37 prints with impressions of 19 of the engravings included in both their finished, lettered state, and before letters, and single impressions or earlier states of the remaining 10.
Plates included in library's copy, with the states according to Wolf: 2(C,D), 3(B,C), 4(C,D), 5(B,C), 6(D,E), 7(C,D), 9(C,D), 10(C), 11(B?), 12(C,D), 13(B,C), 14(C,D), 15(C,D), 16(B,C), 17(C), 18(A?,C), 19(D,E), 20(D,E), 22(D,E), 23(D,E), 24(C,D), 25(D,E), 26(C), 27(C,D), 28(B), 29(C?), 30(B), 32(D,E), 33(C).
Library's copy lacking Wolf 1, 8, 21, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37.
Frontispiece portrait of the author by Edelinck after Hyacinthe Rigault.
"Dissertation sur la Joconde. À Monsieur B*** [by N. Boileau Despréaux]"--v. 1, p. [255]-280.
Pierre Didot's illustrated edition of La Fontaine was originally intended to be published with a total of 80 plates after designs by Fragonard, to be issued in 8 numbers containing 10 plates each, to illustrate the 2 quarto volumes of text. While the completed text appeared in 1795, only 2 of the projected 8 numbers of plates, comprising 20 finished engravings, were ultimately published to accompany it. These 20 plates included 16 engravings after Fragonard, 2 after Touzé, and 1 each after Mallet and Monnet. 17 additional designs, 5 of them by Fragonard, were eventually brought to various stages of completion by the engravers, bringing the total number of extent plates for Didot's edition of Fontaine's Contes et nouvelles to 37, including plates after 21 of the 57 drawings created by Fragonard to illustrate Fontaine. Individual copies of this book may vary greatly in their illustrative content, with examples containing only the 20 published plates in their finished states, as issued by the publisher, and inserted into volume 1, being the most common. Some copies, however, can be found variously illustrated with early and variant states of the 20 published engravings, as well as impressions of the 17 additional plates. Cf. Ray and Wolf.
Plates engraved by Lingée, Delignon, Trière, Dambrun, Patas, Tilliard, and others, after designs by Fragonard, Lebarbier, Monnet, Mallet, and Touzé; some of the plates etched by Duclos and L. Petit.
Library's copy contains a total of 50 plates created for Didot's Fragonard edition of Fontaine's Contes et nouvelles, including variant states of 29 of the 37 prints with impressions of 19 of the engravings included in both their finished, lettered state, and before letters, and single impressions or earlier states of the remaining 10.
Plates included in library's copy, with the states according to Wolf: 2(C,D), 3(B,C), 4(C,D), 5(B,C), 6(D,E), 7(C,D), 9(C,D), 10(C), 11(B?), 12(C,D), 13(B,C), 14(C,D), 15(C,D), 16(B,C), 17(C), 18(A?,C), 19(D,E), 20(D,E), 22(D,E), 23(D,E), 24(C,D), 25(D,E), 26(C), 27(C,D), 28(B), 29(C?), 30(B), 32(D,E), 33(C).
Library's copy lacking Wolf 1, 8, 21, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37.
Description
2 volumes (vii, 280; 334 pages; [56] leaves of plates): illustrations (engravings) ; 32 cm
Provenance
Dannie and Hettie Heineman.
Binding
Modern green straight-grained morroco, gilt, with pink moiré doublures and flyleaves, all edges gilt, by Chambolle-Duru. In marbled slipcases.
Classification
Catalog link
Department