Fables Choisies Mises en Vers par M. de La Fontaine, Tome I

Title

en_US Fables Choisies Mises en Vers par M. de La Fontaine, Tome I

Description

en_US Language note: French

en_US First and only edition

Contributor

en_US Laprade, Pierre

Date

2022-11-07T16:11:32Z

1999-11

en_US 1930

Date Available

2022-11-07T16:11:32Z

Date Issued

en_US 1930

Abstract

en_US Here is a paperbound copy of a book also in a hardbound version. That hardbound version is one volume of a three-volume set. We also have a single book containing all three volumes. This copy is just Volume I. As I write of the hardbound version, this item, Bodemann #425, is a real treasure! Each fable has a lovely colored woodcut about a third of a page in size. An early note indicates the woodcut plates were destroyed in the presence of witnesses after the printing of the book. This volume covers Books 1-4. There are three sets of art work here. Each fable gets a small illustration above its title, done by either Malassis or Money. They are demanding work, as is clear from the start in GA. These illustrations often give the particular scene a large background, as in "Les Deux Mulets" (9). Some of these have a lovely design quality, e.g. "Le Dragon à plusieurs Têtes, et le Dragon à plusieurs Queues" (29). Among my favorites in this group is one of the few human depictions I have seen of TMCM (23). Also good are 2W (41); "L'Enfant et le Maitre d'École" (45); "L'Oiseau blessé d'une Flêche" (69); SS (81); "L'Ivrogne et sa Femme" (133); and "Le Lion amoureux" (163). The cat-woman chasing the rat is completely naked here (99). SM (117) has for its illustration a simple portrait of a French king surrounded with a sunburst. Perhaps the most curious of the illustrations is for "Le Loup, la Mère et l'Enfant" (207). The visual paradigms behind these illustrations are quite traditional. As Bodemann notes, many of the illustrations move out slightly beyond their rectangular margins. There is also a clever little design between each illustration and its title. Thus for "La Besace" (17), it is appropriately a mask. A third group of illustrations comprises the "decorative compositions" of Laprade placed at the beginning of each book. These are light and airy. Of the four here, I like best the image of ape and dolphin at the beginning of IV.

Identifier

en_US 12429 (Access ID)

uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/138711

Language

en_US fre

Publisher

en_US Louis Conard

en_US Paris

Subject

La Fontaine See all items with this value