Fables de La Fontaine

Title

en_US Fables de La Fontaine

en_US n

Description

en_US This is a hardbound book (hard cover)

en_US Language note: French

en_US La Fontaine

Creator

en_US La Fontaine, Jean de

Contributor

en_US Vimar, August

Date

2017-05-15T20:34:03Z

en_US 2017-03

en_US 1897

Date Available

2017-05-15T20:34:03Z

Date Issued

en_US 1897

Abstract

en_US Here is one of my luckiest finds on eBay! Apparently no one else was interested in this first edition of Vimar, not found in Bodemann and not otherwise in our collection. I thought I was duplicating our version listed under "1910?" but this copy is larger and clearly dated 1897 on its title page. What I already had is 12" x 8¼" and 399 pages long; it is Bodemann #376.1, which Bodemann describes as a "leicht veränderter Nachdruck" of this first edition of 1897. This book is 13" x 9½" and 486 pages long. Besides having large margins and spacious texts, this edition also contains four fine full-color pages on different paper stock: DW (10); BC (46); "The Ass Carrying Relics" (170); and "The Eagle and the Magpie" (452). Each book's title-page has a clever design and has no printing on the obverse. Each fable's title is more prominent than in the later version. There are numerous half-page illustrations, which I believe are photoengravings. Though they are monochromes, they use different single colors. Compare, for example, the gray frontispiece here with the black-and-white version in the later printing. Among the best of these are "The Rat and the Oyster" (286), "The Bear and the Gardener" (289), and "The Fox and the Turkeys" (467). In addition, there are many line drawings in various formats. I prefer these to the photoengravings. Among the best are these: "Death and the Woodman" (31), "The Lion and the Gnat" (58), WC (99), "The Wolf and the Hunter" (322), "The Mice and the Screech Owl" (419), and "The Cat and the Two Sparrows" (431). Vimar's foxes, wolves, and monkeys either laughing or in pain are particularly strong and engaging. Many of his endpieces are good fun. Thus a beetle wields a sledge-hammer against the eagle's eggs on 56. One can contrast the two methods dealing with one fable on 170-71. What a lucky find!

Identifier

en_US cf. #376.1

en_US 11200 (Access ID)

uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/113042

Language

en_US fre

Publisher

en_US Alfred Mame et Fils

en_US Tours

Subject

en_US Ovr. PQ1808.A1 1897b

en_US La Fontaine

Type

en_US Book, Whole