Leather-bound edition by Gruel - Lot 25

Lot 25
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300 - 500 EUR
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Leather-bound edition by Gruel - Lot 25
Leather-bound edition by Gruel BEAUMARCHAIS (Pierre-Augustin Caron de) La Folle journée, or The Marriage of Figaro. Paris, Ruault, 1785. In-8; illustrated with 5 engraved plates (known as the “Malapeau suite”) based on Saint-Quentin’s drawings by Malapeau; Rosine’s neckline is exposed on the last plate, whereas it is covered by a scarf in the “Liénard suite.” Copy with the typographical error “trosième” in the running title on page 109. Pinholes in places. 19th-century burgundy morocco leather, signed “GRUEL,” decorated ribbed spine, full-length signature, triple gilt fillet framing the covers, double gilt fillet on the edges, gilt interior lace, double-layered laid paper endpapers, gilt edges. A fine copy. First edition of Beaumarchais’s masterpiece. The play, written in 1778, was not performed until April 27, 1784, after several years of censorship. It is considered a harbinger of the French Revolution. Danton went so far as to say: “Figaro killed the nobility” (Tchémerzine I, 491).
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