85 - DEMOUSTIER, Charles-Albert. Letters to Emilie on Mythology.

DEMOUSTIER, Charles-Albert. Letters to Emilie on Mythology. Paris: Published by Desenne, at the Palais Royal, 1792. In-8 (20 x 12.5 cm), granite sheepskin, smooth spine decorated with panels, two labels indicating the title and volume number. Beautiful period binding. 3 vols.: VIII-170 pp. - VIII-152 pp. - 170 pp.; illustrated with engraved plates. Slight scuffing and scratches on the bindings. Provenance: Chevillard Library, Officer of the Legion of Honor... (bookplate). Third edition of *Letters to Émilie on Mythology*, a collection of lessons addressed to a young student on vacation, written in prose interspersed with passages in verse. Émilie’s model was undoubtedly the famous Marie-Guillemine Benoist, whose salon at the Hôtel de Vougy was the gathering place for all of Paris’s witty conversationalists. Demoustier was a regular guest there. The work enjoyed tremendous success in its day and almost became a movement. It is, in fact, peppered with witticisms, sharp remarks, and madrigals that make it an extraordinary satire of the society of the time. A very complete set of the six parts, grouped into three beautifully bound volumes from the period.