241 - RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE, Nicolas-Edme. *Les Nuits de Paris, or The Nocturnal Spectator*..

RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE, Nicolas-Edme. *Les Nuits de Paris, or The Nocturnal Spectator*.. London [Paris], n.p., 1788–1789–1790 In-12 (18 x 11 cm), paperback volumes with pink covers; a copy as originally published, with full margins. 13 vols. with continuous pagination (13 parts): 3,119 pp. + 1 bound vol. (Parts 13, 14, and 15): pp. 2,884–3,359—264 pp. Scuffs and soiling on the covers. A few pinholes. Scuffs on the binding. First edition of one of Restif de la Bretonne’s most sought-after works. The work is divided into 16 parts and 8 volumes totaling over 4,000 pages. The first 14 parts were published in 1788–1789 and follow a continuous pagination (pages 1 through 3,359). Restif de la Bretonne had initially planned to have them bound in pairs to form 7 volumes. After the Revolution, Restif published two additional parts—a 15th in 1790 and an extremely rare 16th in 1796—which definitively complete the set (8 volumes). This copy consists of the first 13 parts (7 tomes in 13 volumes), to which is attached a separate volume containing the 13th, 14th, and 15th parts. It is illustrated in the first edition with 16 beautiful engravings (which Cohen attributes to Binet), in which Restif is almost always depicted in his characteristic “nocturnal spectator” costume. It notably includes the plate “Le Billard,” which was rarely added and is missing from many copies. Also included is the inlaid portrait of the author as the frontispiece to the twelfth part. In the first 14 parts, Restif’s *Le Spectateur nocturne* paints an extraordinary picture of Paris before the Revolution. “This great, essentially Parisian work has always been sought after, even when Restif’s works were still disparaged, neglected, and almost unknown.” “It is a unique book that captures the moral character of Paris at the end of the 18th century.” A precious first edition of the first 13 parts, well-preserved in their beautiful pink period paperbacks, accompanied by the 14th and 15th parts in a bound volume included with this extremely rare set.