273 - STERN, Laurence. Voyage sentimental.

STERN, Laurence. Voyage sentimental. First French edition of this novel by Laurence Stern, recounting his travels in France and Italy during 1765. Published in Amsterdam by Marc-Michel Rey and in Paris by Gauguery, 1769. In-12, half brown marbled basane, guilloche-edged spine, gilt fleurons to entrenerfs, fawn title page, stained paper boards, red speckled edges. VI, 1 f. and 236 pp. ; 2 ff. (title and table), and 232 pp. and 1 f. (bookseller's novelties), title finials, a few decorative plates. Used rubbing, very rare foxing in margins. Original French edition, translated by Frénais, of this novel first published in 1768. In it, Sterne recounts, in a free and sentimental mode, a trip made in 1765 to France and Italy. A great literary success at the time, this novel exerted a considerable influence on travel writing in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ex-libris with the arms of Madame la comtesse de Jonsac on the flyleaf. A pleasant copy.