331 - HUGO (Victor).

HUGO (Victor). Les Misérables. [Paris], [Eugène Hugues], [1879–1882]. 5 in-4 volumes in tan half-basane, decorated ribbed spine, title and volume numbers in gold (contemporary binding). Numerous scuffs. Paper yellowed in places. Edition illustrated with 500 woodcuts, including 15 frontispieces, based on compositions by Gustave Brion, Émile Bayard, Alphonse de Neuville, Jean-Paul Laurens, Edmond Morin, Daniel Vierge, Adrien Marie, Lix, Henri Scott, etc., engraved notably by Fortuné Méaulle, Bellenger, and Quesnel. This major illustrated edition, originally published in 233 installments beginning in November 1879, stands as one of the great achievements of Romantic and popular illustration in the late 19th century. It notably features Émile Bayard’s famous depiction of Cosette with a broom, which has become the novel’s iconic image and one of the most famous illustrations in French literature.