139 - GONCOURT, Edmond and Jules. Intimate Portraits of the 18th Century. New Studies Based on Autograph and Unpublished Documents.

GONCOURT, Edmond and Jules. Intimate Portraits of the 18th Century. New Studies Based on Autograph and Unpublished Documents. First edition, a rare copy with a dedication from the Goncourt brothers to their peer Théophile Gautier. Paris, Dentu, 1857. In-12, pine-green half-shagreen, ribbed spine, double gilt fillet framing the panels adorned with a central fleur-de-lis, speckled edges. XII and 271 pp. Minor scuffing from handling on the binding; foxing on the first and last leaves. First edition in which the Goncourt brothers present 10 historical studies: Louis XVI, Bachaumont, Beaumarchais, Abbé Leblanc, Doyen, Camargo, Dulaurens, Théroigne de Méricourt, Watteau, and Mademoiselle de Romans. For their biographies, the two brothers set out to discover, in France and abroad, previously unpublished correspondence capable of shedding light on the subject under study. The preface also contains a glowing tribute to the autograph document: “A magic mirror through which visible intent and naked thought pass! This ink-stained paper is the vessel in which the human soul is deposited”… A rare copy enriched with a brief autograph dedication signed to Théophile Gautier (1811–1872). As indispensable figures at the famous Magny dinners and in Princess Mathilde’s salon during the Second Empire, the Goncourt brothers held Gautier in sincere admiration, regarding him as an undisputed master of Romanticism. While their famous *Journal* for the year 1857 does not shy away from describing the man’s physical frailties and moments of resignation, the two brothers remain, all things considered, full of praise for his stylistic genius. A fine copy in a contemporary binding.