232 - OVID. Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*, in Latin, translated into French, with notes and historical explanations. By Abbé Banier [...] A work enriched with intaglio engravings by B. Picart and other skilled masters.

OVID. Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*, in Latin, translated into French, with notes and historical explanations. By Abbé Banier [...] A work enriched with intaglio engravings by B. Picart and other skilled masters. One of the finest illustrated editions of Ovid’s mythological poem. Amsterdam, published by R. & J. Wetstein & G. Smith, 1732. 2 volumes in 1 large folio volume, marbled havana calfskin, spine with raised bands richly decorated with gilt metal, brown leather title label, triple blind-stamped fillet framing the covers, gilt roulette on the inside and along the edges, red edges. 6 unnumbered folios (half-title, title page, epistle, preface) and 247 pp.; 1 unnumbered folio (title page) and 249–524 pp., 2 unnumbered folios (table of contents). Frontispiece, 124 engraved illustrations in the text and 3 plates of double illustrations, woodcut headpieces, footpieces, and initials. Binding rubbed and restored at the corners and joints; cap bands missing; foxing mainly in the margins; a few pages browned. A monumental edition printed in large folio format in two columns (Latin opposite French) and the first edition of the French translation by Abbé Antoine Banier, whose rigorous mythological commentary swept aside medieval interpretations and served as the authoritative standard for over a century. The illustrations, supervised by the famous master Bernard Picart (1673–1733), include 1 large allegorical frontispiece, 2 title medallions, 1 header for the dedication featuring a portrait of Louis XV, 124 large engraved figures within the text, 3 separate plates featuring 6 subjects based on works by Charles Le Brun, as well as rich woodcut ornamentation (initials, headbands). Picart displays his narrative genius here, capturing the climactic moment of each metamorphosis. Oval stamp bearing the name of the town of Tournon. [Cohen, 768]. A masterpiece of 18th-century Dutch printing and illustration, here in a contemporary binding.