1193 - LA FONTAINE, Jean de: Tales and Short Stories in Verse [...]. Amsterdam [Paris Barbou] 1762, 2 vols., in-8°: xiv-[2]-268-[2]-8, [2]-viii-[2]-306-[4]-9/16 pp.; 82 pp. (excl. title pages) (a few pinholes and slight foxing). Red morocco leather bound by Derome the Younger, with a triple gilt fillet encircling the covers, smooth spines with gilt floral motifs, a gilt fillet on the edges, gilt roll on the cap bands, and gilt edges (jaws and caps slightly rubbed). A very fine copy with wide margins. Edition known as the “Fermiers Généraux” edition, printed in a run of 1,000 copies not for general sale, reserved for the said Fermiers. A masterpiece by Eisen, the work is illustrated with 2 full-length portraits etched and engraved by Ficquet (the author based on Rigault and the artist based on Vispré) and 80 plates (excluding title pages) etched and engraved after Eisen by Choffard, Aliamet, Baquoy, Delafosse, Flipart, Le Mire, Leveau, de Longueil, and Ouvrier, 6 vignettes (2 on the title pages, 2 full-page, and 2 headers), and 53 end-piece illustrations by P.-P. Choffard, the last of which features his portrait. The illustrations for “Le cas de conscience,” “Les lunettes,” and “Le diable de Papefiguière” are covered; the one for “Féronde” is shown before the bonnet; the footnote featuring Choffard’s portrait appears before the engravings; along with the two plates re-engraved by de Longueil, which are superior to those signed by Leveau and Bacquoy: “Le cocu battu et content” and “Les cordeliers de Catalogne.” The edition contains a 4-page biographical note written by Diderot, the text from the 1685 and 1696 editions, as well as 5 tales at the end, included in the 1718 edition but not written by La Fontaine. Includes the “Notice to the Bookbinder” (16 pp. distributed across the 2 vols.). Enriched with a folio containing a handwritten note in pen by an earlier hand regarding the artists who created the engravings. Ref. Rochambeau, Contes, 79. - Cohen 558–571. - Reynaud 285. Formerly owned by Léon de Lantsheere (see catalog of the exhibition at the Royal Library of Brussels: “Reflections of Bibliophilia in Belgium,” Brussels, Société des bibliophiles et iconophiles de Belgique, 1969, no. 35 = our copy). - Louis de Sadeleer (bookplate; cat. “Reflets […],” no. 35; handwritten note in pencil indicating that the copy was purchased at the Joseph de Wael sale by Librairie Simonson, Brussels, March 16, 1968, among the “very fine old books from another source,” no. C (pink slip)).