67 - BERQUIN, Arnaud. Romances.

BERQUIN, Arnaud. Romances. Illustrated first edition, first printing, featuring a frontispiece and 6 engravings based on works by Marillier. A superb copy on Holland paper, beautifully bound by Chambolle-Duru in full morocco leather decorated in the 18th-century style. Paris, Ruault, 1776. In-8, full red morocco, ribbed spine accented with gold dotted lines, fleurons, and double gold framing between the ribs, gold initials, triple gold fillet framing the covers, guilloché edges, double gold fillet on the edges, wide interior framing frieze with the bookbinder’s signature in gold stamps, marbled paper endpapers and linings, all edges gilt (later binding, signed Chambolle-Duru). XXVI, 73 pp. and 6 sheets of engraved music, 1 title-frontispiece engraved in 1776 by Ponce after Marillier and 6 engraved plates by Delaunay the Younger and Ponce after Marillier, title medallion, a few lamp-ends. Minor scuffing, small brown spots on the covers, very rare and minute foxing in the margins, a section of the marbled paper on the first endpaper is missing. First edition of this collection by Arnaud Berquin (1747–1791), adorned with a frontispiece and 6 charming engravings by Delaunay the Younger and Ponce after Clément Pierre Marillier. It also includes 6 music sheets engraved in-fine. One of the few copies on wide-margin Dutch paper, with the figures from the first unnumbered print run. [Cohen, 58-59] A lovely copy in a binding signed by Chambolle-Duru.