246 - [PARIS]. RAFFAËLLI, Jean-François. Les Types de Paris. Nos. 1–10.

[PARIS]. RAFFAËLLI, Jean-François. Les Types de Paris. Nos. 1–10. First edition of this portrait of fin-de-siècle Paris as depicted by the great writers of the era (Zola, Maupassant, Daudet, Huysmans, Mirbeau, Richepin, and Mallarmé, among others), illustrated with black-and-white and color drawings by Jean-François Raffaëlli. A fine copy, complete with all 10 installments and their original covers intact, in a beautiful binding by Rikers. Paris, Édition du Figaro et Plon, Nourrit et Cie, n.d. [1889]. 10 installments in 1 in-4 volume, half-maroquin with black corners edged with a gold fillet, spine with raised bands embossed in gold adorned with the title in gold letters, gilt head, original covers and covers of each installment preserved (contemporary binding, signed G. Rikers). VII, 160 pp. and 2 ff., 18 plates, including 9 in color, black-and-white and color illustrations in the text, some full-page. Binding scuffed, spine slightly faded, slight fading on some plates, rare foxing. First edition of this portrait of late 19th-century Parisian society through its typical figures (small trades, strollers, and the capital’s colorful characters), as depicted by the greatest naturalist and decadent writers of the era (Émile Zola, Guy de Maupassant, Alphonse Daudet, J.-K. Huysmans, Octave Mirbeau, Paul Bourget, Jean Richepin, Stéphane Mallarmé, etc.). It is illustrated with 18 insert plates and numerous black-and-white and color vignettes within the text by the painter and engraver Jean-François Raffaëlli (1850–1924). Complete set of the 10 installments with their original covers, illustrated in color by Raffaëlli. This copy is enhanced by an autograph letter signed by Jean-François Raffaëlli to Wilhelm Benque, a famous Parisian portrait photographer of the late 19th century (1 page on a double leaf in-8, mounted on a blank endpaper). The illustrator commissioned four dozen portraits from him, at the artist’s rate of 12 francs per dozen. A period photograph of Raffaëlli, from the Félix Potin collection, is included with the copy. [Vicaire, VII, 908] A fine copy, complete with all 10 installments in a single volume attractively bound by Rikers.