Contes du Chevalier De Boufflers de L'Academie Francaise
Paris: A. Quantin, 1878. Limited Edition. Leather. Pp. lxxiv; 253. The biographical treatment by Octave Uzanne. Engraved title page. Frontis. portrait with tissue guard. Illustrated with four plates engraved by A. Mongin after V. S. Poirson, as well as head and tail pieces. With a fold-out facsimile letter in de Boufflers' hand. Original wraps bound-in. Top edge gilt. Three-quarter light brown pebble-grain morocco over marbled boards.Scuffs to head and tail of spine. With the intriguing eyeball logo of the Institute for Sex Study (early name for the Kinsey Institute) on a small label on the front fly, along with their discreet catalog code in pen. (Please see photo.). Very Good. Item #5296 If the publisher's statement is to be believed, the edition was of a small press run ("triage a petit nombre"). De Boufflers' wit and ability as a raconteur must have been remarkable, for beyond his prose and light verse, those characteristics are the reason he's remembered today. We'd prefer that his renown be attributed to his librarian position at the Bibliotheque Mazarine, but that was likely due to patronage. His friend Antoine de Rivarol captured his complex character: "abbé libertin, militaire philosophe, diplomate chansonnier, émigré patriote, républicain courtisan."
Collects four of the author's short stories: "La Reine de Golconde," "Tamara," "La Derviche," and "Ah! Si."
Price: $85.00