Description
First edition of the “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses” by Lamartine,
“a rare and very important text” (Carteret).
Les “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses”,
through the diversity of their inspiration,
constitute the height of Lamartinian lyricism.
A very attractive copy, uncut, preserved in its original wrappers,
as issued, a rare and sought-after condition.
Lamartine, Alphonse. Harmonies poétiques et religieuses.
Paris, Charles Gosselin, 1830.
2 parts in 2 volumes 8vo [220 x 137 mm] of : I/ 342 pp. (1) bl. l. ; II/ 356 pp.
Wrappers, yellow printed covers, untrimmed, protective wrappers in half hard-grained red morocco, case-binding. Contemporary wrappers.
First edition of the “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses” by Lamartine, “a rare and very important work” (Carteret) by Lamartine.
Clouzot, 177 ; Carteret, II, 22 ; Vicaire, IV, 969 ; Talvart, XI, 31-32.
The edition includes some vignettes by Johannot engraved on wood by Porret as well as two other vignettes on the covers.
“Most copies bear a fictive mention of edition that greatly lowers their price. Very often rust spotted.” (Clouzot)
A rare copy with no mention of edition.
Between his acceptance at the Académie française and the July revolution, Lamartine publishes the “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses”. The “Harmonies” themselves date back to his stay in Tuscany. Upon his return to France, he found a more intimate inspiration and religious troubles.
To the vastness of this work (forty-seven poems) corresponds the vastness of each harmony, a sentence that translates this communion with nature, this praise of God in all his works, which are Lamartine’s essential themes. But not the only ones : trust and doubt, greatness and familiarity also get interwoven in his writings. This diversity is only equal to his virtuosity. The “Hymne du Christ”, where faith and love do not exclude some interrogations, is a true symphony where alexandrines, octosyllabic verses and odd verses make up the movements in a very concerted way. Never has Lamartine been less of an “amateur” ; never has he been more in control of his talent.
His inspiration also increases. Always personal, it is often cosmic and reaches into the depths of the highest mysteries.
Lamartine’s faith is shaken ; he cannot reconcile the existence of God and the reality of evil. Along with the problem of clericalism and irrationality, this scandal will one day separate him from Catholicism. These dissonances can already be heard in the “Harmonies”.
Still, in 1830, joy and adoration dominate. This joy is always religious. But if religion is the major inspiration for the Harmonies, it is not the only one. Politics dictate the “Invocation pour les Grecs”. “Milly, ou la Terre natale” evolves around childhood memories.
The diversity of the themes reveals a whole other depth than the “Méditations”.
The “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses”, through the diversity of their inspiration, constitute the height of Lamartinian lyricism.
A very attractive copy, uncut, preserved in its original wrappers, as issued, a rare and sought-after condition.
A copy in wrappers, from the library of M. Eugène Paillet, is priced 200 fr. in the Bulletin Morgand et Fatout, n°12156.
No copy from the first edition in original wrappers has been recorded on the market since the beginning of the surveys, more than 35 years ago (ABPC).
