Description
La Nouvelle-Héloïse illustrated with lovely figures by Moreau.
One of the few copies printed on large wove paper in 8vo format
entirely untrimmed and uncut,
preserved in its contemporary case-binding.
André Langlois’ copy.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. La Nouvelle Héloïse, ou Lettres de deux Amans, Habitans d’une petite Ville au pied des Alpes ; recueillies et publiées par J.-J. Rousseau.
Londres (Paris, Cazin), 1781.
7 volumes 8vo [195 x 124 mm] of: I/ (2) ll., LXIII, (1) p., 144 pp., 2 figures; II/ (2) ll., 211 pp., 2 figures; III/ (2) ll., 256 pp., 1 figure; IV/ (2) ll., 199 pp., 1 figure; V/ (2) ll., 273 pp., 1 figure; VI/ (2) ll., 248 pp., 2 figures; VII/ (2) ll., 264 pp., 3 figures.
Contemporary red case-binding, entirely untrimmed and uncut copy, flat spine, title in gilt. Contemporary binding.
“A lovely edition illustrated with 1 frontispiece and 11 figures by Moreau engraved by Delvaux.” (Cohen)
“Lovely figures by Moreau.” (Morgand et Fatout)
Dufour, 106 ; Cohen, 906 ; Rahir, Bibliothèque de l’amateur, 623 ; Quérard, VIII, 196 ; Bulletin Morgand et Fatout, 10 647 ; Sander, 1751.
One of the rare printed on large paper in 8vo format.
This issue is extremely rare. Cohen mentions it without describing any copies.
On the verso of the half-title is printed: “Exemplaire unique par la qualité du papier sur lequel il est imprimé : on le doit à M. Franklin, à qui Baskerville en avait fait présent, & dont celui-ci faisait usage pour ses belles Editions.”
“La Nouvelle Héloïse is the first great text published by Rousseau and was also the one that had the most universal success.” This famous book dictated this modern writer’s remarkable judgement:
“If I wanted to characterize J.-J. Rousseau by one of his texts, has said M. Azaïs, I’d choose La Nouvelle Héloïse. It contains all the movements of the soul pushed to their extremities.”” (Barbier, Notice bibliographique sur les ouvrages de J.-J. Rousseau, p. 9)
“Rousseau’s objective in writing La Nouvelle-Héloïse, says La Harpe, was to teach philosophers that one can believe in God without being a hypocrite, and to the believers that one can be a non-believer without being a scoundrel.”
This text generated the most vivid welcome: the edition was sold in an instant; it was by talking from the heart that Rousseau managed to make the kings understand that they had duties to fulfill, and the people that they had rights to defend.” (Avant-propos édition 1839)
“Moreau le jeune, an artist particularly gifted in drawing, distinguished himself among all the other artists who did book illustrations through the universality of his taste. Moreau was first and foremost a literary artist. One of Moreau’s engravers declared that if it was possible for the masterpieces that he decorated to all become lost, we’d find their spirit and genius in his drawings.” (Histoire de l’art pendant la Révolution, J. Renouvier)
A precious and very rare copy, with wide margins, printed on large wove paper, very pure, entirely untrimmed and uncut, preserved in its contemporary case-binding.
Provenance : Library of André Langlois, with ex-libris.
