Histoires ou Contes du Tems Passe Avec des Moralitez Par le Fils de Monsieur Perreaul. de l'Academie Francois.

Amsterdam: Chez Jaques Desbordes, 1708. Full Description:

PERRAULT, Charles. Histoires ou Contes du Tems Passe. Avec des Moralitez Par le Fils de Monsieur Perreaul. de l'Academie Francois. Amsterdam: Chez Jaques Desbordes, 1708.

A very early rare edition of the "Mother Goose" fairy tales of Charles Perrault which is an exact reprint of the Dutch counterfeit published the same year as the first edition of Paris, 1697. Twelvemo (4 5/8 x 2 13/16 inches; 119 x 71 mm). [6], 175, [1, table] pp. With engraved frontispiece, title-page vignette, engraved head-and-tail-pieces and initials, and with eight engraved vignettes, one for each tale. (truncated) Besides this copy, we could only find one other copy at auction in the past 40 years.

This edition features the eight tales found in the first edition, each illustrated with a vignette: Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, The Fairies, Cinderella, Riquet with the Tuft, and Tom Thumb.

Beautifully bound by M. Godillot in full tan morocco. Boards triple-ruled in gilt. Spine elaborately stamped and lettered in gilt. Gilt dentelles. Marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. Top margin occasionally trimmed close, just touching headline. Previous owner's bookplate on front free endpaper. Housed in a morocco lined, marbled paper slipcase. About fine.

"The title gives the author as the Son of Monsieur Perrault of the Academie François [sic], as in the 1697 forgery. The dedication to Mademoiselle is signed P. Darmancour. In fact, the participation in the writing of the Tales of Perrault's youngest son, Pierre Perrault Darmancour (1678-1700), is now attested."

According to Alde, "This edition is extremely rare; it is missing from the BnF and all French public libraries. Tchemerzine mentions it without having seen it, according to Brunet's supplement, who himself only cites it from Baron Pichon's catalog (1869, I, no. 766: "Rare Edition," a red morocco copy by Trautz-Bauzonnet, acquired for 145 francs by Techener). It was not included in the collection of the Count of Lignerolles, who nevertheless owned eleven editions of the Tales published between 1697 and 1781 (1894, II, nos. 1911-1921)."

HBS 69350.

$17,500. (Inventory #: 69350)