Les Mois, Poëme, En Douze Chants (Four Volume Set, 1779)

Jean-Antoine Roucher

Published by De l'Imprimerie de Quillau, Imprimeur de S.A.S. Monseigner le Prince De Conti, rue du Fouare, a l'Annonciation, Paris, 1779

About this Item

In French. Possibly, but not likely the First Edition. Perhaps a variant? Don't know. Les Mois was definitely first published in 1779. These volumes were all published in 1779. MDCCLXXIX is at the bottom of the title page of each volume. These volumes appear unique in one respect. The few other 1779 offerings are a Two Volume set with each volume containing two separate volumes, adding up to four volumes in total. My offering of four separate volumes appears to have no match, no other four volume set is for sale on the Internet, at least none that I saw. Sadly, my French, what little there once was of it, has entirely dissolved away. Hence, I can't really research anything or even read what the early pages of the volume might or might not indicate. I can tell you that the verso of the title pages is blank in each volume. There are no illustrations in the four volume set. All four volumes are in really nice condition. They are 5 5/8ths by 3 1/2 inches. You can see the leather covers in the photographs provided. You can see how bright the gilt lettering and design on the spine is. There are only in total a few small chips on the spines (see 1st photo). There's little to no rubbing on the edges. Only about 1/3rd of the corners have any rub-through (and not much). Importantly, the bindings are excellent. All four volumes are square and straight: no spine slanting. The pages are tight throughout. I didn't see any spaces/cracks between any of the covers and end papers or between any of the pages. There is a crack/small space off the top edge of the front cover adjacent to the spine. It is only 1 inch in length and because the rest of the front and spine are well-bound the cover does not even evidence any give. It is quite secure. There's also a 1/4" space off the bottom edge of volume 3. It has no bearing at all on the binding. The crack at the top of volume 1 has caused the marbled first front end paper to lift up a little bit from the binding. There's also a small loss and a small tear in the paper at the gutter. On the blank verso of this end paper there are a few penned letters and '1900'. Underneath that there is a small circular faded red stamping. I can make out the word Noirmont in it. On the front inside cover there is a small bookplate which I can tell you, with the help of a magnifying glass, reads Bibliotheque Du Baron De Noirmont. There aren't any other bookplates or attachments in this or any of the other volumes. And there isn't any other extraneous writing (names, dates, underlining, etc.) in this or any of the other volumes. The marbled inside covers and end papers are identical in all four volumes. The front end paper in Volume 4 has a thin loss at part of its middle edge. There are no other tears or losses. One front end paper has a few small stains. All of the page edges are marbled and in excellent condition. There is a blue ribbon in each of the four volumes. The pages in all four volumes are in Exceptional condition. They are Very clean. They are not creased. There aren't any markings. And as I mentioned earlier they are very nicely, tightly, bound. Take a look at the photographs. I'll try to give you a good sense of the condition. Jean-Antoine Roucher was a disciple of Voltaire, and a friend of the French Revolution, but remained moderate in his opinions. He frequently denounced the tyranny of the popular demagogues in supplements published with the Journal de Paris. He was arrested in October 1793, and was later accused of being the leader of a conspiracy among the prisoners at Saint Lazare. He was beheaded along with his friend André Chénier on July 25, 1794. Les Mois describes in beautiful verses the environment, climatic conditions, the main characteristics of each month, the agricultural works, the country festivals, the works of the sea people. And a shipwreck. Seller Inventory # 001591

Bibliographic Details

Title: Les Mois, Poëme, En Douze Chants (Four ...

Publisher: De l'Imprimerie de Quillau, Imprimeur de S.A.S. Monseigner le Prince De Conti, rue du Fouare, a l'Annonciation, Paris

Publication Date: 1779

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Paris

Condition: Very Good