BALZAC (Honoré de).

Lot 12
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BALZAC (Honoré de).
Oeuvres complètes. La Comédie humaine. Paris, Furne, Dubochet et Cie, Hetzel et Paulin, Houssiaux, 1842-1855. Twenty volumes in-8, bradel half-maroquin lavallière with corners, spines decorated with mosaic pastilles in red morocco, untrimmed, covers and spines preserved (E. Carayon). First edition of the Comédie humaine, a term that appears here for the first time. This first collective edition, one of the most important in French literature, presents numerous texts in their first edition, among which Albert Savarus, the last parts of Illusions perdues and Splendeur et misères des courtisanes, the Fausse maîtresse, etc. The texts of the first 17 volumes, dated from 1842 to 1848, were revised and sometimes considerably reworked by Balzac himself and are presented here in their definitive form; the last three volumes were published by Houssiaux after Balzac's death, in 1855. The illustration, in the first edition, includes a frontispiece, a portrait of Balzac engraved on steel by Lemoine after Bertall and 152 woodcuts out of the text, a remarkable illustration by the best artists of the time, many of whom were friends of Balzac: Tony Johannot, Meissonier, Gavarni, Henri Monnier, Bertall, Nanteuil, etc. Rare set entirely with the correct dates and complete with all the figures, including the portrait and the very rare frontispiece published in 1855. Without the notice by Georges Sand added in 1855. A very fine copy, preserved at full margins, with its complete covers and spines in perfect condition, covered with beautiful late 19th century mosaic bindings signed by Emile Carayon.
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