Fables, 2 books, 1773 - Lot 106

Fables, 2 books, 1773 Ex libris M. Henri Delor, civil court judge 1. "Fables par M. Boisard de l'Académie des Belles-Lettres de Caën, Secrétaire du Conseil et des Finances de MONSIEUR, frère du ROI", 1777 Second edition, first part 301 pages Pages 40-41 contain an envelope addressed to Judge Henri Delor Good condition, wear to outer spine and cover, foxing, damp stains 20 x 13.2 cm 2. "Fables nouvelles Publisher: Delalain 309 pages, collation not checked, completeness not guaranteed Moisture stains, foxing, cover missing, handwritten notes in pencil 19 x 12 cm Note: These two collections of fables illustrate the literary and editorial production of the late XVIIIᵉ century, in the direct wake of La Fontaine, whose success they prolong. Boisard's volume (1777) bears witness to a meticulous edition intended for a cultivated public: the presence of an engraved frontispiece, typographical ornaments and a period binding indicate a work designed as a library book. Boisard, a member of the Académie de Caen, follows in the moral and didactic tradition of fables, combining wit and teaching. The bookplate bearing the name of Henri Delor, a magistrate, reinforces this dimension of scholarly and personal reading, typical of the literate elites of the Ancien Régime. The second volume, Fables nouvelles (Delalain, 1773), belongs to a more common production, but is nonetheless representative of the Parisian book market. Delalain, a publisher based in Paris, distributed accessible texts that were often republished, contributing to the widespread circulation of moral literature. Traces of use (annotations, dampness) testify to a book that was actually read and handled, as part of everyday reading practice. The set is thus of both historical and bibliophilic interest: it contrasts two types of contemporary editions - one more polished, the other more common - and preserves provenance and usage marks that make them concrete witnesses to the reading culture of the XVIIIᵉ century.