Les Joyeusetez Facecies et Folastres Imaginacions de Caresme Prenant, Gauthier Garguille, Guillot Gorju, Roger Bontemps, Turlupin, Tabarin, Arlequin, Moulinet, etc.
Paris: Techener, 1829-1837.
Prospectus and 19 volumes bound in four, small octavo (overall 14.7 x 10.7 cm, the pages 14.3 x 9.8 cm). Copy no. 4, one of two copies on pink papier de chine, of six copies altogether on pink, blue and white chine, of the entire edition of 76 numbered copies (plus possibly one on vellum; the limitation of the 13th volume is atypically stated at 86 copies, and the limitation of the 19th volume, Les Quinze Joies de Mariage, not strictly part of the series, is 126 copies, including the same number on each color of chine). Full forest green morocco by Trautz-Bauzonnet (gilt stamp on lower front dentelles), the spines with raised bands in six compartments with gilt rules, corner flourishes and centered lettering or sunburst tools surrounded by stars, the covers with triple gilt rules, cover edges with double gilt rules, dentelles elaborately gilt and tooled, all edges gilt over marbling, finely grained nonpareil marbled endpapers, silk ribbon page markers. Incisively printed by Tastu, Didot, Pinard, and Dupuy in Roman and black-letter types. Numerous title-page facsimiles and woodcut ornaments. Slight uniform darkening of spines, very infrequent negligible foxing, overall exceptionally fine.
Collation:
Volume I:
[2 ll.], prospectus (half-title, title, pp. 5-32); vol. 1 (title, fly-title:
Les Evangiles des Connoilles, pp. 1-131 + [1]); vol. 2 (title,
illustrated frontispiece and fly-title: Facecieux devis et plaisans
contes par le sieur du Moulinet, comedien, pp. 1-228); vol. 3 (title,
table, pieces pp. 7, 23, 19, 23, 8, 20, 1, 9, 1, 26, 18, 11, 18, plus [16
pp.]); vol. 4 (title, table, pieces pp. 28, 11, 20, 11, 13, 7, 15, 8, 12,
11, 8, 23, 59, plus [10 pp.]); vol. 5 (title, fly-title: La fleur de
toute Joyeusete contenant Epistres Balades et Rondeaux ioyeux et fort nouveaux,
pp. 5-10, "Avis des Trois Bibliophiles," [2], 178, 2 pp. ornaments),
[2 ll.].
Volume II:
[2 ll.], vol. 6 (title, fly-title: La Fleur des Chansons Nouvelles ...,
pp. 1-241, 3 pp. table ); vol. 7 (half-title, title: Les Blason des
Dances par Guillaume Paradin, pp. 1-96, [2]); vol. 8 (title, table,
pp. [1], 5-8, "Avis des Trois Bibliophiles," fly-title: Recueil
de Tout Soulas et Plaisir ..., pp. 152, [2], fly-title: Le Plaisant
Boutehors dOysiuete, pp. 67, [1]), vol. 9 (title, table, fly-title:
La Vie Genereuse des Mattois, Gueux, Boemiens et Cagoux ..., pp.
3-50, [2], fly-title: Reigles, Statuts et Ordonnances de la Caballe
des Filous ..., pp. 3-17, [3], fly-title: Le Iargon, ou le Langage
de l'Argot reformé, Comme il est à present en visage parmi
les bons Pauures ..., pp. 3-92, fly-title: Response et Complaincte
au grand Coesre sur le Iargon de l'argot reformé ..., pp. 3-35,
[1]); vol. 10 (title: Les Moyens dQuiter merencolye soy conduire et
enrichir en tous estatyz par lordonnance de Raison compose nouvellement
par Dadouuille, 2 pp. (permis and ornament), pp. 1-60, 2 pp.
ornaments), [2 ll.].
Volume III:
[2 ll.], vol. 11 (title, table, fly-title: Les Songes de la Pucelle
auecques la fontaine dAmours ..., pp. 3-42, [2], fly-title: Les
divers Propos et ioyeuses Rencontres dun Prieur et dun Cordelier ...,
pp. 3-25, [3], fly-title: Dialogue plaisant ... en forme de coq a l'asne,
pp. 3-10, [2], fly-title: Le deuot et sainct Sermon de monseigneur Sainct
Jambon ..., pp. 3-18, fly-title: Jehan Janot, fly-title: Sensunt
le Sermon fort ioyeulx se Sainct Raisin, pp. 3-11, [1], fly-title:
Deploation de Robin ..., pp. 3-30); vol. 12 (title, fly-title:
Formulaire fort recreatif de tous contracts, donations, testamens, codicilles
et aultres actes qui sont faicts et passez pardevant notaires et tesmoings
..., 8 pp., "Avis des Trois Bibliophiles," "Aux Lecteurs
Benevoles Bredin le Cocu, salut," pp. 1-224, 2 pp. table, [2]); vol.
13 (title, fly-title: Les Adeuineaux Amoureux. Par Colard Mansion,
5 pp. "Préliminaire en Actions de Grâce," [3 pp.],
pp. 1-146, 1 (printer's device), [1]), vol. 14 (title, table, 6 pp. "Avis
des Trois Bibliophiles," [2 pp.], fly-title: Proces nouvellement
intenté entre Messieurs les Sauetiers ... et les Courtesans de la
Necessité ..., pp. 3-19, [1], fly- title: Reglement d'accord
sur la Preseance des Sautiers et des Cordonniers, pp. 3- 28, fly-title:
Les grands Statuts et Ordonnances de la grande confrairie des Saouls
d'Ouurer et enragez de rien faire ..., pp. 3-24, fly-title: Le
Discours du Trespas de Vert Ianet, pp. 3-23, [1], fly-title, Le
Compte du Rossignol, pp. 3-36, fly-title, La Surprise et Fustigation
d'Angouleuent ..., pp. 3-12, [2]); vol. 15 (title, 7 pp. "Liminaire
des Trois Bibliophiles," La fleur des chansons, pp. 1-64,
Ballade des Suysses, 1 p. prologue, [1 p.], pp. 1-15, [3]), [2
ll.].
Volume IV:
[2 ll.], vol. 16 (title, 5 pp. "Avis des Trois Bibliophiles,"
table, fly-title: Le Valet à tout faire, pp. 3-23, 1 p.
(postscript), fly-title: La Farce des Quiolars ..., pp. 3-32, fly-title:
Dyalogue ... dun sage et dun folinet ..., pp. 3-43, [1], fly-title:
Ordonnances generalles d'Amour ..., pp. 3-38, [2], Privilége
des Enfans sans- soucy ..., pp. 1-8, fly-title: Le Blason des Barbes
de maintenant, chose tres ioyeuse et recreative, pp. 3-19, [1], fly-title:
Blason légende et description du Bonnet carré ...,
pp. 3-14, [2], fly-title: Prognostication nouvelle et veritable compose
par Maistre Arnaud Mousang, pp. 3-15, [1]); vol. 17 (title, table,
8pp. "Dernier mot des Trois Bibliophiles," pieces pp. 15, 14,
28, 19, 9, 10, 17, 18, 16, 18, plus [8 pp.]); vol. 18 (title, table, 16
pp. "Avis des Trois Bibliophiles," pieces pp. 10, 12, 16, 18,
7, 17, 14, 9, 22, 15, 27, 58, plus [19 pp.]); vol. 19 (title, Les Quinze
Joies de Mariage, 46 pp. "Avant-Propos," "Variantes
du Manuscrit de Rouen," "Glossaire des .XV. Joies," 1 l.
inserted facsimile page, 2 pp. facsimile woodcut title and another ornament,
pp. 3-208, 2 pp. printer's statement and ornament, [1 l.]) [2 ll.].
This monumental compilation of extracts of the popular or domestic French literature of the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, many first printed or still only available here, is the labor of "les trois bibliophiles," never explicitly named. Their purpose is set out in the Prospectus: "Le but des trois bibliophiles est d'empêcher la perte totale d'ouvrages plus ou moins précieux, et qui, s'ils ne tiennent pas un place parmi les chefs d'ouevre de l'esprit humain, en tiennent une assez considérable dans l'histoire des mœurs et des usages du quinzième et du seizième siècle." The "libraire jeune et actif" Techener, one of the three, is designated the editor, leading the research and uniting the strands of bibliographic knowledge. There are a number of prefaces to the parts signed "Ne soy mary: en tout mal n'y a y": the motto of Louis-Aimé Martin, professor of belles lettres and literature at l’École polytechnique and librarian at the Bibliothèque St.-Geneviève. Charles Nodier, librarian of the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal from 1824 and elected a member of the Académie française in 1833, is accepted as certainly the third of the trio of bibliophiles.
This set, quite likely the finest extant, is complete with the prospectus and Les Quinze Joies de Mariage, which is often missing (as with Viollet le Duc's and Peignot's copies). Many of the great bibliophiles of the 19th century had copies of this work in their collections, including Potier (his sale, 1870, lot 1540; and another copy, 1872, lot 2003), the Prince d'Essling (his sale, 1847, lot 350), Peignot (his sale, 1852, lot 1834, an incomplete set, with only 15 volumes), La Bédoyère (who bought his own copy at his 1837 sale, lot 1072, had it bound by Trautz-Bauzonnet and held onto it until his death, whereupon it was sold in his second sale, 1862, lot 1637).
References: Brunet III, 586 (dedicating four columns to this work and giving
a detailed account of the contents); Gay II, 740 ("Les exemplaires
ont toujours jusqu'ici augmenté de valeur"); Graesse III, 492
(copying Brunet); Vicaire IV, 597 (devoting seven columns to this compilation,
giving a precise collation and citing a copy on chine, bound by
Koehler and missing the Quinze Joies, offered at 800 francs in
Bulletin de la Libraire Morgand et Fatout, 1876, no. 537); Viollet le Duc
II, 127 ("Cette charmante collection est faite avec une correction
et un goût qui lui assurent une place distinguée dans les meilleurs
bibliothèques").
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