[CURMER - ROMANTISME]. Les Français peints par eux-mêmes, mo - Lot 57

[CURMER - ROMANTISME]. Les Français peints par eux-mêmes, moral encyclopedia of the nineteenth century. Province. Paris, Curmer, 1841. 2 vol. in-4, black half-chagrin, spines decorated in the grotesque style. 392 pp. - 4 ff.n.ch. ; VIII - 596 pp. - 4 ff.n.ch., numerous illustrations. Some rubbing, spotting unevenly distributed. A picturesque tour de France, "les Français peints par eux-mêmes" is a social encyclopedia aimed at the population of large cities, in which the inhabitants of different provinces and sociological backgrounds are described and even caricatured. Included are, for example, the Marseillaise, the Nervi, the factory child, the Vendéen, the missionary in China, the Canut, the Basque, the Versaillais, and so on. Numerous personalities contributed to its creation, including Gavarni for the illustrations and Balzac for some of the articles. Complete in 5 volumes, here volumes 1 and 2. A pleasant reminder of a bygone era.