[MONTESQUIEU]. Lettres persanes. - Lot 108

[MONTESQUIEU]. Lettres persanes. Extremely rare forgery of the original date, well established in its contemporary bindings. Amsterdam [Rouen], chez Pierre Brunel, sur le Dam, 1721. 2 vol. in-12, full brown speckled calf, ribbed spines set with a gilt frieze, gilt fleurons and small gilt fleurons on the entrenerfs, gilt title and tomaison on tan and brown leather parts, letter "G" at foot, double cold framing on the boards, ornate headpieces and sides, red edges. Contemporary binding. 1 f. of title and 311 pp. ; 1 f. of title and 347 pp. with spherical titles printed in black and red, bands and initials. Leather slightly wrinkled, corners a little foxed, small browning in the upper margin of a few pages in volume 2. One of 8 editions from 1721, the year of the original, published under the name of Pierre Brunel at the address Amsterdam. Rochebilière and Tchémerzine believe it was printed clandestinely in France, probably in Rouen like Brunel's other editions, while Louis Desgraves attributes its printing to Suzanne de Cau in Amsterdam. It does contain 150 letters, as do the editions given by Marteau. A composite copy, the first volume of which has the characteristics of the third Rouen edition (except that the word Amsterdam is correctly spelled in the title), while the second volume corresponds to the first Rouen edition. [Rochebilière, N°772 for volume 1 and N°770 for volume 2; Tchemerzine, VIII, 452 ] Heraldic bookplate with the arms of Guillaume-Antoine Haillé du Fossé on the flyleaves. A pleasant copy.