[LAVATER - PHYSIOLOGY]. Mimicry. The Art of Understanding Pe - Lot 200

[LAVATER - PHYSIOLOGY]. Mimicry. The Art of Understanding People Through Their Postures, Gestures, and Gait. Two publications combined into a single volume, reflecting the 19th-century interest in physiology and the study of human behavior. A total of 64 enhanced plates illustrate these two studies, one based on Lavater and the other by the Countess de Genlis. Paris, Saintin, 1826. In-16, fawn half-basane, ribbed spine decorated with gold fillet and dotted lines, original plain brown covers preserved. 42 pp., 32 plates. Spine sun-faded, corners rubbed. Paper slightly browned. Edition illustrated with 32 colored plates inserted between the text, including the frontispiece, depicting various poses of characters. Johann Caspar Lavater (1741–1801), a German-speaking Swiss writer and renowned physiognomist, was the first to truly develop a system of signs for determining an individual’s character by studying and observing the features of their face. Bound together with this volume is another study by the Countess of Genlis (same publisher, same year): - *Les Sympathies, or The Art of Judging, Through Facial Features, the Appropriateness of Love and Friendship* by Mme de G******. Paris, Saintin, 1826. Marked as a second edition, illustrated with 32 hand-colored plates as inserts. Handwritten bookplate on the half-title page and a stamped bookplate on the title page. A beautiful set.