[POINSINET DE SIVRY, Louis]. *La Berlue*. - Lot 257

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[POINSINET DE SIVRY, Louis]. *La Berlue*. - Lot 257
[POINSINET DE SIVRY, Louis]. *La Berlue*. A rare, anonymous first edition, in a lovely half-maroquin binding designed by Albertine Knecht. London, À l'Enseigne du Lynx (Paris), 1759. In-12 Bradel-bound, red long-grain half-maroquin, smooth spine embossed with the title and date in gilt lettering, gilt head (A. Knecht). X and 166 pp., 2 headbands and 2 initials, title printed in black and red, adorned with a woodcut vignette in a floral frame. Minimal rubbing, a slight foxing on pp. IX and X, a small loss in the side margin of pp. III and IV. First edition of this satirical collection published anonymously by Louis Poinsinet de Sivry (1733–1804), compiling maxims, anecdotes, and various reflections on the men of his time. The epistle is dedicated to eagles, “illustrious birds [...] whose eyes pierce all the clouds and gaze upon the Sun without flinching.” The author was a cousin of the poet Antoine Poinsinet, whom Diderot mocked in *Le Neveu de Rameau*. Louis followed in his cousin’s footsteps and had a modest career in literature as a poet, playwright, and pamphleteer. The Grimm-Diderot correspondence harshly judges this work: “La berlue is both the title of the book and the author’s affliction. This man claims he has read nothing, and this is evident from his judgments. It is a satire of all peoples, all states, and all individuals, but lacking in subtlety, strength, wit, and taste...” The work was nevertheless reprinted several times and was even reportedly banned in 1826 (see Drujon, p. 48). "This work, which was almost entirely reproduced in Grimaud de la Reynière’s *Lorgnette Philosophique*, was prosecuted, according to the Wittersheim Catalog. No trace of the ban has been found, though it undoubtedly refers to a reprint. But why on earth is this work in Hell?” [L’Enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale, 484] [Barbier I, 400; Gay, I, 376–377] From the library of Louis Lacombe (1848–1921), with his ex-libris vignette engraved on the inside cover, depicting the banks of the Seine, with the motto “Paris sans pair.” Lacombe was an honorary librarian at the National Library, a great connoisseur of Parisian history, and a member of numerous bibliophile societies; his extensive collection, focused on Paris and its history, was dispersed during major auctions at the Hôtel Drouot between 1922 and 1923. A very fine copy in a later, signed, delicate binding.
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