AA.VV. - Conteurs Galants - 1932

EROTICISM, IRONY IN the French Seventeenth Century: THE CLASSIC GALLANT TALE COCHON ILLUSTRATED
This refined edition of Florilège des conteurs galants du XVIIIe siècle represents an editorial celebration of the libertine and gallant French tale, reinterpreted through the typography and illustrative taste of the early twentieth century. Published in Paris in 1932 and illustrated by Adrien Bagarry, the work collects texts by emblematic authors such as Voltaire, Crébillon fils, Duclos, and Denon, offering a synthesis of eighteenth-century short fiction between seduction, irony, and social critique. The editorial project is clearly bibliophilic: high-quality paper, elegant layout, and color plates that dialogue with the Rococo tradition. The presence of a numbered and quality-differentiated edition confirms its destination to a public of collectors and refined connoisseurs.
MARKET VALUE
The French illustrated editions of the 1930s, especially when complete in multiple volumes and with color plates, generally sit between 300 and 500 euros, with higher values for copies in excellent condition or belonging to editions on premium, numbered paper; well-preserved copies on fine paper can reach and surpass 500 euros.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
2 volumes. Flexible hardcover binding in decorative cardboard with floral motifs, with titles on the spine and front board. Title pages printed in red and black, numerous full-page illustrations by Adrien Bagarry, some in color, others in black and white. Pagination distinct for each volume. Pages with some physiological foxing and signs of use. Numbered copy: vol. I no. 199; vol. II no. 409. In ancient books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 8nn; 316; 4nn; (2). (4); 6nn; 326; 2nn; (6).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Florilège des conteurs galants du XVIIIe siècle.
Paris, Librairie de France, 1932, 2 vol.
AA.VV.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The work fits into the twentieth-century tradition of fine editions devoted to French libertine literature of the eighteenth century. The gallant tales, often short and built around romantic intrigues, moral ambiguities, and games of seduction, reflect the cultural climate of the Ancien Régime and anticipate a modern sensibility in the representation of social relations. Bagarry’s iconographic apparatus reinterprets this universe with an elegant and slightly caricatural style, recalling the eighteenth-century illustrative tradition but with an updated graphic sensibility. The editorial structure, with an anthology selection and a strong visual component, transforms the text into an aesthetic object, positioned between an illustrated book and a work of art.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Collective work: among the included authors are Voltaire (1694–1778), philosopher and Enlightenment writer; Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, called Crébillon fils (1707–1777), master of libertine fiction; Charles Pinot Duclos (1704–1772), moralist and historian; Vivant Denon (1747–1825), writer, artist, and key figure of neoclassical taste. All contribute to defining the gallant tale as an autonomous literary genre, between entertainment and social critique.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Librairie de France editions from the 1930s are known for their typographic and illustrative care, often intended for an educated and collecting audience. This Florilège stands out for a edition structured on multiple quality levels of paper, typical of the bibliophilic French editions of the period, which allowed differentiation of the market between luxury copies and more accessible ones, while maintaining a high overall aesthetic standard.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
– Bibliothèque nationale de France, Catalogue général, notice for Florilège des conteurs galants, éd. 1932
– WorldCat, OCLC records relating to the Paris edition, Librairie de France, 1932
– Carteret, Le Trésor du bibliophile illustré, IV, pp. dedicated to illustrated editions of the XX century
– Rahir, La Bibliothèque de l’amateur, sections on modern illustrated editions, relevant pp.
– ICCU / OPAC SBN, bibliographic records of illustrated French editions of the XX century, Librairie de France, 1932