Molière - Œuvres - 1820

MOLIÈRE. — WORKS BY MOLIÈRE (PARIS, LIBRAIRIE DABO, 1820, 6 COMPLETE VOLUMES).
Paris: Librairie Dabo, 1820.
6 volumes in-12. Full calf from the Restoration period, spine with carved nerves ornamented with antique urns.
A very elegant complete publication in six volumes of Molière's plays published at the beginning of Louis XVIII's reign.

These stereotype editions from Librairie Dabo were particularly appreciated during the Restoration for the clarity of their compact typography and the perfection of their layout, offering a text of great accuracy intended for bourgeois libraries and the learned nobility.

Magnificent set preserved in its Restoration-era binding (c. 1820) in full ornamental calf: spine very ornate with a brilliant neoclassical gilding featuring urns and lip-like roulettes. Original title and volume labels in red morocco perfectly preserved and legible. Usual scuffs and wear to the headcaps and corners, bindings extremely solid and well matched. Interior clean and well preserved. Tears in volume 6.

In 1820, under the reign of Louis XVIII, the Comédie-Française and the great Paris publishers bring to prominence the masterpieces of the Grand Century. It is at this time that the most brilliant Parisian binding workshops create these magnificent urn and Greek-style décors.