Le Hoc - Pyrrhus ou les Eacides - 1807

LE HOC. — PYRRHUS, OR THE ÉACIDES (ORIGINAL EDITION WITH COLORED COSTUME, 1807).
Paris: Lecouvreur, 1807.
Octavo. Contemporary marbled-paper softcover.
Precious and rare original edition of this neoclassical tragedy created at the Théâtre-Français under Napoleon I in February 1807.

The work is especially sought after for its steel-engraved plate, enhanced with period watercolor, which documents with great precision the scenography and the theater costumes in the “Return from Egypt / Empire” style worn by the leading actors of the imperial era.

The text is followed by the fascinating Critical and Literary Reflections on this play and on the dramatic art, written by the author, offering a vivid testimony on the quarrel between the Ancients and the Moderns during the Empire.

Copy preserved in its state as issued in softcover. Contemporary marbled cover slightly rubbed at the edges. Interior on period laid paper with clear watermarks and marginal foxing and browning, very typical for theatre pamphlets. The colored frontispiece engraving is notably fresh in its coloring.

Under the First Empire, Napoleon I closely followed the repertoire of the Théâtre-Français, considering classical tragedy the best vehicle for the grandeur of the State. The presence of the engraved and brush-painted costume plate transforms this simple dramatic booklet into a valuable iconographic document for the history of the performing arts.