Pierre Corneille [Reliure signée Derome/200 ex. Sur grand papier raisin de France] - Théâtre Choisi - 1783

CORNEILLE (Pierre) - Selected Theatre of P. Corneille. Volume One (of two) - Paris, Fr. Ambr. Didot l'Aîné, 1783 (M. DCC. LXXXIII) [Monumental royal edition limited to 200 copies on Grand Paper Raisin de France].

1 large volume in quarto (approx. 30 x 22 cm). Volume One (of two), complete with its XXIV and 531 pages. Contains the Life of P. Corneille as well as the principal plays: Le Cid, Horace, Cinna, Polyeucte Martyr and Le Menteur. Title page adorned with the superb copper-engraved vignette with arms and loves.

Limited print run of only 200 copies on Grand Paper Raisin de France, executed on the presses of François-Ambroise Didot l'Aîné under the orders of Louis XVI (referenced no. 674 in Émile Picot's Cornelian bibliography, Paris, 1876).

Binding by Master Signed by DEROME LE JEUNE: Full morocco of the period (back in rich brown morocco richly ornamented in the compartments with gilt spandrels, and boards in green morocco framed by a triple gold fillet). Original binder's engraved label preserved on the upper paste-down ("Bound by DEROME le jeune, rue St Jaque above St Benoist"). Gold-tooled inner dentelles, dentelles on the turn-ins, gilt edges on marbled endpapers.

Morocco binding of the period of remarkable freshness and very solid, with the original two-tone patina (brown spine/green boards). The gilding is vivid and sparkling. The interior on Grand Paper Raisin is singularly white.

Printed in 1783 by François-Ambroise Didot l'Aîné for the collection of French classical authors commissioned by Louis XVI (for the education of the Dauphin), this edition of Corneille's Selected Theatre embodies the perfection of eighteenth-century neoclassical typography.

As attested by Émile Picot (no. 674), the production of extreme rigour on Grand Paper Raisin de France and the confidential limited print run to 200 copies made it a pure state prestige publication, reserved for the King’s present-day courtiers and the kingdom’s finest bibliophile cabinets.

Tailor-made upon release from the Didot press by Nicolas-Denis Derome (later Derome le Jeune), ordinary binder to the King and a legendary figure in French bookbinding, the volume displays the elegance of its two-tone morocco binding with gilded inner dentelles.

The papers known as “Raisin de France” of that era benefited from a sizing and satin finish of such quality that they have retained their firmness and immaculate whiteness for nearly 250 years, making the black of the Didot typography stand out with perfect contrast.

Although this is Volume 1 of 2, the exact conjunction of the major hallmarks of high-bibliophily — royal confidential print run of 200 copies on Grand Paper Raisin de France (Picot No. 674), Didot’s typographic masterpiece, two-tone morocco period binding with gilded inner dentelles and authenticated signature with Derome le Jeune’s label — positions this volume among exceptional pieces.