Bernardin de Saint Pierre - Paolo e Virginia - 1794

SAINT-PIERRE, Jacques-Henri Bernardin de.
Paolo e Virginia; Second Corrected Edition, presented at the Lycée Républicain.
Paris: Da' Torchj of Hautbout the elder, Year Three [1794-1795].
1 volume in-12 (approx. 16.5 × 10 cm), period calf leather bindings in marbled brown, smooth spine adorned with doré (gilded) panels featuring geometric rosettes, red morocco title piece with the gilded inscription “PAOLO / E / VIRGINI”.

Robust and elegant full-period calf. The smooth spine is rhythmically set with superb gilded circular stamps and a contrasting title piece. Moderate wear to headbands and corners, bindings solid. Interior browned on period laid paper. Copy illustrated with 2 era engravings out of text, finely executed (depicting the tragic and exotic scenes of the novel). Presence of a stamp or ex-libris of ancient provenance framed in blue ink (“P. Martin, Régent.”) on the final page.

Rare and remarkable Italian edition printed in Paris during the revolutionary period (“Anno Terzo” of the French Republic, i.e. 1794–1795) by Hautbout’s presses. Translated and presented with splendor at the Lycée Républicain, this edition of Paul et Virginie by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre testifies to the international reach of this masterpiece of pre-Romantic literature, celebrating island exotism (the island of France, now Mauritius) and the purity of sentiment in the face of worldly distress.