Honoré de Balzac - Oeuvres de H. de Balzac - 1855-1874

Honoré de Balzac
Complete works
Paris, Houssiaux, 1855 - 1877

20 volumes in 20 bound volumes, 14 x 22 cm.

Volume 20 is the original edition, dated 1855, and includes Carteret's note (Houssiaux's address was rue Saint-André [...] and not Sainc-[...]). The rest is a reprint from Houssiaux.

Contemporary half-green calf binding. Some rubbing, particularly on a few covers. Small abrasion to the spine of volume 3 and damage to the headcap of volume 18. Volume 20 has a faded spine.
Overall clean and fresh, but with some scattered foxing or spotting, a little more pronounced in volumes 8, 10 and especially 20.

This beautifully illustrated work features 138 full-page plates on heavy tinted paper, by the finest artists of the period, including Bertall, Daumier, Gavarni, Johannot, and Nanteuil, as well as rare in-text illustrations and a few music plates. This magnificent collection is a must-have in its genre and captures the aesthetic of an entire era.

As is always the case with these editions of complete works, each copy naturally possesses some notable characteristics, and the number of plates may differ from one volume to another. The composition of this copy is as follows:
Volume 1: 1877. 5 engravings including the portrait of Balzac
T2: 1874. 6 engravings
T3: 1874. 6 engravings
T4: 1877. 6 engravings.
T5: 1877. 8 engravings.
T6: 1877. 8 engravings
T7: 1877. 8 engravings
T8: 1877. 7 engravings
T9: 1877. 7 engravings
T10: 1877. 8 engravings
T11: 1874. 8 engravings
T12: 1877. 8 engravings
T13: 1874. 6 engravings
T14: 1874. 9 engravings
T15: 1874. 6 engravings
T16: 1877. 4 engravings
T17: 1877. 5 engravings
T18: 1877. 13 engravings
T19: 1877. 5 engravings
T20: 1855. 5 engravings