LONDRES vu par Gustave Dore

Louis Enault

Published by Hachette and Co, Paris, 1876

About this Item

Londres. Illustrated with 174 wood engravings by Gustave Doré, of which 52 are full-page. Paris, Hachette and Co., 1876. French First Edition. folio 15 x 11" (37.5 x 28 cm); 434pp. IN FRENCH. WE CAN SEND MORE PHOTOS ON DEMAND. --- Original French edition of Londres vu par Gustave Doré, superb print run of 174 woodcuts, of which 52 are full-page. The original in English appeared in 1872 with the text by Blanchard Jerrold. Copy preserved in FINE condition,Original publisher's binding of red morocco backed red percaline cloth boards (signed by Engel of Paris), sides elaborately decorated in black and gilt, spine decorated and lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Covers stamped with a black and gold decoration by A. Souze. -- Condition: FINE percaline cardboard binding, clean on both covers, very slightly faded gilding on the back cover, slight rubbing on the headcaps, two pierced corners. Interior very fresh, rare foxing on a small number of leaves, not serious. Almost FINE copy. This is probably Gustave Doré's masterpiece. Carteret III, 220. Vicaire III, 574. Provenance: heraldic ex-libris of "Cerruti di Castiglione" on the INSIDE OF FRONT cover. I have never seen a 150 year old book in finer condition. --- One of Gustave Doré s masterpieces that would leave its mark on the visual culture of an entire era. Are his striking images of the common people of London really a reflection of reality? Are they not rather evidence of the fantasized vision of a poet illustrator with an overflowing imagination? From 1868 onward, Gustave Doré regularly stayed in London, where his books had met with great success. During his stays, his friend Blanchard Jerrold, a journalist at the Daily News, guided him through the capital, which he knew like the back of his hand. In 1869, Blanchard Jerrold asked Gustave Doré to collaborate on a book on contemporary London, which the journalist had conceived as a walk through the city, a testimony to the reality of a capital in full industrial boom, where the population had exploded in less than a century and where inequalities were glaring. Jerrold would write the texts, Doré would provide the illustrations.

Seller Inventory # 1876SS

Bibliographic Details

• Title: LONDRES vu par Gustave Dore
• Publisher: Hachette and Co, Paris
• Publication Date: 1876
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Gustave Dore (Folio 15 x 11")
• Edition: 1st French edition.
• Condition: Almost FINE
• Dust Jacket Condition: no dj as issued
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Gustave Doré, Illustrator
  • Fine Binding
  • Illustrated Books
  • Travel & Exploration
  • French Books