Album de la jeunesse, des amateurs, et des artistes composé de vingt-cinq sujets divers

Arts et métiers, chevaux, chasses, scènes militaires, vues et paysages ornés de fabriques et d'animaux, etc. Dessinés et gravés a l'eau-forte par feu J. Duplessi-Bertaux (...). Paris, Joubert, 1823, (4),16 text pages, with engraved portrait of the author and 25 engravings, contemporary half leather with central part of the original front cover pasted, oblong 4to.

Internally here and there foxed (particularly beginning and end), page 9-10 with expertly repaired tear, bookblock newly reset in binding with new endpapers. Good copy with very wide margins. Final, posthumously published album by Jean Duplessi-Bertaux (1750-1818); its publication was delayed by various circumstances during his lifetime. Editor Joubert wanted to honour the artist with this edition: "(...) pour honorer la mémoire de cet artiste inimitable (...) La perte de Bertaux est irréparable et sera long-temps et vivement sentie de tous ceux qui aiment et cultivent les beaux-arts" (text before portrait). Pages 5-16 contain a "Notice historique sur la gravure a l'eau-forte". A note in pencil on the inside reads that the circulation was limited to 176 copies. The author of this annotation clearly did not read French, because he in fact added the prices of the different versions of the edition... The four different versions are mentioned on the front cover: on normal paper 20 francs, on coloured paper 36 francs, before letters and numbers 48 francs and the same but on Chinese paper 72 francs. Our copy is the second most luxurious version.