[Louis DORVIGNY]. Ma Tante Geneviève, ou Je l'ai échappé bel - Lot 38

[Louis DORVIGNY]. Ma Tante Geneviève, ou Je l'ai échappé belle ; Par Do ..y. A Paris, Chez Barba, An XI (1803). 4 volumes in-12, red half-maroquin with corners, gilded fillets on covers, ornate spines, gilded heads (Binding by David). xij, 160 pp. ; 180 pp. ; [2 ff.], 144 pp. ; [2 ff.], 143 pp. [1 p.] ; 4 free hors-texte figures by Berthet (one per volume). Second edition (the original dates from 1800) of Dorvigny's libertine masterpiece. Dorvigny's mother was a boarder at the Parc-aux-Cerfs, and his contemporaries found a certain resemblance to Louis XV, inclining them to see him as one of the king's many bastards. "Dorvigny's novel is an uncompromising account of the society of his time, a brave and courageous little novel. The author's portrayal of honest people, and especially the clergy, is made up of wickedness wrapped in a witty, grating irony, with no crusty details for old walkers." (Dict. des Œuvres érotiques). This novel "full of gaiety, good humor, bonhomie and sometimes finesse" has become quite rare, as many copies have been destroyed after being condemned as an outrage to public morality. Gay II, 933. Unique copy enriched with the four original drawings, in quadruple state, produced by Jules-Adolphe Chauvet to illustrate the republication of this text by Gay et Doucé in 1882: original wash, original pen drawing, bistre print signed and dated 1881, brown print placed in frontispiece (in volumes 1 and 2, the washes, pen drawing and bistre print are interchanged). A very fine, unique copy of this great, little-known novel by Dorvigny.