Description

(Set of 3 Volumes in French) OEUVRES COMPLETES DE MOLIERE, Edition Variorum . New Notes by Charles Loundre. Paris, G. Charpentier, no date (estimated later 1800s?*) 1/2 Leather with Marbled Boards. 3 volumes with dark green half-leather at spines. Boards are black and green marbling. The leather on spines is fragile, deteriorated, and missing some pieces (seen in photos) Leather is rubbed and scraped. The gilt titling and volume numbers on spines are rubbed but legible. Spine leather of v. 2 is detached in front and hanging loose. The marbled boards show considerable edgewear, bumped and frayed corners, scraped surfaces front and rear. Hinges vary: the boards of v 1 are tight and secure; v. 2 is tight at the rear and essentially detached, hanging by threads at front; boards of v. 3 are tight and secure. Binding of all 3 volumes is tight, no loose pages. Text pages are clean, no writing, quite bright with some toning at the margins. Volume 1 has a frontis portrait of Moliere that is tissue protected but quite foxed at margins; no other plates or illustrations. The volumes have thin green silk ribbon markers. In spite of the exterior condition, the text in this set is complete and in good condition, ehhanced by the historical and critical material gathered by the eidtors. 4.75" x 7" The 3 contents pages (see photos) list the plays. The full contents of the set as transcribed from the title page: "Oeuvres Completes de Moliere, Edition Variorum, Precede d'un Precis de L'Histoire du Theatre en France de la Biographie de Moliere Rectifee, Accompagnee des Variantes, Pieces et Fragments de Pieces Retrouvee Dans ces Derniers Temps de Notices Historiques et Litteraires sur Chaque Comedie de Resume de Trauvaux Critiques Publies Sur Moliere par Voltaire, La Harpe,...etc., etc. et de Nouvelles Notes Par Charles Louandre. Edition Ornee De Portrait de Moliere D'Apres L'Original de Coypel." *No date is found in the volumes; the editor, C. Loundre, lived 1812-1882; publisher G. Charpentier took over his father's publishing house in 1872, so a good guess as to date places the set later 1800s, 1880s?