Ballet en langage foresien
“This ballet has the merit of being one of the very rare masterpieces of the Foré dialect and of offering a certain originality” (G. Aubry).
“The contempt that bibliophiles had for this type of first edition (contempt now—in 1855) turned into ardent desire”.
First edition dated 1605 that has been found “two or three times together with Marcellin Allard’s Gazette Française, but it is rarer than the Gazette, which is not common” (catalogue Nodier n° 626).
An attractive wide-margined copy bound in green Morocco by Trautz-Bauzonnet from La Roche Lacarelle’s library, with ex-libris.
Small 8vo of 24 pp.
Green morocco, triple gilt fillet doré on covers, decorated ribbed spine, gilt edges. Signed binding by Trautz-Bauzonnet.
165 x 101 mm.
Allard, Marcellin. Ballet en langage Foresien, de trois bergers, & trois bergères, se gaussant des amoureux qui nomment leurs maîtresses, leur doux souvenir, leur belle pensée, leur Lis, leur Rose, leur œillet, etc., par Marcellin Allard.
(No place, no date or 1605).
Very rare first and very sought-after edition of this provincial dialect printed in 1605.
“The study of provincial dialects, long looked down upon, now rightly attracts the attention of the finest minds; it is recognized that to arrive at an accurate understanding of the etymologies and historical developments of the French language, one must turn to the patois.
A serious difficulty immediately deters those who would wish to examine these works of rustic literature; booklets of this kind, published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, are exceedingly rare. Their scarcity, the class of readers they were intended for, the contempt bibliophiles held for them (contempt now turned into an ardent desire)—how many causes of destruction have these little works been unable to escape!)
There are some that one would search for in vain even in the most extensive public libraries. Bibliophiles’ catalogs list them only sporadically, and they can be obtained only at very high prices.
We therefore believe we are doing a useful service by bringing to light some of these fragments of dialects that are disappearing every day; we begin with a ballet that has the merit of being one of the very rare monuments of the Foré dialect, and of offering a certain originality.
Its author sought to mock the languid pastoral plays that were then filling the French stage with insipidities borrowed from Italy; the patois enjoys certain privileges akin to Latin, and the peasants for whom it serves as a voice do not pride themselves on scrupulous reserve in their choice of words.
The Ballet forésien, which we had not seen since the Nodier auction in 1844, where it sold for 50 francs, has just been acquired by Mr. A. Aubry, our publisher, at the Ch. G. (Giraud) auction. Thanks to this purchase, we have been able to preserve the purity of the original text and reproduce the author’s portrait, engraved at the time of the first edition and perhaps unique today. This small work was penned by a little-known writer, Marcellin Allard, and was published in 1605. At least, that is the date given in the Gazette française, another work by the same author, a singular book” (Aubry, 1855).
“Of all these old works written in the local dialect, which so valuable for the study of linguistics, this one is perhaps the most worthy of attention” (Cat. Soleinne, n° 3979).
An attractive wide-margined copy bound in green Morocco by Trautz-Bauzonnet from Laroche Lacarelle’s library, with ex-libris.
