La vie et les aventures surprenantes de Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoé illustrated by Bernard Picart, preserved in its contemporary red morocco.
“Three books hold one up in prison : Robinson, Don Quixote and the Idiot” (Malraux).
3 volumes 12mo [178 x 110 mm] of: I/ (1) bl. l., xiv, 629 pp., (1) bl. l., 1 folding plate and 7 figures ; II/ (1) f., viii, 562 pp., (2) bl. l., 7 figures ; III/ 13 ll. numbered v to xxx, (1) l., 7 figures.
Full red morocco, double gilt roll-stamp inside double gilt fillets on covers, flat spine decorated with gilt roll-stamp in the shape of false bands and gilt fleurons, lettering pieces in green morocco, gilt roll-stamp on leading edges, inner gilt roll-stamp, gilt edges, some marks on the covers of the third volume. Contemporary binding.
Foe, Daniel de. La vie et les aventures surprenantes de Robinson Crusoé, contenant entres autres évènements, le séjour qu’il a fait pendant vingt-huit ans dans une Ile déserte située sur la Côte de l’Amérique, près l’embouchure de la grande Rivière Oroonoque.
Amsterdam, 1770.
The first French translation of the Aventures de Robinson Crusoé by Juste van Effen and Themiseul de Saint-Hyacinthe. Had been previously published in 1720-1721 in another version.
Cohen, 405; Sander, 711; Sabin, 72218; Catalogue Rothschild, II, n°1759; PMM, 180.
One of the most interesting books illustrated by Bernard Picart, “decorated with a folding map and 21 pictures by the artist, of which only one is signed”. (Cohen)
“One of the most famous novels of world literature ; this book tells the story of the sailor Selkirk, who was abandoned in 1705 on the island of Juan Fernandez off the coast of Chili. After four years of solitude, he had practically gone back to being a savage.
Robinson Crusoe runs away from his home, embarks on a boat but his boat capsizes and he ends up, sole survivor, on a desert island. With great ingenuity, he organizes his solitary existence. He meets Friday, “the good savage”.
Everything that had to do with travelling was greatly enjoyed in Crusoe, almost surpassing the actual narrative. Rousseau’s Emile was necessary to attract attention to the main idea of this novel : a lonely man’s fight against nature.
One thing is for certain, this story is quite a feat. “It is Defoe, observes Jean Prévost, who prepared us for the prodigious explosion of realistic novels of the 18th century.” (Dictionnaire des Œuvres)
“The special form of adventure that he chose and even the name of his hero have been adopted by countless imitators. At least equally relevant for the purpose is the figure of the lonely human being subduing the pitiless forces of nature; going back to nature and portraying the “noble savage” in a way that made the book required reading for Rousseau’s Emile.” (PMM)
In l’Émile, Jean-Jacques Rousseau imagines “a unique book, the only one worthy of being saved, to the exclusion of all others. Robinson Crusoe is the only one to hold such a desired position.” (F. Gevrey)
The copies bound in old morocco are rare and very sought-after.
An exquisite copy, preserved in its elegant contemporary red morocco binding, with a particularly richly decorated spine.
