La princesse couleur de rose, et le prince Céladon, conte
Very rare fiesr edition of these fairy tales by Marguerite de Lubert (1702-1785), the "muse and Grace" of Voltaire.
A very fine copy preserved in its contempoary binding with the arms of the Duke of Aumont.
2 works bound in one 12mo volume of (2) ff., 251 pp., (1) f., 263 pp. Contemporary glazed marbled calf, triple gilt fillet border on covers, central gilt-stamped coat of arms, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons, red morocco title label, gilt fillet on edges, gilt inner roll, gilt edges over marbling. Contemporary armorial binding.
161 x 94 mm.
Lubert, Marguerite de. The Princess Rose-Colored and Prince Celadon, Tale.
The Hague, 1743. Followed by: The Princess Lionnette and Prince Coquerico, Tale. The Hague, 1743.
Very rare first edition of these two fairy tales by Marguerite de Lubert, the “Muse and Grace”of Voltaire.
An eminently contemporary author.
“With the tales of Mlle de Lubert, we are dealing with a literature that delights in making reading a real challenge of writing. For this reason, they approach the parodic and licentious tales of their time, through a disorganization of narrative economy. Through her convoluted plots, this storyteller seeks to suspend the narrative, to sketch out or elude narrative possibilities, proceeding with ever greater excess through the conventions of the novel of the day, in order to undermine the genre. The well-oiled machinery of fairy tales is thus often disrupted by that of desire, which the tale seeks to pursue, even at the risk of malfunction” (Blandine Gonssollin, The Tales of Mlle de Lubert: Little Machines for Reading and Writing).
Timid kings or tyrannical rulers are to be dethroned by the ridiculous and monstrous, supported by the world of fairy. Beneath the marvelous satire, the court becomes a deadly microcosm, and criticism even extends into the salons of the précieuses. Drawing on the political lessons she passes down through her tales, Mlle de Lubert makes fairy tales useful to philosophy. Who distrusts a fairy tale? One can say everything there.
Political concern is at the heart of Enlightenment thought and is clearly present throughout Mlle de Lubert’s tales.
Tales from the end of the previous century praised power. Those of the 18th century seem determined to destabilize it.
The daughter of a magistrate, close to Fontenelle and Voltaire, who affectionately called her “Muse and Grace,” she was part of the intimate circle of Françoise de Graffigny.
Modern criticism has emphasized the highly transgressive and licentious character of these tales: “By making monstrosity the code and measure of the characters’ erotic potential, the male figures are outside the sphere of desire. The female characters, on the other hand, allow for a fairly complete sampling of the different sexual tendencies” (M. Duggan, The Erotic Potential in the Tales of Mlle de Lubert, “Sexuality, Marriage and Family in the 18th Century,” p. 61 ff., U of Laval, 1998).
Very beautiful copy preserved in its contemporary binding with the arms of the Duke of Aumont.
Louis-Marie-Augustin de Rochebaron, Duke of Aumont (1709–1782), Peer of France, First Gentleman of the King’s Chamber, Lieutenant-General of the King’s Armies, “had assembled magnificent collections of works of art and books with remarkable care and patience; most of the bindings were by Padeloup” (O.H.R., pl. 364).
Provenance: Library of the Duke of Aumont; library of Marius-Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas d’Aine (1730–1795), councillor and ordinary master of requests at the king’s household, intendant of Limousin, Béarn and Touraine, with bookplate.
