LA COURONNE DE FLORE, Ou Mélange de Poésie et de Prose,
Paris: Fleury Chavant, 1837. First edition. “Ce recueil est destiné à accompagner La Naissance des Fleurs, ouvrage lithographique composé de 300 groupes de fleurs, par MM. Redouté, Baget, Dumas, etc.”. Chavant’s NAISSANCE DES FLEURS was a series of 50 individual “feuilles” issued by the editor Chavant with plates available separately for 1fr.50. (Chavant’s ads appear at the back of this text). This small book gathers together some of the themes of the poets and prose writers who contributed to the NAISSANCE, with, in addition, 4 drawings lithographed by A. Rouillet from the work of J. P. Redouté, Olympe Arson, Jules Dumas and Lucy de Beaurepaire. Essays on the history and lore of individual flowers accompany poems on different flowers by contemporary authors. This is the “broché” issue, again, as described in the ads at the back. VICAIRE Vol II, p. 1044. Scarce; we find three copies in OCLC, only one of which in the U.S. at Harvard/Houghton. 12mo (18 x 11.5 cm); 143 pp. with ads + 4 lithographed plates.
Original paper covers, delicate slit to paper about 5cm. along spine, very light wear to heel of spine, previous owner’s penned signature at upper left cover; heavy foxing to text printed in blue with blue printed border; plates relatively clean.
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