Libreria Antiquaria Pregliasco

48. RedOuTÉ, Pierre - ThORY Cl.Ant. Les
Roses. Paris, De l’Imprimerie de Firmin Didot,
1817-1824, p. on r.
Folio, 3 volumes (mm 370x275) half green morocco by
Bauzonnet. Engraved portrait of Redouté by C.S. Pradier,
frontispiece wreath of roses and 169 stipple-engraved
plates, printed in colours by Remond and finished by
hand. Redouté reached the height of his fame under the
patronage of the Empress Josephine who assembled at the
Malmaison a collection of several hundred varieties of
roses, a collection unique for the time. Many of the drawings
were made there although the book itself did not
appear until after Josephine’s death. The exquisite quality
and the popularity of the subject have made it the most
famous of Redoute’s works: “The technical execution of its
production was ... near perfect. The artistic quality of the plates
is high, and there is no reason to mark it any lower than one
would Les Liliacees and the Jardin de la Malmaison”
(Stafleu). Some text leaves somewhat spotted but plates
largely unaffected apart from occasional slight foxing.
Dunthorne 232; Great Flower Books, p. 71; Hunt Redouteana
19; Nissen BBI 1599; Pritzel 7455; Ray French 89; Stafleu
& Cowan TL2 9748. [18718]
37