Jean de la Fontaine — Fables de la Fontaine

Paris, Garnier Freres, 1868. Leather. A smart, illustrated collection of La Fontaine's fables, in the original French. French. Illustrated throughout. A collection of fables from Western and Eastern sources, adapted into free verse by Jean de La Fontaine. Considered classics of French literature, the stories are humorous, nuanced and ironical. Originally aimed at adults, they entered the educational system and became required learning for school children. Written by Jean de La Fontaine, a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the seventeenth century. Illustrated by Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard, a prolific French illustrator and caricaturist who published under the pseudonym of Grandville. In the original quarter red morocco with red cloth boards. Externally, smart with rubbing and minor bumping to the extremities. Light fading to the spine with the odd small mark to the boards. Minor loss to the cloth at the rear board. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright with light scattered spotting. Further spotting and light age toning to the endpapers. Very Good . Ill.: Grandville [Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard]. Very Good .