BEAUMARCHAIS (Pierre-Augustin Caron de). — The Barber of Sev - Lot 32

BEAUMARCHAIS (Pierre-Augustin Caron de). — The Barber of Seville. The Marriage of Figaro. Nice - Paris, Société Imprimatur, 1954. A substantial volume in small quarto format (approx. 24.5 × 19 cm), loose-leaf, with a padded cover, a rigid slipcase, and the publisher’s case covered in green suede-like fabric; title label on the spine of the slipcase; 373 pp., (2) ff. A beautiful bibliophile edition bringing together Beaumarchais’s two great comedies, illustrated by Jean Gradassi with 73 color compositions: 55 illustrations in the text, 9 headpieces, and 9 tailpieces. The illustrations were hand-colored in the studios of Edmond Vairel, successor to J. Saudé. The book was completed on June 15, 1954, on the presses of the Imprimerie Nationale de Monaco. Detailed print run: 1,690 numbered copies, plus 25 copies reserved for the artist’s collaborators and friends. It includes 60 copies on pearlescent Japanese paper with a color plate and an original drawing, 110 on pure Rives rag paper with a black suite, and 1,520 copies on specially manufactured, dyed pure rag vellum with an “Imprimatur” watermark, numbered from 171 to 1,690. A copy from the regular print run on specially dyed pure-rag vellum Jean Gradassi’s illustrations, particularly abundant here, are characteristic of his work as a miniaturist: 18th-century figures, costumes, and settings are rendered in a vivid and decorative palette, with each composition enhanced by hand. This copy is preserved in its original slipcase. The interior appears fresh. The cover, however, and especially the slipcase, show fairly significant sun damage and rubbing, with wear on the corners and edges. There are also brownish marks on several pages left by old adhesive tape, particularly around the half-title page and on certain pages.