CHATEAUTERNE (M. de). - Lot 49

CHATEAUTERNE (M. de). Route from Pantin to Mont Calvaire, passing through Rue Mouffetard, the Faubourg St.-Marceau, the Faubourg St.-Jacques, the Faubourg St.-Germain, the Quais, the Champs-Élysées, the Bois de Boulogne, Neuilly, Suresne, and returning via St.-Cloud, Boulogne, Auteuil, Chaillot, etc.; or Unpublished Letters from Chactas to Atala. A work written in a brilliant style, translated for the first time from Low Breton based on the ninth edition. Paris, J.-G. Dentu, printer and bookseller, 3 Rue du Pont-de-Lodi, near the Pont-Neuf, 1811. In-8, originally paperback, later bound in full beige cloth, smooth spine with gilt title, small gilt decoration in the center of the front cover. Copy entirely uncut, retaining its wide margins. FIRST EDITION A rare first edition of this curious parody of Chateaubriand, published anonymously under the transparent pseudonym “M. de Chateauterne.” The work subverts the famous world of Atala and Chactas by having the hero travel not through Chateaubriand’s American landscapes, but through Paris and its environs, from Pantin to Mont-Calvaire, via Rue Mouffetard, the Faubourgs Saint-Marceau, Saint-Jacques and Saint-Germain, the Champs-Élysées, the Bois de Boulogne, Neuilly, Suresnes, Saint-Cloud, Boulogne, Auteuil, and Chaillot. The title, particularly elaborate and playful, announces “Unpublished Letters from Chactas to Atala,” supposedly “translated for the first time from Low Breton in the ninth edition,” and bears this epigraph: “A parody does not detract from the merit a work may possess.” The work belongs to the tradition of satirical literature that emerged from Chateaubriand’s immense success in the early 19th century and also serves as an entertaining account of Paris, its suburbs, and its popular walking spots during the First Empire. This copy is particularly appealing due to its untrimmed condition, preserving very wide margins and the character of the original paper. It has been tastefully bound in a modern full beige cloth binding, which respects the volume’s form without attempting to artificially give it the appearance of a period binding. A few foxing spots and stains, as well as old water stains visible particularly on the title page and in some margins; a few creases and small marginal tears that do not affect the text. The modern binding is in good condition. Rare in this condition with all margins intact.