GIRAULT-DUVIVIER (Charles-Pierre). — Grammar of Grammars, or - Lot 118

GIRAULT-DUVIVIER (Charles-Pierre). — Grammar of Grammars, or A Reasoned Analysis of the Best Treatises on the French Language. Paris, A. Cotelle, bookseller and publisher, 1844. 2 volumes in-8, approximately XX-1380 pp., green half-shagreen with corner pieces, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, gilt title and volume numbers, green marbled paper covers. Contemporary binding. Eleventh edition, fully revised and corrected in accordance with the new Dictionary of the Academy, expanded to include a critical overview of this dictionary and numerous explanations concerning, in particular, spelling, compound nouns, the usage of adjectives and pronouns, as well as the “boldness of poetic and oratorical style.” This major revision was carried out by P.-Auguste Lemaire, professor of rhetoric at the Collège Bourbon. The 1844 Paris edition is well-documented as a two-volume set measuring approximately 22 cm. First published in the early 19th century, Girault-Duvivier’s treatise enjoyed considerable success and went through numerous editions. A veritable compendium of grammar, it compares and synthesizes the doctrines of the leading French grammarians, while providing numerous examples drawn from writers. The work offers an interesting insight into the codification and teaching of French in the 19th century. A complete set of both volumes, in their original, uniform bindings from the period. Waterstains, sometimes heavy, as is often the case with this edition. Bindings rubbed; cover boards heavily discolored with some losses; corners and edges worn; a small loss of paper on one cover. Nevertheless, the set is sturdy and perfectly readable.