1749 ❧ [BARRE DE BEAUMARCHAIS, ANTOINE DE LA]. Le Temple des Muses. Amsterdam: Zacharias...

1749 ❧ [BARRE DE BEAUMARCHAIS, ANTOINE DE LA]. Le Temple des Muses. Amsterdam: Zacharias Chatelain, 1749. Folio (453 x 306 mm). Roman and italic types; title page printed in red & black, additional half-title; 60 full-page plates within elaborate ornamental borders, and a small title-page vignette, all engraved by Bernard Picart or his pupils; woodcut initials and culs-de-lampes. The engraved half-title is from the German edition (rather than the French, with identical design but different text), short tear at outer margin of the engraved half-title, not affecting the printed area, occasional slight soiling. Contemporary calf gilt, triple filet border, gilt flower tool in corners, edges gilt. Rebacked preserving an older red morocco label, covers somewhat rubbed & scuffed, corners a bit worn. Provenance: Lisa and Leonard Baskin (bookplate, signature & notes on rear endpaper; noting acquisition from Lucien Goldschmidt in 1964). A remarkable conjunction of text and image, Le Temple des Muses brings together Antoine de la Barre de Beaumarchais' retelling of legends from classical antiquity and Bernard Picart's sixty full-page engraved plates. Based on Michel de Marolles' 1655 work of the same title, with illustrations designed by Abraham van Diepenbeeck, it first appeared in 1733, a quadrilingual production (the letterpress text was available in French, Dutch, German & English; the captions to the plates were engraved in all four languages). Further editions were published in 1742 and 1749 (ours); these, however, appeared only in French. The text consists not only of Barre de Beaumarchais' versions of the stories, but also his extensive notes and commentary. Picart's plates are each printed within one of fourteen elaborate ornamental borders with classical motifs.Antoine de la Barre de Beaumarchais (d. c. 1757) was a native of Cambrai. After studying in Paris, he joined the canons regular of Saint Victor, but after soome time left the order and went to the Netherlands, where he got married and supported himself working in the book trade, moving from Leiden to the Hague, then to Hamburg, and on to Frankfurt. He was a prolific author, but history has not looked kindly upon his works; in the words of the Biographie universelle classique, 'il fit pour les libraires une grande quantité d'ouvrages qui n'offrent aujourd'hui que peu d'intérêt.' Bernard Picart 'was the outstanding professional illustrator of the first third of the eighteenth century, an age during which the designs for the finest illustrated books were typically drawn by leading painters. He worked for the most part in the fading baroque tradition, but there are elements in his immense production which herald the new age. When his diverse accomplishments are finally catalogued and analyzed, his standing as a book artist will be greatly enhanced' (see Ray pp.7-9). Brunet V: 696; Cohen-de Ricci 531-533. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing