Elegant wholly engraved eighteenth-century French musical volume, combining songs, musical notation, and decorative plates within a luxurious courtly publication dedicated to Madame la Dauphine.

Bibliographic Details

Author: [Laborde, Jean-Benjamin de] (1734–1794)
Title: [Choix de chansons mises en musique. Dédiées à Madame la Dauphine]. Tome IV only
Place of Publication: [Paris]
Publisher: [Chez De Lormel]
Date: [1773]
Pagination: Entirely engraved throughout, including 'text'
Illustrations: Engraved plates after Le Barbier and Saint-Quentin, engraved by Masquelier and Née
Binding: Contemporary full dark green calf, gilt-ruled boards, spine gilt in compartments with lettering, all edges gilt, red marbled endpapers
Size: 8vo
Provenance: Tome IV only from the original four-volume set

Condition

Very Good to Good. Binding with rubbing to edges and to the head and foot of the spine. Spine somewhat sunned with gilt lightly faded. Hinges and binding firm and sound. Internally bright and clean, with only the very occasional hint of minor foxing. No marks, stains, or damp-related issues. Please examine images closely or request a more detailed condition report if required.

Description

This is Volume IV from Jean-Benjamin de Laborde’s celebrated Choix de chansons, one of the most refined French engraved songbooks of the late eighteenth century.

Conceived as a luxurious courtly publication and dedicated to Madame la Dauphine, the work combines fashionable vocal music with elegant visual presentation, reflecting the cultivated artistic taste of pre-Revolutionary aristocratic France.

The volume is wholly engraved throughout, including text, musical notation, and illustrations — an expensive and deliberate production method that allowed verse, music, and imagery to be integrated seamlessly upon the page.

The engraved plates are after designs by Le Barbier and Saint-Quentin, engraved by Masquelier and Née, with most plates signed within the image. Together they create a richly decorative visual accompaniment to the music and poetry.

Jean-Benjamin de Laborde, courtier, musician, and man of letters, occupied a prominent place within French intellectual and artistic society before the Revolution. His publications stand among the finest examples of late eighteenth-century French musical engraving.

Notes

Offered here as Tome IV only from the original four-volume set, yet entirely self-contained and highly appealing as an individual volume.

A visually elegant survival combining music, engraving, decorative arts, and aristocratic culture within an attractive contemporary gilt binding.