[NAPOLEON BONAPARTE - COLOUR PLATES].
Histoire de Napoleon.
[Brussels?, after 1821]. Oblong 4to (?) (ca. 25.5 x 33 cm). With a hand-coloured lithographed double-page title, and 132 hand-coloured full-page lithographed plates. Contemporary gold-tooled half red morocco, decorated paper sides, with the title lettered in gold on the spine, and a red morocco title label on the front, marbled endpapers. The work is housed in a later red and yellow marbled paper slipcase. [134] ll.
€ 35,000
Extremely rare hand-coloured collection of 132 lithographic plates illustrating the life of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) in chronological order. The work starts with a double-page title which shows the most important events in Napoleon's life in seven smaller illustrations, and is followed by the other plates which each show one event, starting with his birth and ending with his death. The plates are lithographed in a cohesive style and clearly belong to the same series. However, the present work appears to be unique, as we have not been able to find another large collection of these plates.
The plates depict Napoleon's arrival in France, the Italian Campaign, the Egyptian expedition, 18 Brumaire, his coronation, the War of the Third Coalition and the Battle of Austerlitz, the War of the Fourth Coalition, the Peninsular War, the War of the Fifth Coalition, Napoleon's wedding to Marie Louise, the invasion of Russia, the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon's abdication, his exile to Elba, his return and the Battle of Waterloo, his exile to Saint Helena, and his death. The final plate in the collection gives a short summary of his life in illustrations, like the title, with his statue triumphantly depicted in the centre. All plates are titled and captioned in French. Only the first two are numbered, but the collection is most likely complete.
The work is part of a group of Romantic works on Napoleon, published in the 1820s and 30s, that glorified his campaigns, victories, and bravery. They usually include text as well, but the present work consists only of plates. With the exception of the title and the final image, these plates were clearly intended as a single series, although only the first three are signed. They were lithographed by the company of Jean-Baptiste Ambroise Marcellin Jobard (1792-1861) in Brussels.
The work has been re-backed, with the original spine laid down, the edges of the boards are slightly scuffed, the front and back are slightly scratched. The plates have been numbered in pencil, the work is slightly foxed throughout, with some leaves affected more than others. The slipcase show slight traces of use. Otherwise in good condition. Not in Bobins.
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