RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE (Nicolas-Edme).

RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE (Nicolas-Edme).

The life of my father. Neufchatel, Duchesne, 1788. 2 vol. in-12, red morocco, richly decorated ribbed spines, triple gilt fillet framing the boards with gilt arms in the center of the upper boards, double gilt fillet on the edges, wide gilt inner border, gilt edges (20th-century English binding signed Rivière & son). Third edition, which is really only the second since the original appeared in 2 successive issues, a few months apart. One of Restif's most famous novels, illustrated with 2 frontispieces, 2 medallion portraits of the author's father and mother on the titles, and 12 unsigned engravings illustrating moral values: obedience, modesty, compassion, severity, naivety, etc. On page 197 of the second part, for the first time, we find the curious genealogical note on his family. Rétif joked that his family origins can be traced back to the emperor Pertinax. A precious copy in morocco with the arms of Arthur Wills Percy Wellington Blundell Trumbull Hill, 7th Marquess of Downshire (1894 - 1989), politician, military man and Irish peer, or of his brother Arthur Francis Henry Hill (1895 - 1953).