THE ADVENTURES OF A DOLL
WETZELL, Madame.
Les Matinées de la poupée, ou récréations d’une petite fille.
Paris, J. Langlumé, [1844?].
Oblong 12mo, pp. [2], [5]-47, [1 (blank)], with frontispiece and 6 hand-coloured plates; light spotting, a small damp-stain to upper corner of first leaves, small tear to lower corner of frontispiece (without affecting print); stab-stitched and attractively preserved in contemporary paste-paper wrappers.
First and only edition, very rare, of a charming illustrated account of a girl’s doll. Brillantine, a doll, is given to Célénie for company while her elder sister Alméa is in Africa; the book recounts in detail their relationship over the course of a week, from Brillantine’s arrival with the family d’Ervilliers (on Saturday 18 May 1844), the provision of her wardrobe and furnishing of her apartment (a cabinet overlooking the garden), her education by Célénie, and their adventures meeting other girls and dolls and going on a horse-ride.
The work ends with Brillantine’s departure and the promise of further stories, subsequently published in 1848 as Les Soirées de la poupée, ou suite des ‘Récréations d’une petite fille’. No copies traced in the UK or US; OCLC records copies of both works at BnF only.
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HORACE.
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A scarce miniature edition of Horace’s works, printed by Didot fils with type cut by Henri Didot.