OVIDE. LES METAMORPHOSES EN LATIN ET EN FRANÇAIS avec des ex - Lot 198

OVIDE. LES METAMORPHOSES EN LATIN ET EN FRANÇAIS avec des explications historiques. Paris, Delalain, 1767-71. 4 volumes in-4°, blond calf, gilt fillet on covers, ornate ribbed spine, gilt edges (period binding). One of the most elegantly illustrated books of the century. "This superb work is due to the care of the publisher Basan and the engraver Le Mire" (Cohen, 434/35). This edition, translated by Abbé Banier, is richly illustrated with a frontispiece, 140 OUT OF TEXT FIGURES and 30 vignettes in the text, all after Boucher, Eisen, Gravelot, Leprince, Monnet, Moreau, Parizeau and Saint-Gois. Hinges rubbed, 2 joins split, small marginal wetness on q. leaves and slight paper defects. 2 unidentified bookplates.