Very beautiful copy of present with the figure of Hortense a - Lot 99

Lot n° 99
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1500 - 2000 EUR
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Result : 5 125EUR
Very beautiful copy of present with the figure of Hortense a - Lot 99
Very beautiful copy of present with the figure of Hortense and the symbols of the Empire offered to Madame de Montlivaut Romances set to music by H[a] M[ajesté] L[a] R[eine] H[ortense]. Without place or date [about 1812], small in-4 in the Italian style of [25] ff. Twelve figures and twelve music plates), contemporary morocco binding with long red grain, gilt lace in the frame, eagle at the intersections, lyre at the corners, crowned H on the top cover, smooth spine with gilt long title, gilt edges. Original edition of this rare album printed in small numbers for the intimate ones. The pieces exalt the patriotic ardour and paint with melancholy the separations. The first romance (Le Beau Dunois) is written by the Count de Laborde and testifies to the troubadour taste that develops. The others are by Queen Hortense. "I made them easily. Leaving for Syria was made in Malmaison when my mother played tric-trac. It was successful and was sung during the 1809 war, just as The Sentinel had been sung during the Spanish war. Since then, in every campaign, I was asked to give one, which I always did with difficulty, because I did not like to pass for an author, too brilliant a reputation for my weak talent" (Memoirs of Queen Hortense, quoted by Maurice Catinat in the magazine Napoleon I, No. 12). In her Memoirs, Louise Cochelet (reader and lady companion of Queen Hortense) tells that the Romances put to music by S.M.L.R.H were printed for the Queen who wanted to give them as a gift to her relatives in 1813. 12 aquatints in bistre in the troubadour style, after drawings by Count Turpin de Crissé. The portrait of Queen Hortense is missing - Olivier, Hermal and Roton, plate 2658, iron 3. This iron, as well as the lyres seem to have been reserved for the bindings of the Romances. Very beautiful copy dedicated in brown ink "Donated to Madame de Montlivaut on January 22nd - Hortense".
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