Sterne (Lawrence). Voyage sentimental, followed by Lettres d - Lot 21

Sterne (Lawrence). Voyage sentimental, followed by Lettres d'Yorick à Éliza. ÀParis et à Amsterdam, chez J.E.Gabriel Dufour (à Paris, de l'imprimerie de Didot jeune), l'anVII [1798-1799]. 2 vols. large in-4, large-margined copy, 34.5x25.3cm; (4of which the last blank)-4-209-(uneblanche) +(4of which the last blank)-227-(uneblanche)pp., blond shagreened calf, smooth spines cloisonné and decorated with gilded motifs including antique vases, fine gilded vegetal and geometric frieze framing the boards, gilded roulette decorating the spines and chases, gilded edges; binding a little rubbed, the quires are loose, a few stains and freckles (period binding). Superb edition printed on strong wove paper, providing the English text with its French translation opposite. Originally published in 1768 and translated into French for the first time the following year, the Voyage sentimental proves, like Tristram Shandy, Lawrence Sterne's superiority in his ironic and distanced mastery of the novelistic form: sentimentality and refined eroticism serve here a purpose aimed at underlining the voluptuous absurdity of the heart. Copper-engraved illustration after the painter Nicolas-André Monsiau: 6 plates hors texte after the artist's drawings by several engravers, including Charles-Emmanuel Patas. Copy enriched with a pure etching of one of the plates. Provenance: Eugène Vincent (copper-engraved ex-libris vignette), then William Vincens Bouguereau (copper-engraved ex-libris vignette).