Droll Stories Collected from the Abbeys of Touraine (Translated Into English, Complete and Unabridged)

London: Published for the Trade, 1874. First English edition illustrated by Gustave Dore of Balzac's Contes Drolatiques. Translator's Preface dated London, January, 1874; only date present and stating this is the first English translation. Spine label w/original price of Ten Shillings and Sixpence. Brick red full-cloth boards, label at spine, moderate corner, edge wear, label chip, rub. Heavy stock, deckled pages very good. Bind good; bk. hinge reinforced. Entertainingly illustrated by Gustave Dore on smooth coated sepia-hued plates w/additional illustrations throughout. Includes the Translator's Preface; The First Ten Tales: pages 1-320; The Second Ten Tales: pages 1-293. The first volume published by Gosselin of Paris, March, 1832, caused quite a stir; he claimed protection for his book as a work of art - as it is, in the same sense as Rabelais, Boccaccio, and Queen of Navarre are. Balzac has painted an epoch in these stories, a marvelous picture of French life and manners in the 16th Century, with a vast amount of historical information. It was written in the 19th century in imitation of the style of the 16th - a triumph of literary archaeology. Volumes I & II in single volume; 320 and 293 pages. Insured post.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Good. Illus. by Doré, Gustave. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall.