Physiologie du Mariage [2 tomes / Two Volumes] by Balzac, Honore de - 1830

Levavasseur, 1830. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Paris, 1830. 8vo, quarter morocco over marbled paper, 332 + 352 pp. First edition. The first edition of Balzac's important work, well preserved in a contemporary binding. "...an extraordinary kind of precursor to the self-help manual. Balzac was thirty when it was published, and already he felt he knew enough about the institution of marriage to advise others on the matter. And maybe he did: though he hadn't married yet, he'd already perfected the art of the aphorism. This book is full of them. 'To saunter is a science; it is the gastronomy of the eye. To take a walk is to vegetate; to saunter is to live.' 'A man ought not to marry without having studied anatomy, and dissected at least one woman.' And 'Marriage is a fight to the death, before which the wedded couple ask a blessing from heaven, because it is the rashest of all undertakings to swear eternal love; the fight at once commences and victory, that is to say liberty, remains in the hands of the cleverer of the two.'" - Paris Review. A very good set, well preserved in sound bindings, with some light foxing to contents and darkening to spines and two scuffs to one board, very good condition overall / tres bon etat. Please contact us for additional pictures or information.