Twenty Four Subjects Exhibiting the Costume of Paris

London: Published by Rodwell and Martin, 1822. Chalon's Costume of Paris - A Superb Large Paper Example
Complete with Twenty-Four Wonderful Hand Colored Lithograph Plates
And the Four Original Pictorial Lithograph Wrappers

CHALON, John James, illustrator. Twenty Four Subjects Exhibiting the Costume of Paris, The Incidents taken from Nature, Designed and Drawn on Stone by J.J. Chalon. London: Published by Rodwell and Martin, 1822.

First edition. Large Paper copy bound from the original parts with the four original pictorial lithographed front wrappers.

Large folio (16 3/16 x 12 1/4 inches; 411 x 311 mm.). Lithographed title and twenty-four hand-colored lithographed plates all interleaved. Plates printed by C. Hullmandel. The four original pictorial lithographed front wrappers bound in at end. The title-page is watermarked "J. Whatman 1821" and the plates are watermarked J. Whatman 1817, 1820 & 1822.

The plates are remarkably clean, and display vivid hand-coloring. There is some light foxing/staining to the original wrappers.

Handsomely bound in twentieth century dark blue straight-grain morocco, covers decoratively bordered in gilt, spine with five shallow raised bands decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt in compartments, decorative gilt board edges and turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With the engraved bookplate of color-plate book collector, Alfred N. Beadleston on front paste-down. A superb copy - the best we have ever seen.

The plates are captioned: "La Marchande de Tisanne;" "Les Bonnes;" "La Petite Fruitiere;" "La Dame du Café;" "Le Café;" "Les Tondeuses de Chiens;" "Les Brodeuses;" "L'Escamoteur;" "La Porte Cochère;" "Le Journal des Débats;" "Le Restaurant;" "La Loueuse de Chaises;" "Une Matinée aux Thuilleries;" "Le Marchand de Brioches;" "Le Porteur d'Eau;" "Le Petit Décrotteur;" "Le Marche aux Fleurs;" "La Prise de Tabac;" "Les Adieux;" "Les Dames de la Halle;" "Le Cimetiere du Pere la Chaise;" "Les Dames Artistes;" "La Charette du Blanchisseur;" and "La Marchande de Modes."

"According to Beraldi (XII, 232) this 'very curious and rare album' appeared as a small quarto in London. These plates, which are large folio in size, may represent a French issue of the work, though the English edition had captions in French. Jean-Jacques Chalon was a French artist born in Switzerland who eventually settled in England. His designs are by no means mere costume plates. Instead they are animated and faithful studies of Parisian manners and costumes in the years 1820 to 1822. There is hardly a touch of caricature, though the profiles of his personages have a family likeness which suggests a domesticated Girodet" (Ray).

"Published in four parts. The plates show people of various occupations, shoeblacks, venders, politicians, and general scenes, etc" (Hiler).

This copy is unusually tall: Abbey's copy measured 15 x 11 1/4 inches uncut, and lacked the lithographed title-page, as did Sadleir's.

Only six copies with the lithographed title-page have come to auction within last 31 years. Five copies only located in KVK/OCLC but the presence of the title page is not noted.

Alfred N. Beadleston (1912-2000) was an American Republican Party politician who served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and President of the New Jersey Senate.

Abbey, Travel, 108; Bobins II, 514; Colas 588; Hiler, p. 156; Lipperheide 1185; Ray, The Art of the French Illustrated Book, 124.