Chambure, Auguste de
Napoléon et ses contemporains. Suite de gravures représentant des traits d'héroisme, de clémence, de générosité, de popularité, avec texte
Paris, Bossange Pere, 1824. Two parts in one volume. Royal quarto. Pp. xv, 364. Half-title. Complete with all 47 steel-engraved plates as follows: Large, elaborate steel-engraved frontispiece portrait of Napoleon, engraved by Laugier after Steube; one preliminary, unnumbered steel-engraved plate with a six-line poem by Lebrun engraved on the steel; consequent 44 steel-engraved plates, numbered I-XXXXIV, one to each of the 44 chapters of the book, with captions engraved at bottom; one extra such plate, unnumbered, with a five-line Memorial engraved on the steel, bound at the end as final leaf before blanks. Each plate is printed on fine China paper and laid-down onto handmade heavy leaf, protected by a delicate, handmade rug tissue. Plus engraved vignette to title-page. A wide-margined copy. Hardcover, contemporary full crushed and polished olive-green calf, each side with large central lozenge ornament, blind-tooled inner panel with four decorative corner-pieces, decorative gilt panel within double gilt rules, ornamental gilt fillet frame, double fillet border, gilt-tooled fore-edges and turn-ins; golden-brown spine in six compartments between gilt-tooled raised bands, gilt black morocco label in 2nd compartment, gilt-tooled ornaments to remainder. Lovely poppy-pattern marbled endpapers, marbled edges; boards somewhat rubbed, chafed; split hinges neatly mended. A very handsome copy, exceptionally well-preserved internally, with a wonderful set of plates in absolutely excellent condition. - - First edition of this remarkable work (second edition was published in 1828. Later, two Italian editions were published, in 1836 and 1838, by Batelli of Florence). Francois Forster (1790-1872), a French engraver known for his exquisite craftsmanship, has produced the plates for this book, supervising the work of several craftsmen employed in his atelier. He himself has signed prominently the first plate. Born in Switzerland, he came to Paris in 1805, studied with the engraver Pierre-Gabriel Langlois (1754-1810), and in 1813 entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He won the Deuxieme Grand Prix de Rome for graphic art in 1809 and the Premiere Grand Prix in 1814. He was one of the most outstanding engravers of his time, producing prints from a wide variety of paintings. Beside the plates for this book, engraved mostly after Achille Deveria, Forster is well known for his work for Ennio Quirino Visconti's 'Iconographie ancienne' (Paris, 1823). The author, Laurent Augustin Furrier of Chambure (1789-1832), also known as Lepelletier of Chambure, received his education at the Saint-Cyr military school and at the Military Academy of Fontainebleau. Took part as a Second Lieutenant of the 3rd Infantry Regiment in the campaigns in Prussia and Poland, where he was wounded. Became aide-de-camp of General Hilaire Reyaaud. Was wounded again in the battle of Saragossa, and more seriously in the battle of Fuentes d'Onoro, in 1811. Became captain in 1813, took part in the defence of Danzig, where again he was wounded, twice. Fought heroically behind enemy lines, but became prisoner-of-war. Back in France in 1814, he returned to service as Lieutenant-Colonel. Fought again, this time in the Gold Coast under the command of Lecourbe. Was sentenced to death for shooting a peasant, took refuge in Brussels and returned to France only in 1820, after receiving an amnesty. In 1831 he became Colonel. He fell ill to cholera and died the following year in Paris. Beside 'Napoleon et ses contemporains' he left behind a diary with his memoire. As a tribute, his name was carved in 1836 on the memorial pillar of the Arch of Victory. Vicaire II, 171; Brunet I, 1764. Exceedingly scarce work of historical and visual merit; complete copies of this edition, with all plates present, are most uncommon. OCLC lists only 8 copies worldwide. KVK lists only 4 copies worldwide. [Descriptive text Copyright ! Librarium, The Hague] . Catalogs: The French Revolution: From the Storming of the Bastille to Napoleon. Keywords: Civil war revolution rebellion political movements military history studies warfare militaria operations militarism politics violence dictatorship terrorists state security people classes struggle Napoleon Napoleonic Wars #11; France French Europe #11; Illustrated engraved engraving engravings wood copper metal cut Holzstich Gravure sur bois debout graveur houtgravure Holzschnitt Tiefdruck kupferstich kopergravure koperdruk eau-forte Radierung illustrations print prent prenten plaat platen cliche Druck .