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MARY ELIZABETH MOHL — MADAME RÉCAMIER
First Edition, 1862
Extra-Illustrated with 43 Engraved Plates
Signed Full Morocco Binding by W. Root & Son
MOHL, Mary Elizabeth. Madame Récamier: With a Sketch of the History of Society in France. Published anonymously as “By Madame M***.” London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly, 1862.
First edition. Octavo. xii, 291 pages.
A handsome and individually assembled extra-illustrated copy of Mary Elizabeth Mohl’s biography of Juliette Récamier, augmented with 43 engraved portraits and historical plates and specially bound in full dark-blue morocco by the distinguished London firm of W. Root & Son.
Its principal attractions are the signed fine binding, unusually extensive suite of added illustrations, and association with one of the most celebrated women of Napoleonic and Restoration France.
THE EXTRA-ILLUSTRATION
The original 1862 text has been expanded with 43 inserted engraved plates, chiefly portraits of people associated with Madame Récamier and the political, literary, royal, and cultural history of France.
Subjects include:
The plates were gathered from different publications and consequently vary in size, paper, technique, date, and condition. Several retain penciled Roman numerals corresponding to their placement in the called grangerizing—was a bibliophilic practice in which a collector expanded a published book with related portraits, views, documents, and other material. The selection and arrangement of the 43 plates make this an individually created collector’s volume rather than a standard publisher’s issue.
SIGNED W. ROOT & SON BINDING
Bound in full dark-blue crushed morocco, almost black in tone, with extensive gilt decoration.
Features include:
Multiple gilt fillets and dotted borders
Gilt floral sprays at the corners
Five raised spine bands
Six gilt-decorated spine and floral spine ornaments
Wide gilt-decorated morocco turn-ins
Vivid royal-blue textile linings and facing endleaves
All edges gilt
The spine is binding is signed in gilt on the lower front turn-in:
BOUND BY W. ROOT & SON
The wording “Extra Illustrated” on the spine indicates that the binding was commissioned specifically to accommodate the added plates.
MADAME RÉCAMIER
Juliette Récamier (1777–1849) was among the most celebrated salonnières of Napoleonic and Restoration France. Her circle included Madame de Staël, Chateaubriand, Benjamin Constant, Lucien Bonaparte, and numerous other literary and political figures.
Her opposition to Napoleon and friendship with Madame de Staël resulted in her exile from Paris. Her later salon at the Abbaye-aux-Bois became an important center of French literary and intellectual society.
Récamier was also a defining visual figure of Neoclassical France. Jacques-Louis David’s celebrated portrait helped establish the name “récamier” for the type of reclining couch on which she was depicted.
MARY ELIZABETH MOHL
Mary Elizabeth Mohl, née Clarke, was a British writer and prominent Paris salon hostess. Moving within the intellectual and social world about which she wrote, she brought close contemporary knowledge to this account of Récamier and French society.
The first edition was published anonymously in 1862 under the designation “By Madame in the Haverhill Public Library, Massachusetts, acquired through the Elizabeth C. Ames Fund.
The front pastedown bears the library’s engraved Elizabeth C. Ames Fund bookplate, accession number, classification markings, a Charles E. Lauriat Company bookseller’s stamp, and a penciled acquisition date of February 1, 1937.
Institutional embossing and numerical markings also appear on the title page and preliminary leaves. These marks document the volume’s twentieth-century library history but will be a consideration for collectors seeking an unmarked copy. No library markings appear on the exterior covers.
CONDITION
Very Good overall. Former library copy, with institutional markings as described.
The full dark-blue morocco binding remains sound, supple, and highly attractive. The gilt decoration is bright and well preserved across the covers, spine, and turn-ins.
There is moderate rubbing at the joints, raised bands, spine ends, and board edges, together with several small scuffs and handling marks consistent with age and institutional use. The boards remain securely attached.
The royal-blue linings and endleaves retain strong color, with a few pale marks, small spots, and areas of light handling wear. The gilt page edges remain bright overall.
The text is generally clean, with mild age toning, occasional foxing or spotting, and minor handling marks. Because the 43 added plates originated from different sources, they vary naturally in paper and condition; some exhibit toning, foxing, offsetting, or small marginal marks.
The binding and text block remain firm.
Please examine all photographs carefully. They show the actual copy offered and form an important part of the condition description.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Author: Mary Elizabeth Mohl
Title: Madame Récamier: With a Sketch of the History of Society in France
Imprint: London: Chapman and Hall, 1862
Edition: First edition
Pagination: xii, 291 pages
Format: Octavo
Illustrations: Extra-illustrated with 43 inserted engraved plates
Binding: Full dark-blue morocco
Binder: W. Root & Son, signed
Edges: All edges gilt
Provenance: Haverhill Public Library; Elizabeth C. Ames Fund
Condition: Very Good; former library copy
A striking first edition combining Mohl’s account of Madame Récamier, 43 added historical portraits and illustrations, and an elaborate signed full-morocco binding by W. Root & Son.
