GONCOURT (Edmond and Jules de). Gavarni. L'homme et l'oeuvre - Lot 205

GONCOURT (Edmond and Jules de). Gavarni. L'homme et l'oeuvre. P., Plon, 1873. In-8, garnet half-chagr, spine ribbed and framed with cold eil. head comb, n. rogne, cover (Rel. of the period). ORIGINAL EDITION, adorned with a superb etching frontispiece portrait by Flameng, and complete with facsimile of Gavarni's letter to the Goncourts. Working as an illustrator for numerous newspapers under the July Monarchy, Gavarni (1804-1866) made a name for himself with his lithographs in the satirical journal Le Charivari. The Goncourts had met him in 1852, when he contributed to L'Eclair, the weekly founded by their cousin Charles de Villedeuil. He designed their famous bookplates. All three had a biting and sometimes bitter view of the times, and formed a strong bond of affection. This intimate biography is enriched by numerous previously unpublished autobiographical notes worked on by the artist shortly before his death in 1866. A fine copy, with the following dedication on the title page: "A l'auteur de l'Histoire des Artistes Vivants, à Théophile Sylvestre. A sympathetic reader. Edmond de Goncourt".