1867 Les Fleurs Animees, J.J. Grandville. Beautiful color illustrations of flowers as people.

A beautiful work, J.J. Grandville's Les Fleurs Animees, with fifty-one wonderful engravings, in color.

“Though the designs of Grandville are occasionally unnatural and absurd, they usually display keen analysis of character and marvelous inventive ingenuity, and his humor is always tempered and refined by delicacy of sentiment and a vein of sober thoughtfulness.” – 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

"The text ... sets the scene in a palace where the flowers assemble before the Flower Fairy Queen to recount their habits and histories. Grandville parades his choice blooms like prima ballerinas who wear their floral attributes with a grace and sweetness which are, in their own way, typically Romantic attributes"--Harthan, J. The history of the illustrated book, p. 184.

“J. J. Grandville's Les fleurs animées (1847) provides very little scientific information, but is one of the most bizarrely charming of all 19th-century illustrated books. In it, a great caricaturist has drawn fashionable French ladies as lovely, wilting wildflowers or sinister poisonous herbs. The plate for the Narcissus shows a daffodil happily absorbed by her image a pond. In another, a frowning Hemlock, personified with mortar and pestle, prepares dangerous concoctions for her friends; a little frog has already died; a small mouse vomits; and a rabbit dressed as a Roman senator happily swallows his dose. “– New York Public Library, collected from their Digital Collections webpage

Physical Attributes -

Each volume measures approx. 29 x 19 x 3 cm.. Calf spines with decorative paper covering the boards. Five raised bands to spines; title and volumes in gilt in two compartments, central flower with corner leaves and flowers in gilt in other four compartments. Complete in two volumes. Illustrated.

Condition -

See pictures. Books have a patina of antiquity. Bindings have edgewear, corners of the boards exposed and worn, and some rubbing. Spines have some rubs but they are thick and hearty.

Some foxing and toning to the pages throughout, more towards ends (title pages, endpapers, etc.). No writing. Wide margins. Ghost of paper clip at top of title page (volume 1). Paper paste-down remnants, about 2", on 233/234 with a .5 cm. hole. Flower petal ghosted p.266 v.1. At the end of the first volume there are moisture marks along the fore-edge of the last three leaves, no text affected. Occasional page edge or corner chip. A few ink marks on back of v2 half-title, probably ghosted from something inserted long ago.

While these volumes bear the toning and foxing of time and 19th century paper, the plates are bright and beautiful, and the bindings are handsome.