Beschreibung:

Henri Charpentier, publisher and editor.
Paris dans sa splendeur: monuments, vues, scènes historiques, escriptions et histoire. Paris: Henri Charpentier, 1861
3 parts bound in 2 volumes. FIRST EDITION, (495 x 360mm.),
title-page vignettes, a number of vignettes in text, and 100 HANDSOME TINTED LITHOGRAPHS OF PARIS, ALL HEIGHTENED IN COLOUR BY HAND, most by Philippe Benoist, including a plan of the city, views, famous monuments, and building interiors, publisher’s textured red cloth, covers gilt with ornamental frame enclosing the arms of the City of Paris, spines gilt, some foxing mainly to text, minor wear to binding, plate volume rebacked preserving the original backstrip
Vicaire VI, 381-82.
AN IMPRESSIVE LARGE-FORMAT WORK THAT CELEBRATES PARIS IN ALL ITS SPLENDOUR, with the city’s many architectural delights, wide boulevards, and breath-taking views fully described and handsomely illustrated. With contributions from leading French historians, academics, and architects such as Édouard Fournier, Albert Lenoir, and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (among many others), the text contains a history of the city and descriptions of its numerous palaces, churches, institutions, and parks.
The lithographed plates are largely based on contemporary photographs – some taken from balloons to provide a bird’s-eye view – and include panoramas of the city as well as some of its most recognisable sights and monuments; also included are grand interior views of churches, museums, and public buildings, scenes from the city’s many green spaces and gardens, and a plan of the city and its arrondissements. In addition to these contemporary images of Paris are a number of historical plates showing how the city would have looked during different time periods.