Books

XIV, [2], 268, [2], 16; VIII, [2], 306, [8], [2 blank] pp.Beautiful, splendidly illustrated copy of the tales of La Fontaine in the so-called fermiers généraux edition. Originally published in 1665, La Fontaine's "lighthearted and bawdy yet literary and poetic" (Adams) short stories were reprinted numerous times in the following century. The licentious tales were officially frowned upon in France, but publication was tolerated as long as it was suggested that the book was printed outside of the country. France outsourced the collection of customs and taxes to the fermiers généraux, and when the philosophes criticised it sharply in the 1750s and 1760s for the luxurious style of living of its members, they reacted by commissioning an edition of La Fontaine's tales. With this luxurious and decadent publication, gifted to influential people over the next decades, the fermiers hoped to win over powerful patrons to their cause.Although bearing an "Amsterdam" imprint, the two…