ALMANACS – Les lacets de Vénus.Paris: Bailly, [1788]. [WITH:] Facsimile edition. Paris: Emile Liez & Devambez, 1906; no. 49 of 400 copies.

Style and sentimentality in the waning days of the Ancien Regime, in a charming contemporary morocco binding with mirrors and miniatures under glass. Rare in institutional collections—no copies recorded in WorldCat. The almanac includes a dozen engraved plates depicting contemporary hairstyles “très gentiment gravées” (Carteret); a number of short poems, including a eulogy to Buffon, who died in April 1788; as well as light verses and airs on romantic and sentimental subjects, including “Les fruits de honnête éducation,” “L’ombrage discret,” “Le berger volage,” “L’innocente,” “L’impuissant,” “Stances d’un frère à sa soeur,” “L’enfant de l’amour,” and “La promesse de l’amour.” J. Grand-Carteret, Les Almanacs français, 853.

24mo (99 x 59mm). Engraved title by Jubert, folding calendar leaf, and 12 engraved plates. Contemporary French morocco gilt, recessed compartments covered with fabric, covers with rondel miniatures under glass executed in gold and silver thread, silk endpapers, mirror and pocket inside, early 20th-century blue morocco slipcase by Riviere (binding lightly rubbed, miniatures faded, mirror oxidized); in a larger matching slipcase by Riviere also holding 1906 reprint edition. Provenance:Baron Jérôme Pichon (1812-1896) – Sir David Lionel Salomons (1851-1925; bookplate, his sale, Christie's London, 3 Dec. 1986, lot 73).