[Collection des drapeaux faits dans les soixante districts de Paris en juillet 1789].

With contemporary hand-colouring and revolutionary provenance. One of the rarest 18th-century French illustrated books, even rarer with contemporary hand-colouring and apparent revolutionary provenance.

A beautiful series of engravings illustrating the revolutionary flags for the ten battalions of each of the six divisions of the Garde Nationale created in the aftermath of the Revolution of 1789. Exceedingly rare, this collection provides the only witness that we have of these flags, which were all destroyed by decree in 1792 owing to the monarchical symbols they contained. A finely coloured copy, highlighted and stencilled in gold, and bound in a style similar to those made by Bozerian.

It was first described when presented to the National Assembly on 7 October 1790 by Raymond Augustin Vieilh de Varennes, most likely the artist, whose work was engraved by Jean-Michel Moreau (Moreau le Jeune). This copy was most likely presented to Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1736-1793), the first revolutionary Mayor of Paris, by Pierre Francois Palloy (1755-1835), who called himself 'Palloy Patriote'. The autograph letter tipped-in to the work is from Bailly to Palloy thanking him for his gift and recommending him for his patriotism: 'Je recois avec rensibilité le nouveau présent de tu Palloy. Il donne tous les jours de nouvelles prevues de patriotisme, et il acquiert tous les jours des nouveaux droits à ma reconnaissance je le prie d'agréer me remerciements et mes compliments, J.S. Bailly'.

Palloy was a building contractor who only two days after the storming of the Bastille on 14th July 1789 secured the contract to demolish the prison. While he removed most of the building over the subsequent months, Palloy profited from the possession of it by conducting tours, showing the public around the basements and dungeons with skeletons as props, and by writing speeches and arranging celebratory festivals and theatrical reconstructions of the day the Bastille fell, all for a fee. He sold parts as souvenirs, including replica Bastilles made from the stones of the building itself. The creator of this work, Vieilh de Varennes, an artist and publisher, was also contracted as 'Garde-magasin général des démolitions de la Bastille' and was undoubtedly also connected to Palloy, and thus likely involved in the work's presentation to Bailly.

The work is extra-illustrated with a very rare engraving, mounted as a frontispiece, by Moreau le Jeune engraved by Dambrun, and published by Vieilh de Varennes. The background depicts the marquis de La Fayette and the storming of the Bastille, while in the foreground the people of Paris are mounting a portrait of Bailly on a pedestal beneath a bust of Louis XVI. The image also shows workers beginning the demolition of the Bastille.

Bailly was elected Mayor of Paris shortly after the storming of the Bastille. A renowned astronomer, mathematician, freemason, and political leader of the early part of the Revolution, he presided over the Tennis Court Oath, and was himself the first to take the oath (as beautifully depicted in a drawing by David). He served as the mayor of Paris from 1789 to 1791 but was subsequently guillotined in 1793 during the Reign of Terror. The work has a second loosely inserted plate, unsigned, of the Champs de Mars, ironically where Bailly was later executed.

Irwin Laughlin (1871-1941) likely acquired the book whilst stationed at the US embassy in London from 1912 to 1919. Prior to that, the book was in the possession of the gentleman collector Sir William Augustus Fraser (1826-1898), a member of the Society of Dilettanti, whose library was sold by Sotheby's in 1901. 'The chief items were extra-illustrated books and books with autograph inscriptions by distinguished persons' (ODNB).

Very rare. We can locate only 4 copies of the 1789 edition in institutional collections worldwide: Library of Congress (coloured), John Hay Library at Brown University (coloured), National Library of Sweden (undescribed), and the BnF (undescribed).

First edition; 4to (28.5 x 20.6 cm); 60 numbered engravings, some printed on blue paper, all with fine contemporary hand-colouring, sometimes heightened and stencilled in gold, with tissue guards, unsigned, nos. 1-30 & 41 captioned below in yellow stencil (imprimées au frotton), nos. 31-60 with engraved captions, flag for pl. 46 blank as issued, extra-illustrated with 2 engraved portraits of Bailly tipped in to flyleaf, engraved frontispiece by Moreau le Jeune, engraved view of the Champs de Mars in Paris loosely inserted, tipped-in autograph letter from Bailly and biographical excerpt from the 'Iconographie instructive', 2ff of loose material further pertaining to provenance, occasional light toning and spotting, particularly affecting tipped-in engravings; contemporary tree calf, covers with a gilt scrolled border, fan designs gilt tooled to corners with red morocco inlays, central oval fan ornament with gilt red morocco inlay at centre, edges and inner dentelles gilt, rebacked to match, corners restored, slightly rubbed, very good.

Bobins V, 1586; Destailleur 180, Cohen/de Ricci p.248; Tourneux 6712.