[CURIOSA - DEVÉRIA (Achille)]. - Lot 67

[CURIOSA - DEVÉRIA (Achille)]. [Mystère de la passion]. S.l., circa 1830. -Album in-4, 290x248: 15 plates pasted on green paper boards mounted on tabs. Dark green half-maroquin with corners, gilt cross surrounded by the title in gilt capitals on the first cover, ornate spine (period binding). Extremely rare collection of 15 original erotic lithographs in color from the Romantic period. The title Mystère de la passion (Mystery of Passion) has been affixed to the binding to give the impression of an honorable work, but this is in no way the title of the collection. The figures are neither captioned nor numbered. All have been glued onto bottle-green card. The first twelve are approximately 122x166 mm, and the last three are around 214x272 mm. Virtually all the figures depict orgies, with soldiers, students, hunters, bourgeois, peasants, dancers and more. Most of them can be attributed to Achille Devéria, author of many such compositions at the time. Each print is here in period color and gummed. Some rubbing to the binding. The plates are very well preserved. The thirteenth plate has a small burned hole in the center and a white trace of tearing at the level of the barrel drawing. Restored tear at bottom of fourteenth plate.