Six Quartiers de Paris

Paris: Delpech, 1828. Extremely Rare Monnier

MONNIER, Henri. Six Quartiers de Paris. Paris: [François Séraphin] Delpech, 1828.

A rare suite of six hand colored lithographed plates, (without the hand colored lithographed title) otherwise complete as issued. Oblong quarto. Plate size: 9 x 12 inches (231 x 307 mm).

Bound to contemporary style in full dark green morocco. Gilt ruled borders. Gilt panel. Gilt lettering and ornaments to spine. Restoration to lower corner of plate four, otherwise a fine copy.

According to the ABPC Index, since 1923 only three copies have come to auction (1938, 1949, 1979). There are only three copies in institutional holdings worldwide.

The plates:

1. Le Marais
2. Quartier St. Denis
3. Quartier de la Bourse
4. Chaussée d'Antin
5. Faubourg St. Honoré
6. Le Faubourg St. Germain

For reasons unknown, Ray identifies this suite as being by Eugene Lami, despite the plates clearly identified as by Monnier; the only copy to come to auction in the last thirty-five years is also identified Lami as the artist. Melcher, however, correctly identifies the suite as Monnier's, as does Marie (Marie, Aristide. Henri Monnier 1799-1877. Paris, 1931) and Champfleury. Curiously, the only copy in institutional holdings, that in the Morgan Library, belonged to Ray but though the note is under Lami's authorship the Responsibility detail in OCLC/RILN clearly states: "par Monnier."

"Between 1825 and 1827 Monnier passed much of his time in London...On his return to Paris he embarked on a series of albums in which he recorded the manners and humors of the city with unprecedented profusion. Between 1826 and 1830 he satisfied the insatiable demand for his designs with almost 500 lithographs, nearly all of which were drawn with a pen and colored by hand. For each design he himself colored a master print and carefully supervised its subsequent preparation" (Ray, p. 199).

François Séraphin Delpech was a French lithographer, mainly of portraits and costumes after his contemporaries.  His portrait lithographs are in the collection of Britain's National Portrait Gallery and the Louvre. He also lithographed the work of others, as here.

Marie pp. 296-302. Melcher, The Life and Times of Henri Monnier, p. 211.