[VIEILH DE VARENNES, Raymond-Augustin (fl. c. 1790) Jean-Michel MOREAU (1741–1814)] - photo 1
[VIEILH DE VARENNES, Raymond-Augustin (fl. c. 1790) Jean-Michel MOREAU (1741–1814)] - photo 2
[VIEILH DE VARENNES, Raymond-Augustin (fl. c. 1790) Jean-Michel MOREAU (1741–1814)] - photo 3
[VIEILH DE VARENNES, Raymond-Augustin (fl. c. 1790) Jean-Michel MOREAU (1741–1814)] - photo 4

[VIEILH DE VARENNES, Raymond-Augustin (fl. c. 1790) Jean-Michel MOREAU (1741–1814)]

Lot 117
13.12.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 5 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1105586
Lot 117 | [VIEILH DE VARENNES, Raymond-Augustin (fl. c. 1790) Jean-Michel MOREAU (1741–1814)]
Estimate value
£ 5 000 – 7 500
[VIEILH DE VARENNES, Raymond-Augustin (fl. c. 1790) Jean-Michel MOREAU (1741–1814)]

[Collection des drapeaux faits dans les soixante districts de Paris en juillet 1789. Paris: 1789-1790.]

One of the rarest of French eighteenth-century illustrated books, even rarer with contemporary hand-colouring; a fine copy with absolutely appropriate and most interesting contemporary 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. It was first described when it was 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 probably 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 into the work is from Bailly to Palloy thanking him for his gift and recommending him for his patriotism. Palloy was a building contractor, who, only two days after the storming of the Bastille, 14 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, as such, also connected to Palloy, and must have been involved with the presentation to Bally.



This work is extra-illustrated with a very rare engraving, mounted as a frontispiece, by Moreau le Jeune and published by Vieilh de Varennes. The background of it 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.



Jean-Sylvain Bailly was elected Mayor of Paris shortly after the storming of the Bastille. He was 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.



Another previous owner was Anna Elizabeth, Countess de Brémont (née Dunphy; c.1849-1922), American journalist, novelist, poet and singer. She was in London during the First World War, where she wrote her novel The Black Opal. She describes the present volume in a loosely inserted letter dated 4 December 1919, offering the book to Mrs Laughlin as a Christmas gift for her husband, the American diplomat Irwin B. Laughlin, for the sum of £43: 'The collection des drapeaux for the 60 Paris districts in 1789 is perhaps unique (not known in any library in its complete form) ... both drawing and engravings being given to Moreau le Jeune – each little figure holding the flag (or rather its staff) bearing the Moreau characteristics and that admirable variety of composition, which does away with the sameness of the subject: a tour de force (in 60 different instances) well worthy of Moreau. Cohen de Ricci attributes to the latter even the engravings. The title page ‘A un Peuple Libre’ is one of Moreau’s rarest works (an 1er!!) and displays wonderful animation, lively groups and exciting background – Bocher describes it very accurately'.



This collection of engravings provides the only witness that we have of these flags, as they were all destroyed, after a decree of 1792, because of the monarchical symbols they contained. This copy is exceptionally finely coloured and highlighted and stencilled in gold. Finely bound; the style of the binding is quite similar to those made by Bozerian. Exceptionally rare: we have located three copies in libraries: Library of Congress (coloured); John Hay Library at Brown University (coloured); and the BnF (undescribed). Bobins V, 1586; Cohen-De Ricci 248.



Quarto (285 x 206mm). 60 numbered engravings, some printed on blue paper, all with fine contemporary hand-colouring, sometimes heightened and stencilled in gold, with tissue guards; nos. 1-30 captioned below in yellow stencil and nos. 31-60 with engraved captions, extra-illustrated with 2 engraved portraits of Bailly tipped in to fly; engraved frontispiece by Moreau le Jeune; engraved view of the Champs de Mars in Paris (occasional light toning and minor spotting). 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, a little scuffed and rubbed). Provenance: Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1736-1793; laid-in autograph letter) – Sir William Augustus Fraser (1826-1898, engraved armorial bookplate; his sale, Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 22 April 1901, lot 532) – Anna de Brémont (c.1849-1922; letter loosely inserted) – Irwin B. Laughlin (1871-1941, bookplate).

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