Le XVIIIe Siècle – Paul Lacroix – 1875 | Beautiful Gilt Leather Binding)

This 1875 French volume on 18th century customs, institutions, and everyday life brings together hundreds of illustrations and color plates in a striking gilt red leather binding. Written by Paul Lacroix, this edition covers how people lived, dressed, worked, ate, and entertained themselves in France from the final years of Louis XIV through the reign of Louis XVI.

This book follows the structure of French society from the top down, beginning with royalty and ending with working-class families. Each chapter describes how these groups functioned and interacted, from their clothing and food to their roles in the state, church, and military. The full-color plates add real period texture, especially scenes like the coronation banquet, the interior of a noble home under Louis XVI, and garden life at the Palais-Royal. These images were taken from or inspired by Cochin, Debucourt, Olivier, Vanloo, and others, and printed with rich pigments in detailed chromolithography.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Le XVIIIe Siècle: Institutions, Usages et Costumes. France 1700–1789
• Author(s): Paul Lacroix
• Illustrator(s): various
• Publisher: Paris, Firmin-Didot Frères
• Edition: First edition, 1875.
• Format: Large Octavo, single volume
• Binding: Red Moroccan leather spine, red cloth and gilt boards, all edges gilt
• Size: 11.5in X 8.5in (29cm x 21.5cm)
• Collation: VIII, 520pp
• Illustrations: 21 chromolithographs; 350 in-text engravings
• Contents Include:
  • The King and the Court (with full-color plate of “The Great Dignitaries of the Coronation”)
  • Nobility and Military Orders (includes “Costumes of the French Army”)
  • Bourgeoisie and Working-Class Life (featuring “The Ramponneau Tavern” and “A Farm,” after Janinet)
  • Justice, Parliament, Police, and Taxation
  • The Church and Clerical Power Structures
  • Commerce, Finance, and the Guilds
  • Parisian Life and Urban Layout (with chromolith fragment of “Paris, 1730” from Turgot’s map)
  • Salons, Theatres, and Public Entertainments (including “A Masquerade,” “Theater Scene,” and “The Wooden Gallery,” after Debucourt)
  • Dining, Court Meals, and Private Entertaining (with “The Hunting Breakfast” and “English-Style Tea,” after Olivier)
  • Women’s and Men’s Fashions (separate plates showing clothing from 1720–1740, plus mixed fashion scenes for all ages)

Condition:

Original red publisher’s leather spine and cloth boards showcases ornate gilt tooling, with minor wear consistent with age. Gilt page edges are bright and intact, protecting the text block. Features patterned gilt endpapers. Beautiful illustrations throughout, chromolithograph plates retaining their vibrancy. Some foxing present, mainly to first and last leaves. A beautiful display.

Why Collect This?

• Original 1875 first edition with 21 color lithographs
• Gilt publisher’s red leather and cloth binding in unusually well-preserved condition
• Visual documentation of 18th century French life across every social class
• Includes descriptions of fashion, architecture, court ceremony, food, salons, and urban life

Item Number: #28765