Portraits des Grands – Sergent-Marceau – 1786 | 136 Hand-Colored Plates, French Revolution

Portraits des Grands Hommes, Femmes Illustres, et Sujets Mémorables de France, graves et imprimes en couleurs (English: Portraits of Great Men, Illustrious Women, and Memorable Subjects of France, engraved and printed in color) was planned in 1786 by the publisher, Pierre Blin and engraved under the direction of Antoine François Sergent-Marceau. This volume includes 136 hand-colored aquatint engravings that comprise the first 34 installments of the 48-part series. Each installment included four plates, arranged in pairs containing: one portrait and one historical scene per subject. These prints followed a classification system in which each reign received a letter, and every subject within that reign was assigned a sequential number.

This work was initially promoted in a four-page prospectus before publication began in November of 1786. It was conceived before the Revolution, dedicated to Louis XVI, and structured to showcase notable figures with paired visual commemorations. Subjects include monarchs, military leaders, women of civic importance, figures from French intellectual history, and more. The engravings feature designs by Desfontaines, Naigeon, Barbier, Gérard, and Duplessis-Bertaux. Engravers include Mme de Cernel, J. Morret, Le Coeur, Ridé, L. Roger, and others.

Significantly rare, fewer than ten complete examples are publicly recorded in archives and library collections. Many existing copies are incomplete, rebound, or composed of individual plates extracted from various installments. This volume, however, was formally issued as a self-contained publisher-bound copy consistent with the original format. Though the full series ultimately comprised 48 installments, this formally bound volume, issued directly by the publisher, appears to be a self-contained, “prospectus-aligned” segment of the project.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Portraits des Grands Hommes, Femmes Illustres, et Sujets Mémorables de France, graves et imprimes en couleurs
• Author: Antoine François Sergent-Marceau
• Illustrator: Antoine François Sergent-Marceau; Swebach-Desfontaines; Naigeon; Barbier; Gérard; Duplessis-Bertaux
• Contributor: Mme de Cernel (Engraver); J. Morret (Engraver); Le Coeur (Engraver); Ridé (Engraver); L. Roger (Engraver)
• Publisher: Paris: Chez Blin, Imprimeur en Taille-Douce, Place Maubert, No. 17
• Edition: First edition, issued 1786–1792.
• Format: Folio, single volume.
• Binding: Contemporary tree calf, gilt spine, marbled endpapers
• Size: ~13in x 9in (33cm x 23cm)
• Collation: The first 34 installments of the eventual 48-part series
• Illustrations: 136 hand-colored aquatint engravings (portrait and narrative scene pairs)
• Contents Include:
  • Portraits and scenes of French monarchs, generals, philosophers, and cultural figures
  • Numbered classification system based on royal reign
  • Famous U.S. Revolutionary War plate titled “Indépendance des États-Unis” included (A, No.2).
• Provenance: Bookplate – From the Library of H.Harvey Frost
• References: Cohen-de Ricci 951; Rothschild IV, 3167; Franklin p.53; Ray, No. 86
  • “The historical subjects tend to be military, but include such philosophical scenes as Fontenelle beside his telescope viewing the man in the moon, and an allegorical celebration – with the medallions of Franklin, Louis Seize and Washington – of American Independence.” – Franklin.

Condition

Very Good. Bound in the original, full tree calf leather with gilt panels and five raised bands. Binding is secure. Visible wear to boards and hinges. Aquatint plates retain strong coloring with occasional toning, foxing or minor edge wear. 136 plates are present, no evidence of trimming or loss.

Why Collect This?

• Contains 136 original hand-colored Revolutionary-era plates
• Includes the famous plate, titled “Indépendance des États-Unis” (Plate: A, No.2).
• Early example of French, hand-colored aquatint
• Involves a cohort of established late eighteenth-century French engravers

Significantly rare!