CHEVRIER, François-Antoine - Le Colporteur, histoire morale - Lot 657

CHEVRIER, François-Antoine - Le Colporteur, histoire morale et critique. London, Jean Nourse, L'An de la Vérité (1762?). In-12, 228 pp, fawn marbled calf, spine ribbed and decorated. MMF 62.11. Contains a supplement entitled Errata, pp. 225-228, printed in small type, obviously added. Le Colporteur is filled with disgusting atrocities, and yet with rather happy jabs; it is an awful satire of the mores of the century (Peignot, I, 78). There is so much wit and nastiness in this work, that it's hard to say whether the author was the wittiest libellist or the most contemptible writer of his time. I would opt for the most contemptible, if Chevrier could hear me (Cat. Leber, n°4721). Gay (I, 619) indicates that the book was prosecuted by the police in France. (Rel. à suite :) [RULHIÈRE, Claude-Carloman de] - Le Petit tableau de Paris. S. l., 1783, 94 pp. LACOMBE no. 243. The author's wide-ranging treatment of Parisian sociology follows in Mercier's footsteps. One passage provides information on the number of inhabitants: ''Each street contains a workshop worthy of attention. So, in my opinion, the streets are the most curious of walks. Anyone who is healthy cannot perish of misery. When you consider this immense crowd, you have to wonder why there aren't ten fires and twenty murders every day; and the police force of eight to nine thousand men is, in my opinion, the masterpiece of the human spirit.