MOREAU DE SAINT-MÉRY (Louis-Élie). *On Dance*. Parma, Printe - Lot 177

MOREAU DE SAINT-MÉRY (Louis-Élie). *On Dance*. Parma, Printed by Bodoni, 1801. In-18, bronze-green morocco, triple gilt fillet, smooth decorated spine, interior roulette, gilt edges (contemporary binding). A very attractive typographic edition by Bodoni, printed in lowercase type. (Brooks, no. 814; Sabin, no. 50569.) An interesting article, excerpted from a work titled *Notions coloniales*, in which the author, after briefly tracing the history of dance, examines the relationship between dance and climate, the customs and habits of a people, to arrive at a vivid portrayal of dance in the tropics and conclude that the chica, a sensuous dance of the New World, bears a strong resemblance to the dance of the ancient Greeks (see Anthony Louis Elicona, A Colonialist During the Revolution in France and America: Moreau de Saint-Méry, pp. 144–145). Born in Fort-de-France, Moreau de Saint-Méry (1750–1819) was a lawyer in Saint-Domingue and a representative from Martinique to the National Constituent Assembly; he later emigrated to the United States, where he established himself as a bookseller and printer. It was in this city, in 1796, that he first published this short work dedicated to the Creoles with the help of Talleyrand, who, it is said, proofread the galley proofs. A fine copy, in a strictly period-style decorated morocco binding.

Estimate:$1,119.29

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