Les Plaideurs [de Racine] Illustrations de Dubout
One of 600 copies on vélin ivorine (no. 284), this copy enriched with an original signed pen-and-ink drawing: a variant of the portrait of Madame la Comtesse reproduced on p. 38.
Les Plaideurs, first performed in 1668, contains several of Racine’s most famous lines. Chief among them, of course, is “Qui veut voyager loin ménage sa monture,” but also “Si vous parlez toujours, il faut que je me taise,” “on ne court pas deux lièvres à la fois,” “on apprend à hurler avec les loups,” “je dois parler, je parle, j’ai parlé,” and “l’un veut plaider toujours, l’autre toujours juger” — not to mention the famous “Point d’argent, point de Suisse!”
An unexpected farce within Racine’s body of work, written between Andromaque and Britannicus, Les Plaideurs is among his greatest successes — a remarkable feat for a play in alexandrine verse saturated with legal vocabulary.
This first edition illustrated by Dubout is one of his finest achievements.
A copy in perfect condition, as issued, in its publisher’s chemise and slipcase.