Les Plaideurs de Racine
One of the first 25 copies on Imperial Japan paper (no. XI), with the suite in black of the 35 compositions, with full margins. Accompanied by a magnificent original drawing (India ink and colors, signed), full-page, reproduced p. 97 (Act II, scene XII).
An unexpected farce among Racine’s works, written between Andromaque and Britannicus, Les Plaideurs, first performed in 1668, was one of his greatest successes. It was a considerable feat: a play in alexandrine verse in which legal vocabulary is omnipresent. It contains several of Racine’s most famous lines, including “Qui veut voyager loin ménage sa monture,” as well as “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,” “l’un veut plaider toujours, l’autre toujours juger,” not to mention the famous “Point d’argent, point de Suisse”!
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.