La Foire aux Idées

Paris: J. Monrocq, 1855. 'Fair Ideas'

ADAM, Victor, illustrator. La Foire aux Idées. Paris: J. Monrocq, [ca. 1855].

Small oblong quarto (5 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches; 145 x 216 mm.). [Title on front cover]. Twenty-two leaves, all lithograph illustrations. Plates lithographed by Becquet freres.

Publisher's embossed red paper over boards, front cover decorated in gilt surrounding a pale blue cartouche with the title in gilt. Small booksellers label of J. Berville and engraved bookplate of Yves Marchand on front pastedown.

A selection of 22 fine lithograph plates from Victor Adam's 1851 book of the same title - a wonderful selection of sketches, jokes, caricatures, costumes, games, animals and fantasies...

A fine example of one of the 'extract' albums.

The present edition was published around the same time or slightly later than the original folio edition of 1851. These half-size small oblong quarto albums with extracts from the original edition had each original plate divided into two (5 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches; 145 x 216 mm.) format plates so that the head of the numbered plate appeared successively with the current title and the heel of the same plate with the publisher's address. The present example brings together the eleven 'split' plates which carry the numbers 50, 55, 56, 57, 59, 65, 66, 70, 71(lower), 76 and 82 plus one unidentified.
The first plate has been partially colored at an early date.

The original large quarto edition of 1851 contained one hundred numbered lithograph plates with between two and fifteen subjects on a page. All plates had the running title "La Foire Aux Idées Par V. Adam" and the imprints of "Paris. J. Monrocq - éditeur" [and] "Lith. de Becquet frères, à Paris".

Jean-Victor Adam (1801-1867) was a French painter and lithographer. Born in Paris he was the son of Jean Adam, an esteemed engraver. During the years 1814 to 1818 he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and also in the ateliers of Meynier and Régnault. In 1819 he exhibited 'Herminia succouring Tancred.' He was almost immediately afterwards employed to paint various subjects for the Museum at Versailles, amongst which are, 'The Entry of the French into Mainz,' 'The Battle of Varroux,' 'The Taking of Menin, 'The Battle of Castiglione,' 'The Passage of the Cluse,' 'The Battle of Montebello,' 'The Capitulation of Meiningen;' the last three in association with Alaux. He also exhibited down to the year 1838: 'Henry IV., after the Battle of Coutras,' 'Trait of Kindness in the Duke de Berri,' 'The Postillion,' 'The Vivandiere,' 'The Road to Poissy,' 'The Return from the Chase,' 'Horse-fair at Caen,' and numerous other subjects. He then retired from publicity, till 1846, when he appeared as the exhibitor of some works in lithography, to which branch of art he afterwards restricted himself. In this line he produced a lithographic album, 'Views in the Environs of Paris,' 'Studies of Animals for an edition of Buffon,' &c. He obtained a gold medal in 1824, a second class medal in 1836, besides several others from Lille, Douai, and other cities. He died at Viroflay in 1866.

Grand Carteret, 620; Beraldi, I, p. 19, no. 9. 70, 71, 76 and 82.