RARE!!! Public and Private Life of Animals by J Thomson. Illustrated by Grandville. London 1876.

"This is a wonderful, hard to find 1877 copy of The Public and Private Life of Animals translated from the French by J. by J. Thomson. Originally published in 1842 as Scenes de la vie privee' et publique des animaux. Published by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington London. Hardcover, 21,5 x 15 cm. Illustrated brown cloth boards in gold and black, 387 pages profusely illustrated by Grandville. It is a compilation of some of the finest literary minds of the 19C, Honore de Balzac, George Sand, Alfred de Musset, Jules Janin, E. Lemon, P.J. Hetzel, and others. Hetzel also originally compiled and edited the book. Grandville's illustrations, both political and at times, raunchy, complement the text. We are shown that in their private lives they are very much like humans and, in public, just as duplicitous. J.J. Grandville was a French illustrator and lithographer known for his fantastical drawings and his satirical caricatures created during the reign of King Louis-Philippe. He made a name for himself in Paris early in his career, with the publication of Les Métamorphoses du jour (The Metamorphoses of the Day, 1829), seventy lithographs depicting human-animal hybrids. The next year, 1830, brought Louis-Philippe to the throne, and for the next five years Grandville published cartoons critical of the king as a betrayer of liberal ideals. Censorship after 1835 drove Grandville to do more book illustrations, including for editions of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Grandville died very young at 44. He was the most imaginative graphic artist of the nineteenth century and his drawings preclude the Surrealist movement. There is much to be found about him on the internet.

"The Introduction starts with , International Congress of Animals. "Weary of insult, ignominy, and the constant oppression of man, we, the so-called Lower Animals, have at last resolved to cast off the yoke of our oppressors, who, since the day of their creation, have rendered liberty and equality nothing more than empty names......The opening of Congress was marked by a scene most touching...members embraced and kissed each other.....it must be recorded that a Duck was strangled by an overjoyed Fox, a Sheep by an enthusiastic Wolf, and a Horse by a delirious Tiger." etc etc.

Some water damage to covers, slight, and not too bad (see images). Interior pages a little faded, but very clean with no damage. Binding still good after 120 years. Postage inside SA costs R120, while overseas rates apply. Please feel free to peruse other books from Safari Obscura. Thank you.