1819 Rare Book - Paul and Virginia Illustrated by Richard Westall

Author: Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. Translated from the French by Helen Maria Williams. Illustrated by Richard Westall, engraved by Charles Heath.
Title: Paul and Virginia.
Publisher: London, printed for John Sharpe, Piccadilly; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy; and George Cowie and Co., 1819.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 6.5" x 4". 
Pages: viii-168 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good full calf binding with elaborate gilt and blind-stamped decoration to the boards, gilt decorated spine, and red morocco title label lettered in gilt. All edges marbled. Binding remains sound and attractive, with some light rubbing and wear to the extremities, corners, and hinges, as shown. Protected in a removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content. Pages are generally clean and firmly bound, with light age toning and foxing, heavier mainly on the engraved title and plates due to the different paper quality, as shown. A very small dot ink stain appears in the lower corner margin of five pages, not affecting the text as shown. A well-preserved copy overall.
Illustrations: Complete with the 5 vignette illustrations, including the engraved title vignette. Illustrations drawn by Richard Westall, R.A., and engraved by Charles Heath.

Estimate: (USD 200–250).

The book: A charming early nineteenth-century English edition of Paul and Virginia, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's celebrated tale of innocence, nature, love, and loss, translated from the French by Helen Maria Williams and illustrated with delicate engraved vignettes after Richard Westall.

First published in French in 1788 as Paul et Virginie, the novel became one of the most beloved sentimental works of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Set on the island of Mauritius, it tells the story of two children raised together in a simple natural paradise, far from the corruptions of European society. Their affection, tested by separation, social expectation, and tragedy, made the work a touchstone of Romantic feeling and one of the great literary expressions of the age of sensibility.

This edition is especially attractive in its decorative full calf binding, with richly tooled boards, gilt ornamented spine, marbled edges, and marbled endpapers. The engraved illustrations, printed on different paper, give the volume the elegant character of the gift books and finely illustrated literary editions of the Regency period.

The author: Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1737–1814) was a French writer, botanist, and traveller, best remembered for Paul et Virginie. A disciple and friend of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, he shared Rousseau's interest in nature, feeling, moral simplicity, and the contrast between natural virtue and social corruption. Paul et Virginie secured his literary reputation and remained widely read throughout Europe for generations.

The translator: Helen Maria Williams (1761–1827) was an English poet, novelist, translator, and political writer. She lived for many years in France and was closely associated with the intellectual and political life of the French Revolution. Her translation of Paul and Virginia helped bring Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's work to English readers and became one of the most important English versions of the tale.

The illustrator: Richard Westall (1765–1836) was a noted English painter and illustrator, known for his refined literary illustrations and his work for editions of Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, and other major authors. His designs for Paul and Virginia capture the tenderness and melancholy of the story. The engravings are by Charles Heath, one of the leading English engravers of the period, whose work helped define the delicate finish of early nineteenth-century illustrated books.