{"product_id":"topffer-rodolphe-collection-des-histoires-en-estampes-mr-crepin-mr-pencil-le-docteur-festus-mr-albert-1846","title":"TÖPFFER, Rodolphe - Collection des Histoires en Estampes: Mr. Crépin; Mr. Pencil; Le Docteur Festus; Mr. Albert (1846)","description":"\u003cp\u003eGeneva: Librairie allemande de J. Kessmann; Leipzig: Bernhard Hermann, 1846. Four volumes from the six-volume series. Mr. Crépin, fifth edition; Mr. Pencil, fifth edition; Le Docteur Festus, fifth edition; Mr. Albert, second edition. French and German text.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn uncommon group of four consecutive volumes from Töpffer's pioneering series of illustrated narratives, published during his lifetime and representing an important stage in the development of the modern comic strip and graphic narrative.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFour oblong octavo volumes, comprising volumes II–V of the six-volume Collection des Histoires en Estampes: Mr. Crépin, Mr. Pencil, Le Docteur Festus and Mr. Albert. Extensively illustrated throughout with Töpffer's sequential line drawings, accompanied by captions in French and German. Bound in dark green boards with cloth spines and corners, titles lettered in gilt to the upper boards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRodolphe Töpffer developed what he called littérature en estampes — stories in which sequences of images and accompanying text work together to carry the narrative. His albums, produced from the 1830s onward, are now widely recognised as foundational works in the history of comics. The Kessmann collection brought six of these narratives together in a bilingual French-German series in 1845–46. The four present volumes form the substantial central run of that collection, lacking only Mr. Jabot and Mr. Vieux Bois. Le Beau Livre Bibliographies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBindings worn but attractive and substantially intact, with rubbing and scuffing to the boards, wear to corners and extremities, and some fraying to the cloth at the spine ends and joints. Hinges show age and wear, with some internal cracking and exposed sewing on two of four volumes, but the volumes remain together. Contents age-toned with scattered foxing and spotting, heavier in places; a few faint pencil marks to endpapers. Illustrations remain clear and well defined. Please refer to the photographs for the condition of each volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA particularly appealing group of four contemporary Kessmann editions, retaining a pleasing uniform appearance and offering a substantial portion of one of the most significant early nineteenth-century series in the history of sequential art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor bibliographic accuracy, the Kessmann series consists of six volumes; specialist records identify Crépin as volume 2, Pencil 3, Festus 4 and Albert 5. The 1846 Crépin and Festus are recorded as fifth editions, while Albert is the second edition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ink \u0026 Signature Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50563129573428,"sku":null,"price":850.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/3648\/4916\/files\/F6435B05-DCFE-48AF-803A-08F9B6E9D479_1_105_c.jpg?v=1790508442","url":"https:\/\/www.inkandsignaturebooks.com.au\/products\/topffer-rodolphe-collection-des-histoires-en-estampes-mr-crepin-mr-pencil-le-docteur-festus-mr-albert-1846","provider":"Ink \u0026 Signature Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}