Mercure britannique; ou notices historiques et critiques sur les affaires du tems
London: De l’imprimerie de W. et C. Spilsbury . . . 1798-1800. Item #1229 36 numbers in 34 parts, 8vo (227 × 140 mm) in half-sheets; the earlier numbers printed on tinted paper; entirely uncut in the original printed wrappers; some misbinding in No. XIII, wrappers to Nos. VII, XXVIII, XXIX, and XXXVI ragged and torn, but withal a very good set; contemporary ink ownership inscription of Thomas Ker, 7 Great Quebec Street, near Portman Square (London). First edition: a complete run of the Mercure britannique, ‘M. du Pan’s work on Swiss independence and European political affairs during the period of Napoleonic expansion. Nos. 1–3 include a political history of Switzerland; subsequent numbers analyze, country by country, current political events in Europe. Great Britain is discussed last in each issue, with praise. Vol. 5 concludes with an appeal for funds to aid the cause of Swiss independence and an account of Mallet du Pan’s death and funeral’ (ESTC). Hatin describes it as a ‘journal très-recherché. Il y deux éditions: l’édition originale, imprimée à Londres, difficile à completer, et l’édition de Paris. Il existe, en outre, une contrefaçon de l’édition de Paris, imprimée en petit texte.’ It also appeared in English translation (The British Mercury). The Swiss-born Mallet du Pan (1749–1800) was ‘an honest and courageous editor of the Mercure de France, and a defender of constitutional monarchy. In 1792 he left France to work for the interests of the émigrés in foreign countries … Driven from Switzerland he took refuge in England (1798), and from London (where he died) published the Mercure britannique, which was hostile to Republican France and the policy of the Directoire. ‘Mallet du Pan was one of the noteworthy writers of the Revolutionary period, possessed of political penetration and good sense, with a vigorous and ironic style’ (Oxford Companion to French Literature). Crane & Kaye. A Census of British Newspapers and Periodicals 1620-1800, 452. The Times of London, Tercentenary Handlist of English & Welsh Newspapers, Magazines, & Reviews, p. 48. Ward, Index of Serials, p. 102. (1229)
Price: $3,000.00