Biographie Universelle Ancienne et Moderne ou Histoire, Par Ordre Alphabetique, de la Vie Publique et Privee de Tour Les Hommes Qui Se Sont Fait Remarquer Par Leurs Ecrits, Leurs Actions, Leurs Talents, Leurs Vertus ou Leurs Crimes

Paris: Ch. Delagrave et Cie, n.y.. Hardcover. Complete 45-volume set. Small 4to. Dark green cloth with gilt spine lettering. Varying paginations (generally 700+ per volume). Overall very good. Mild ex-library, with each volume bearing paper label at foot of spine, circular institutional inkstamp on half-title and/or title page, bookplate on front and rear pastedown and little else; text blocks are uniformly tight and nice and free of edge tears, with no brittleness whatsoever. Full set of this enormous biographical dictionary of notable French figures of the 18th and early 19th centuries, entirely in French and in two-column format, compiled over the course of several decades by the French historian/author/bookseller/printer (1773-1858) and first published in this 45-volume form in 1843. This highly-cryptic edition defies every best effort at dating, but is perhaps late 19th/early 20th century. Title translates: "History, In Alphabetical Order, of the Public and Private Life of the Men Who Have Made Themselves Noticeable by Their Writings, Their Actions, Their Talents, Their Virtues or Their Crimes." Definitely for the Francophile par extraordinaire. Additional shipping, needless to say, will be required.