ANAMORPHOSES. MAGNIFICENT AND VERY RARE SET OF... Lot 33

[ANAMORPHOSES]. MAGNIFICENT AND VERY RARE SET OF 26 ORIGINAL ANTIQUE ANAMORPHOSES. 26 strong boards (approx. 30 X 46 cm). Some dampening, soiling and staining, but the illustrations and coloring are well preserved overall. Each anamorphosis, viewed through a cylindrical mirror, was produced in watercolor and gouache highlights, most probably during the second half of the 18th century. There seem to be several hands for this set, some more naive, others more elaborate. Rare handwritten indications on the reverse of some plates: "Madame qui prend son caffé - charge sa pipe - [nonne ?] qui marche - Le cuvier - Béquillard". Characters depicted (types, professions, scenes, etc.) include a man with his back to defecate, another urinating, a man chopping wood, a man on horseback, a man writing at his desk, a man carrying a scythe, a guitar player, a halberdier, a woman beating a man, and so on.