Stanislas-Cécile-Xavier-Louis, vicomte d'Ermenonville,... Lot 7

Stanislas-Cécile-Xavier-Louis, vicomte d'Ermenonville, comte de GIRARDIN Promenade or itinerary of the gardens of Ermenonville Paris, Mérigot, Gattey, Guyot, 1788. In-8, 68 pp; fawn half-chagrin, finely decorated smooth spine, red tr. With 2 ff. of engraved music in fine. First edition illustrated with 25 plates drawn and engraved by Mérigot fils. Slight highlights on some plates. One of the first books on English gardens in France, the Marquis de Girardin designed it in honor of Rousseau, whose vision of nature inspired him. Rousseau spent the last six weeks of his life at Ermenonville, where he was buried. Conceived, designed and financed by the Marquis with the help of painter Hubert Robert, Abbé Delille and landscape architect Jean Marie Morel, the park is modelled on the spirit of the English garden: to build a living nature that is not subordinated to the imperatives of classical gardens. In fact, it was the largest park of its kind on the continent.