Clémentina, ou le Cigisbéisme... by DURDENT, [René-Jean].

2 vols (160 × 95 mm), pp. [4], viii, 240; [4], 234, half-titles. Printed spine labels to verso of the second title. Contemporary pink paste-paper covered boards, black spine labels, gilt. Spines faded, minor abrasion to sides, but a very nice copy.

First edition. A preface explains the etymology of the novel’s subtitle: Cigisbéisme [’cicisbeism’] — the custom, probably of Italian origin, of a married woman keeping an additional male companion, either Platonic or otherwise. Its author, Durdent, produced several other novels and a translation of Edgeworth’s Fanny. Despite its promising subject matter, Clémentina appears to have gone almost entirely unnoticed by contemporary reviewers.

This copy is complete with spine labels (two for each volume) printed on the verso of the title-page of the second volume. Thankfully, they have not been used in binding here (which has black labels lettered in gilt supplied by the binder) since their use would entail sacrificing the title page. It seems an odd place to print them, and where such printed title-pages have been encountered elsewhere they have been printed on a blank. Worldcat: Cambridge (England) and Toronto only.