MONTORGUEIL, [Georges] (texte de). JOB [Jacques Onfroy de Bréville] (illustré par). Jouons À L’Histoire. Paris Boivin et Cie. 1908.

4to. Original cloth-backed pictorial cloth blocked in a wide range of colours and gilt over bevelled boards, all edges with original gilt; pp. [70], finely produced with leaves on stubs, as issued; illustrated throughout with a total of 30 bold and dramatic full-bleed chromotypogravures in full rich colours; professionally, and almost unnoticeably, rebacked, some while ago, with new endpapers supplied; a very good and bright copy with light dust-soiling to covers and small pitting and surface wear to bottom forecorners of both boards.

First edition. Text in French.  A humorous history of France from the ancient Gauls to Napoleon’s exile to St. Helena, told Punch-and-Judy style with the aid of toys.  Job’s interest in military history is obvious in his attention to the detail of the costumes.

Montorgeueil and Job collaborated on a series of picture books for children informing them about important historical events and popularising national heroes, other titles include “Murat”; “Louis XI”; “Bonaparte” and “Napoléon”. Each work is beautifully bound in elaborate pictorial cloth gilt and, as such, is a treasure.