(Paris): Librairie de Gide Fils, n.d. ( ca.1820). A rare and sweet little edition of Arnaud Berquin’s L’AMI DES ENFANS issued in the series Le Petit Bilbiothécaire, this example embellished with colour plates. Le Petit Bibliothécaire collection included sets of natural history, the history of France, antiquity for young people, etc. A publisher’s list for the series is included here at the back of Vol. 6. The little narratives offered range in subject matter : horticulture, natural science, play, etiquette, virtue, punishment, obligation, and justice. There are 7 hand-coloured plates to each volume, thus 42, not including the frontispieces. “Despite the popularity of the work of Mme Le Prince de Beaumont, Mme d’Epinay and Mme de Genlis, it is Arnaud Berquin(1747-1791) who is most often credited with being the real pioneer of children’s literature in France.” (Brown, P.E. A CRITICAL HISTORY OF FRENCH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE. Vol. One: 1600-1830, p. 147). Berquin was certainly very prolific. While there are many versions in different formats of L’AMI DES ENFANS recorded in libraries and sometimes for sale, this Petit Bibliothécaire edition with the colour plates is rare. Cotsen notes a different version of larger format, (No. 641) and Gumuchian 606064 and 6065 also list other formats. Ref: 16876 A Set of Berquin for Le Petit Biliothécaire 32mo (9.8 x 6.1 cm); 159 + (1); 160; 159 + (1); 160; 159 + (1); 156 + (iv) + 6 hand - coloured engraved frontispieces + 42 hand-coloured plates hors-texte.