LA FONTAINE (Jean de). Fables choisies. Paris, Desaint & Saillant, Durand, 1755-1759. 4 volumes in-folio, marbled calf, triple gilt fillet, spine decorated, gilt edges (Period binding). A magnificent and very famous illustration by the animal painter Jean-Baptiste Oudry. It consists of a frontispiece and 275 out-of-text figures drawn by him, retouched for the engraving by Cochin and copper-engraved by the best artists of the time. The text is embellished with floral or allegorical vignettes and culs-de-lampe woodcuts by Le Sueur and Papillon based on compositions by the flower painter Jean-Jacques Bachelier. The typography was entrusted to Charles-Antoine Jombert. "One of the most ambitious and successful of all illustrated books" (Ray). The banner is after the leopard in the engraving of the fable Le Singe et le léopard. Discrete restorations to the bindings, which show minor differences; the first two volumes are slightly larger. Some foxing and slightly browned leaves. Cohen, 548 - Ray, n°5 - Rochambeau, Fables, n°86 - Des livres rares (BnF), n°207.