MALHERBE (François de) Paris, Printed at the Louvre by Didot the Elder, Year V – 1797. Poems. Small folio (30.4 x 22.4 cm), red morocco leather, gilt-edged frames on the covers, ribbed spine decorated with gilt motifs, gilt edges, gilt inner border (contemporary binding). A magnificent edition, printed in a run of 250 copies on vellum paper. This publication forms part of the ‘Collection of French and Latin Classical Authors’, commissioned by Louis XVI from the printer Didot the Elder for the education of the Dauphin.  A fine, very fresh copy (despite a very slight water stain at the top of some leaves). Provenance: Hubert Thierry (bookplate). Bibliography: Brunet, III, 1338.