MOLIÈRE. Les Œuvres. - Les Œuvres posthumes. Paris, Denys Thierry, Claude Barbin, Pierre Trabouillet, 1682. 8 volumes in-12, granite calf, spine decorated, gilt edges (period binding). First complete edition, containing six plays in their original editions, namely Don Garcie de Navarre, L'Impromptu de Versailles, Dom Juan, Melicerte, Les Amans magnifiques and La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas. It contains thirty comedies that are believed to have been edited, after the author's death, by the actor La Grange and Jean Vivot. The editors have introduced the didascalies of the stage plays, invaluable for the history of dramatic art. The edition is divided into two distinct parts: the first six volumes contain the plays already printed during the author's lifetime, while the last two, entitled Œuvres posthumes, contain the comedies which, although performed in public, had not yet been published at the time of the playwright's death. These last plays, whose manuscripts had been purchased from Armande Béjart by publisher Denis Thierry, appear here in their original editions. The last volume also contains L'Ombre de Molière, a comedy by Brécourt, a former actor in Molière's troupe, published as early as 1674. This is also the first illustrated edition of Molière's works, with 30 hors texte figures engraved in intaglio by Jean Sauvé after Pierre Brissart in the first printing. These engravings are a precious testimony to the staging and costumes of the period. Molière is portrayed in various roles. Exemplary in contemporary bindings. The two volumes of Œuvres posthumes are in hardback. Signature on titles: Hildebrand; underlining and old reading marks. From the libraries of composer Georges van Parys (1902-1971) and industrialist Paul Toinet (1893-1987), with bookplates. Bindings restored, upper hinge cracked on two volumes, small loss to one box, minor damage, a few stains and scattered light foxing. Guibert, II, 609-650 - Tchemerzine, IV, 826 - Riffaud, n°8242 - Diesbach-Soultrait, n°200 - Rochebilière, n°366 - En français dans le texte, n°119.