Josephine Repudiee.

MASSON, Frederic.

$100.00

Item Number: 138462

Paris: Societe d'Editions Litteraires et Artistiques, 1901.

First edition of the third installment in Masson’s three volume biography of Empress Josephine. Imperial octavo, bound in full polished crushed levant morocco by S. David with gilt titles to the spine, gilt central emblem to the front panel, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, top-edge gilt with others untrimmed, hand-colored frontispiece, likely extra-illustrated, original wrappers bound in. In very good condition. Bookplates, presentation inscription.

Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie was the first wife of Napoleon, and the first Empress of the French after he proclaimed himself Emperor. Joséphine's Château de Malmaison was noted for its magnificent rose garden, containing roses she collected from all over the world. Because she did not bear Napoleon any children, he divorced her in 1810 to marry Marie Louise of Austria. Joséphine was the recipient of numerous love letters written to her by Napoleon, many of which still exist today.