Poujoulat, M., History of the French Revolution (1789), Vol. II [1851]

Title: History of the French Revolution (1789). Volume II.

Author: M. Poujoulat [Jean-Joseph-François Poujoulat (1808–1880)—French historian and journalist, collaborator of Joseph-François Michaud, Legitimist].

Translation: Translated and annotated by Władysław Syrokomla.

Publisher: Vilnius, Published and Printed by Józef Zawadzki.

Year of publication: 1851.

Illustrations: with eight steel engravings (according to the title page).

Format: 22 cm.

Number of pages: 345.

Binding: 19th-century half-cloth.

Polish edition of *Histoire de la Révolution française*, a two-volume work dated 1851, printed in Vilnius by Zawadzki. The original was published in Tours by Alfred Mame in 1848 (first edition in late 1847) and covers the history from the reign of Louis XVI to 18 Brumaire. Poujoulat presented the Revolution from a Catholic and moderately royalist perspective, critical of the Jacobins. The work, illustrated with steel engravings—eight in total, according to the title page—was published in France in numerous reprints.

The translation from French and the notes were provided by Władysław Syrokomla, whose real name was Ludwik Kondratowicz (1823–1862), a poet and translator born in Smolhów in Polesie who died in Vilnius. In 1851, he also published in Vilnius translations of Polish-Latin poets from the Sigismund era, including Klemens Janicki and Sebastian Klonowic. From 1844 to 1852, he leased the village of Załucze, and in 1852 he moved to Vilnius. He gained extraordinary popularity during his lifetime, collaborating with Kraszewski’s *Athenaeum* and, from 1860, with the editorial staff of the *Kurier Wileński*.

Jean-Joseph-François Poujoulat was born in 1808 in La Fare-les-Oliviers and died in Paris in 1880. Beginning in 1828, he collaborated with Michaud on the *Bibliothèque des Croisades*; together they undertook a journey to the Middle East, which resulted in the seven-volume *Correspondance d’Orient* (1833–1835). Together with Michaud, he also compiled the *Nouvelle collection des mémoires pour servir à l’histoire de France* (32 volumes, 1836–1844). His *Histoire de Jérusalem* (1840–1842) was honored by the French Academy. As a Legitimist, he contributed to “La Quotidienne,” “L’Union,” and “Revue des Deux Mondes.”

Provenance: a piece without institutional stamps or underlining in the text.

An item for collectors of Vilnius-related works, publications from the Zawadzki press, and Syrokomla’s translations, as well as for enthusiasts of early book engravings. A nineteenth-century account of the Great Revolution in a Polish translation by a renowned poet, complete and preserved with its engravings.

The block is compact, tightly bound, and mechanically stable; the original stitching firmly holds the sections together, with no loose pages; all four steel engravings are preserved within the block, and the prints are legible. The paper bears a natural patina of age: numerous rust-colored spots (foxing), acid-induced yellowing, and superficial soiling along the margins from old page-turning. Original 19th-century stiff half-cloth binding, clean, with slight dust on the covers and minimal scuffing on the cardboard edges.

Catalog ID: 11610x2-22-A-X