76-COIGNET (Jean-Roch). Aux vieux de la vieille! Souvenirs. Auxerre, Perriquet, 1851-1853, 2 parts in 1 vol. in-8, (4)-247 pp and (4)-III-177 pp, 1 folded music plate, 1 folded table, 3 pp. of supporting documents, 3 pp. of table, parma morocco, ribbed spine, gilt edges, double gilt fillet on the edges, wide inner lace, cover retained (Lortic). First edition of this emblematic work. Coignet's name alone symbolizes the imperial legend. Hitherto often technical or justificatory, the memoirs of people who lived through the Empire take on a new dimension here. At last, a simple soldier recounts his epic, both naive and full of verve. Legend has it - and this seems to correspond to reality - that Coignet left his work at the Milon café in Auxerre, where he sold it to the traveler while recounting the epic. A very fine copy, beautifully bound by Lortic. Tulard, 336.