138-FLEURY (Joseph-Abraham Benard dit). Memoirs of Fleury of the Comédie Française, 1757 to 1820. Preceded by an introduction by J.-B.-P. Lafitte. Paris, Ambroise Dupont, 1835-1838, 6 vol. in-8, portrait on front of vol. 1, blue half-calf, smooth spine decorated throughout, marbled edges (Romantic binding). Rare first edition. Tulard, 550. "A retenir ce jugement : La littérature de l'Empire est belle et bonne; c'est la littérature impériale qui ne vaut rien. And so, as soon as it appeared, the active part played by the Comédie Française in the life of society came to an end, as if by magic, and it is without scruple and without further transition that I pass from our ten blank years to one of the significant events in which we played our part. Allusion to the performances given by the Théâtre Français in Dresden, the account of which forms chapter XII of these memoirs". Fierro, 118. Ex-libris Henri Beraldi. A fine copy. Some foxing.