A bound volume of the full year's worth of the French weekly journal L'Univers Illustré for 1886. Interestingly, the frontispiece says 1884, and someone has crossed this out in blue and written 1886. This was either the publisher, who must have had to correct this mistake for the entire print run, or a disgruntled customer, because the spine states 1886 and the dates of all the journals do too. With reports of French and world news, literature, art, fashion, history, cartoons, society news and some classified ads, this volume is a fascinating historical reference. Sixteen years into the third republic, this was the year the Law of Exile was enacted, forbidding any members of the former royal family from holding a position of office - see the picture of the expulsion of the princes. The black & white engravings are wonderful quality, very sharp and beautifully drawn, and there is a huge variety of styles.
The condition is fair to good: the spine is very faded and the back board has begun to come away from the binding. One of the pages inside is coming loose. The rest of the volume is intact and the binding is pretty good overall, although it could benefit from some strengthening where the back cover is pulling away.
