GOYA Y LUCIENTES, FRANCISCO JOSÉ DE | [Los Caprichos. Madrid: Real Academia, 1881–1886]

Property from an East Coast Private Collection

GOYA Y LUCIENTES, FRANCISCO JOSÉ DE 

[Los Caprichos. Madrid: Real Academia, 1881–1886]

Oblong broadsheets (380 x 260 mm). 80 etched and aquatint plates, printed in black; very occasional foxing or soiling, chiefly marginal. Original gray boards backed with green cloth, the front cover with an impression of "Self-Portrait" (plate 1), plain edges, marbled endpapers; covers stained and worn at extremities, spine worn and torn at hinges. 

Fifth edition, limited to 210 copies; this is an unusually large example of the larger of the two regular issues (Harris gives the dimensions of the gray-covered issue as 365 x 260 mm; the cream-covered issue as 330 x 240 mm; and the deluxe issue as 425 x 300 mm). Goya described his series of etchings as illustrating "the innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance, or self-interest have made usual."

REFERENCES

Harris, p. 67