Dictionnaire des rimes et de pronunciation
Paris: Chez Janet, 1800. 12mo. lxiii, 341, [3] pp. Contemporary pastepaper wrappers. Ex-libris stamps of the Bibliothèque Charles-Guillon. A fresh, uncut copy in original condition. Item #19156
First edition, an exhaustive rhyming dictionary for poets who find themselves “too busy with their muse (p. v, tr.)” to ruminate on words. The author begins with an overview of the pronunciation of the French language, then describes verse structure by syllables and using verb conjugations to suit the verse. The main text is listed alphabetically by word endings (i.e. -a, -ab, -abe) and provides French words that rhyme on the final syllables. The entries include markings to denote stresses and long and short vowels. When the rhymed word lists are long, the nouns are grouped before the verbs.
In his preface, Mathieu notes an earlier attempt by Richelet (1667) of this type of dictionary, but he claims that it was too long and unwieldy to be convenient and outdated for modern use. Here he uses the latest orthography provided by the Académie français in a portable format.
Quérard records an edition of 1799, but that is a ghost.
Very rare, OCLC records only 2 copies worldwide (Netherlands and Belgium).
See Quérard V: 617.
Price: $1,500.00