[BOURDON DE SIGRAIS (Claude-Guillaume) Histoire des rats, pour servir à l'histoire universelle, Ratopolis, 1737. - In-8, brown speckled calf, ornate spine, speckled edges (period binding). First edition. Inspired by Moncrif's "Histoire des Chats" published in 1727, Claude-Guillaume Bourdon de Sigrais (1712-1791), writer and historian, offers a fanciful account exploring the life and behavior of rats while drawing parallels with human nature and society, criticizing at the same time the fables of Jean de La Fontaine. The edition is illustrated with a frontispiece and a plate captioned "Apollo Smyntheus". A good copy in contemporary binding. Some foxing and browning. Provenance: H. G. Leclerc, with bookplate. - A. Kuhnholt, with bookplate.