LA FONTAINE (Jean de) Fables causides de La Fontaine en bers gascouns, Bayonne: de l'imprimerie de Paul Fauvet Duhard, 1776. -In-8, red morocco, triple fillet framing the covers, gilded flower at the corners, ornate smooth spine, inner gilt roulette, gilt edges (period binding). Rare first edition of this translation or imitation in Gascon verse of La Fontaine's "Fables". It was published and perhaps translated by François Batbedat (1745-1806), a Gascon merchant, politician and literary scholar. The illustration includes a frontispiece and a title engraved by Le Mire after Moreau le Jeune. Rare copy in contemporary red morocco. White marks on the boards. Ink stains on page 1.