DROHOJOWSKA, Antoinette, Countess.

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Les Hommes utiles. First and only edition of this privately printed collection of laudable figures across the fields of science and the arts. Each figure is represented by an albumen portrait framed by an engraved architectural border. Antoinette-Joséphine-Françoise-Anne Drohojowska (1822-1890) was a French aristocrat who wrote numerous travelogues, histories, and moral guidebooks, on topics ranging from Egypt to proper conduct.Drohojowska had a particular interest in writing instructive works for young girls, and had already published several books on admirable women, including Les femmes illustres de la France (1862) and Les femmes illustres de l'Europe (c.1850). The present compilation dispenses with limitations of geography and gender, and offers a selection of influential "hommes utiles" such as Benjamin Franklin, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Rosalie Rendu. Each "homme utile" is represented by a portrait on the recto and a biography on the verso.Born in Saint-Chély-d'Apcher, Drohojowska married Count Marcellin Antoine Félix Drohojowski in 1847. She employed numerous pseudonyms throughout her career, such as "C. d'Aulnoy", "C. Daulnoy", and "C. AS de Doncourt".This copy was presented as a prize by the Minister of Public Instruction, Religious Affairs, and Fine Arts, a title established with the formation of the French Third Republic in 1870. The title remained in the stated form until 1879, with a brief reappearance between 1887-88. In 1874, when the present work was publ

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