'Il vous rend chaste et pure aux mains de votre Epoux', illustration from 'The Marriage...

PARIS 1784 -- BEAUMARCHAIS, Pierre Augustin Caron de (1732-1799). Le marriage de Figaro, ou la Folle journée, comédie en cinq actes et en prose. Seville [but Switzerland]: Comte d'Almaviva, 1785. An unauthorized edition of one of the most successful plays of the 18th century. The Marriage of Figaro, the sequel to Beaumarchais' The Barber of Seville, was written in 1778, although not officially performed until 27 April 1784 at the Odéon theater in Paris. This edition, with the fictitious and mischievous use of Seville and the Count d'Almaviva in the imprint, was actually published in Switzerland and is one of several editions published within the first twelve months following the play's appearance. The five folding plates illustrate five scenes from the play.