La danse, la tenue, le maintien, l'hygiène & l'éducation

Vol. 1: Similar in content ot the author's Traité de la danse, which was published in the 1870s, this is the fifty-fifth edition of a popular and massive work on dance. The volume begins with a history of dance, and continues with several sections devoted to etiquette, including etiquette of weddings and baptisms. A large collection of dances is included--the quadrille, polka, waltz, polka mazurka, schottisch, Boston--as well as dances less well known such as La Delannoyenne and Les Bons Valseurs D'Antar. Sprinkled within these dances are several that appear to have links with some dances of previous centuries, such as the pavan-valse, gavotte-valse, and govotte-polka.

Vol. 2: The work, as massive as the first volume, consists of an alphabetical list of dances, associations, dancers, and teachers. Some, such as the entry for Académie nationale, have short, dictionary-type definintions. Others, such as actual dances, are treated with extensive text. The entry for cotillon (also known as the German) is given a brief history and an astonishing 3,333 figures. Of special interest is Giraudet's expansive bibliography including journals that contain articles on dance. The volume also includes a list of officers for major dance associations, a list of stores that sell cotillon accessories, and a list of Giraudet's teaching repertory.