La nuit et le moment, ou les matines de Cythere (The Night and the Right Time, or the Mornings of Cythera) is by the eighteenth-century writer Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon. In this witty 1755 dialogue the questioning Clitandre comes to Cidalise’s chamber to discuss his relationship problems with her; she is surprised by his arrival, but quickly warms to the subject as she is having similar issues of her own. Thus in the course of one night, a man and a woman, each in love with somebody else, gradually warm to each other until they forget past pleasures in present passions. Satire, irony, word play and scandal abound.

The colour plates are classic Berthomme Saint-André, complementing the narrative with very believable characters, especially the warmly-bosomed Cidalise.

The Berthomme Saint-André illustrated La nuit et le moment was published by Éditions de la Nef d’Argent in a limited numbered edition of 1,500 copies.