Embroidered Binding (6 results)

24mo (binding size 98 x 58 mm). Etched and engraved title, 24 pages (a single 12-leaf quire A), [16]-page calendar for 1785 bound in middle of quire, 12 etched and engraved ?plates? (printed on 6 conjugate bifolia), rule page borders throughout (one or two borders shaved). A fine copy, in a contemporary case binding of embroidered ivory faille silk over binders? boards, both covers with a central wheat sheaf of couched purl and vermeil sequins in a pot of green threads, symmetrical purl ribbons and sprays above and below, the ground with small green flowers and sequin accents, double outer border of sequins and intertwining metallic thread, spine with saltire design of metallic thread and sequins, salmon watered silk doublures with hammered vermeil ribbon borders, framing a mirror on the upper cover, and on the lower cover a pocket, free endpapers of pink on gold brocade paper (printed on one side only), gilt edges. (Outer corner of front cover very slightly stained and fraying, a ribbon border inside lower cover detaching, the mirror intact but its tin[?] backing turned to powder and shedding slightly through the spine.) *** A delightful almanac in a fetching embroidered binding which expresses the golden sun of the harvest, abundance and joy. In pictures and verse this almanach galant relates love?s approaches, evasions and eventual conquest using an extended military metaphor. Hence captions like ?the diligent vigil, the gracious combat, marauding cupids, a lucky rally, the double attack, the capitulation,? etc., grace the hardly warlike images. The women, in petticoats, ribbons, and flowery hats, wear the latest fashions. In an unusual modern touch, the image of the etched title, showing a couple in a boat with a fortress and galleon in the background, continues behind the title lettering. The engraved illustrations of courting and sometimes (modestly) contorting couples are in dark vivid impressions. In this copy (unlike the Grand-Carteret copy) the sixth and seventh plates were printed on the same sheet in the wrong order, and thus the captions are mismatched. The embroidered cover of the binding was applied slightly awry on the lower cover. OCLC lists the BnF copy only. Cf. Savigny de Moncorps, Almanachs illustrés du XVIIIe siècle (1909), no. 55 (p. 104); Meunié, Bibliographie de quelques almanachs illustrés des XVIIIe et XIXe siècles (1906); Grand-Carteret 1143: the same almanac (with full-page illustration) but bearing the title of the 1793 Goguettes Parisiennes (his no. 1192).

24mo (binding size 96 x 55 mm). [80] pp. Rule page borders (fore-edges cut close, some borders shaved, small hole in title). Text block stitched into a contemporary gold-embroidered case binding with two original watercolor drawings: both covers with large asymmetrical curving goldwork design couched on a gold basketwork ground, embroidered on a plain textile (visible at board edges), the design incorporating an abstract plant or cornucopia, and framing on each cover a different watercolor emblem of fidelity, painted on glazed paper (or possibly vellum): on the front cover a putto holds a bow and arrow, while a dog rests behind him, below a neat manuscript caption in majuscules, ?Fidel jusqu?à la mort?; on the rear cover a blindfolded putto with his quiver on his back is led by a dog on a pink leash through a coastal landscape, with caption ?La Fidelité me conduit?; the covers edged with vermeil strips, spine with sinuous couched goldwork band, edges gilt, dark purple silk liners; housed in a contemporary two-part morocco pull-off case, lined in color-blocked paper. In near-perfect condition (very slight darkening of some of the goldwork on lower cover).*** A superb example of one of the earliest and most sought-after types of French luxury almanac bindings. A single, probably Parisian atelier, active in the 1760s, seems to have been responsible for a group of innovative small bindings featuring small painted love-emblems on vellum, enclosed in glowing rococo frames composed of padded fretwork covered in gold-wrapped thread which entirely hides the plain textile cover. These inventive and successful bindings inspired emulators, paving the way for an explosion of imaginative almanac bindings over the next three decades, incorporating silk, embroidery, paintings, glass, mica, metal foil, and other materials, as well as the more traditional leathers, arranged in an enticing variety of patterns and designs and creating a full-fledged industry of these little books, produced by stationer-binders, who sub-contracted their textile bindings to professional embroiderers. It may seem extraordinary that such an elaborate binding would be used for a small, cheap publication like the present almanac, printed by Léonard Cuissart soon after 5 November 1762 (date of the printing permission on the last page). Containing songs, proverbs, and a calendar of Saints? days, it is an unillustrated precursor to the more elaborate almanachs galants produced during the next few decades. Like them, it would have been given as a New Year?s gift (étrenne), and indeed a love-gift. This fact explains the apparent paradox of such a labor-intensive production method for the cover decoration of an ephemeral publication: ?The status of gifts held by these little works . quickly conferred upon them, in the eyes of an elite clientele, the double role of bibelot [bauble] and of an object of gallantry likely to become a precious souvenir, and thus worthy of receiving a decoration formerly reserved only for the most precious publications? (Fabienne le Bars, no. 35b, Éloge de la rareté, trans.). It was in the 1760s that the fashion for such palm-sized treasure books first surfaced. A few later imitations of this ?goldwork? style are known, of somewhat inferior workmanship, on almanacs from the 1770s (see, for example, no. 35b in the Bibliothèque nationale de France 2014 exhibition catalogue Eloge de la rareté). The frequent misattribution of this type of goldwork binding to the Low Countries seems to be based on a few examples of those emulative bindings from the 1770s, found on almanacs from Liège (see, for example, Livres en broderie, no. 176). Whether or not those later imitations were indeed produced in or near Liège, the original examples of these goldwork bindings, such as this one, were almost certainly produced in Paris, as is evident from the almanacs they cover: see, for example, a group of four such almanacs, offered by Patrice Rossignol, in his catalogue 1.

24mo, pp.[96]; woodcut illustrations of coins to 12pp.; a few leaves closely cut at outer margin, occasionally affecting a few characters, quire B loose; in a contemporary embroidered binding of raised work in silver thread on a silk background over canvas, each board with a central floral vignette in coloured threads; rather worn at extremities, embroidery to spine perished, silver thread largely tarnished, upper board a little darkened, but a charming piece; nineteenth-century ink stamp of D. Cloz to front free endpaper.A charming almanack for 1753 printed in Liège by Everard Kints bookseller, printer, and wine merchant here in a delightful embroidered binding with raised work in silver thread surrounding a skilfully executed floral arrangement. The printer advertises as well as Missals, breviaries, history books, English wax, and Holland paper champagne and 'excellent' Languedoc and Burgundy wines, with a refund of 3 sous to anyone who returns the bottle afterwards. OCLC and CCFr find no copies of this edition, and only scattered holdings for other years. Language: French.

A charming mid-19th-century French embroidered binding. The geometric pattern of the design, executed in interlaced gilt, green, pink, and purple threads, is rather unusual for this period, when figurative motifs were the most popular. The contents of the notebook span several years, approximately from 1844 to 1856. Included are accounts of money paid, spent, and gifted, contacts and addresses of people in Paris and Lille (one recurring multiple times), and personal notes. The interests and concerns, the frequent appearance of female names as acquaintances (such as Pauline, Amelie, and Marie), and the style of the binding, strongly suggest that the owner was a Parisian gentlewoman. The accounts suggest that her job involved buying and supplying furniture to customers. For example, she records advancing money to Pauline "for her pendulum" and paying her for a "mobilier de dames" (a lady's dressing table). The owner appears to have been fascinated by clocks; on another page, she copied a quote from Voltaire: "L'univers m'embarrasse et je ne puis songer que cette horloge existe et n'ait pas d'horloger" ("The universe troubles me, and I cannot imagine that this clock exists without a clockmaker"). Science also features among her interests. A curious note concerns the analysis of the contents of the "eau de puits foré" (water from drilled wells) carried out by "Deville", likely the chemist Henry Deville; it includes a breakdown of chemical components (i.e. sulfates, sodium chloride) and their weight. This was copied from a contemporary published report. Another page contains a reference to the contents of a botanical publication, Histoire des plantes de Dauphiné by Dominique Villard (1786-1789). Most of the other notes relate to everyday life. The address of Monsieur Paterson, a dentist with offices at 396 rue St Honore, is followed by a positive review of his services: "sans douleur a un prix modere" (painless at a moderate price). On another page is the account of a journey by omnibus from Paris to Dole, passing through Dijon, with times. Right below is a note copied from a contemporary almanac concerning an English company called "Defender", based at Boulevard des Italiens 4, offering advantageous rates for life annuities. Duodecimo (135 x 90 mm). Three paper bifolia and one cardboard bifolium held in place by a green silk tie, seven (of eight) unnumbered leaves, one paper leaf removed or absent. Contemporary green roan, smooth spine, covers bordered with a gilt floral roll enclosing embroidered panel decorated with a geometric design of variously coloured interlaced bands, cream silk moirè endpapers, the pastedowns with pockets, leather loops at fore-edge holding a wooden pencil with metal finial, which keeps the binding closed. Housed in a green cloth flat-back box with black leather label. Gilt slightly darkened, couple of loose threads, the embroidered panels otherwise beautifully preserved and bright, short superficial split at head of front joint, occasional spot of foxing. A very good example.

Engraved frontispiece portrait. lx, 279 pp. 1 vols. 8vo. This edition of the Lamento de Cecco da Varlungo, an idyll written in Florentine dialect, is known for its critical apparatus and typography. In this edition of 1762, reprinted from the Florentine edition of 1755, twenty-five stanzas appear for the first time. In contemporary binding of Italian white silk, the sides embroidered with gold thread in an ornamental pattern framing on the upper cover the arms of a member of the Royal House of Austria in gold, blue, and black threads; and, on the rear, a floral design of gilt thread; with stunning endpapers of gold foil printed with a design of hounds and stags in a forest; all edges gilt. Albeit worn and somewhat faded, a very interesting example of an Italian embroidered binding of the mid-18th century. Binding somewhat soiled, spine rubbed, colors faded Engraved frontispiece portrait. lx, 279 pp. 1 vols. 8vo.

Condition: VG. Hardcover with unusual fully embroidered cover using metallic thread. Book measures 11-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches; 29.5 x 21 cm. no date c. 1650. In Latin 54 pages, (two leaves are blank), fully manuscript with rouged fore-edges. Full page original drawing of radiant chalice done in yellow, tan end gray inks. Very high quality drawing. Text is in black and grey ink with red capitals and some lines of writing in red ink also. Internally book is VG with light wear. Cover is only Fairly Good with embroidery faded to various shades of faintly purple grey on front panel. Rear panel has much gilt tone remaining in the embroidery thread with an area of pale blue surround with the word PAX in gilt. A few tiny gilt sequins are sewn in the decoration also. The embrodery is worn but still mostly intact. Cloth is tearing along spine. RARE. Pictures supplied on request.