French Bindings (21 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. 4to. Original card covers. 210x270mm. 104 pp.,100 lot sale exstensively illustrated in colour and b/w.

14 vols. Small 8vo. (c.17.5 x 11 cm). Uniformly bound in contemporary calf over marbled boards, spines with raised bands and twin black morocco labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers. Minor shelfwear to spines, generally a very good set. *Comprising: Jacqueline du Pasquier, Cinq Étages H.G. Wells, Pages Choisies Georges de la Fouchardière, La Chienne Edmonde Bernard, Rien Que Nous Deux Montesquieu, Lettres Persanes& De l'Esprit des Lois Rabelais, Gargantua & Pantagruel Corneille, Theatre: Le Cid - Horace - Cinna La Rochefoucauld, Maximes et Oeuvres Diverses Voltaire, Dictionnaire Philosophique Jean-Jazques Rousseau, Discours sur les Sciences et les Arts, Discours sur l'inégalité, Deux Mémoires Charles Folëy, La Bête Noire Georges Simenon, M. Gallet Décédé Anne-Marie Gasztowtt, Irène et Patrick Yvette Prost, La Dame Noire.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. (AUCTION CATALOGUE) Pichon, Jérôme, Baron). Catalogue de la Bibliothèque de feu M. le Baron Jérôme Pichon. Président honoraire de la Sociétié des Bibliophiles français. Paris: Librairie Techener, 1897. Large 8vo. [2] f + xlvi + [2] + 459 + [1] p. Title in red & black with Pichon's arms. Illustrations in the text. Morocco-backed marbled boards; spine gilt with gilt-lettered title morocco label; marbled endpapers; front hinge & corners lightly worn. First volume of the posthumous sale of the second library of illuminated manuscripts, illustrated books and fine bindings formed by Jérôme Pichon (1812-96), one of the most passionate French 19th century collectors and bibliographers. A first sale had already taken place in 1869. The preface contains George Vicaire's Life of Pichon and a chronological list of his publications. A very good copy.

Sixth Edition. 160 x 115 mm. (6 1/4 x 4 1/2"). 400 pp. Pleasing deep brown morocco by Fonteney (stamp-signed on the verso of the front flyleaf), raised bands, spine lettered in gilt, wide turn-ins gilt tooled, patterned endleaves, all edges gilt. Engraved frontispiece depicting St. Elizabeth by Friedrich Ludy after Friedrich Overbeck; each page with a decorative figural border. Minor foxing to preliminary leaves, very slightly foxed elsewhere, otherwise a fine copy, the text quite clean, bright, and fresh, and the binding unworn and exceptionally lustrous. Decoratively printed and attractively bound, this volume on Christian marriage and family life is a delightful example of late 19th century French book production. Its author, Félix-Antoine-Philibert Dupanloup (1802-78), was the bishop of Orléans and a proponent of liberal Catholicism in France throughout the 19th century. Alongside teaching and pastoral duties, he authored several works on religious matters throughout his career. Initially published in 1869, the present work on "Christian Marriage" went on to become a very popular work, remaining in print into the second decade of the 20th century. One wonders if its popularity was as much due to the beauty of the work as its contents: each page is graced with detailed engraved borders, laden with scrolling foliage and rich Christian imagery, executed with delicacy and panache. This copy is pleasing in its highly polished morocco exterior, its lacy inner dentelles, and its attractive patterned endleaves.

243 x 154 mm. (9 1/2 x 6 1/4"). Two volumes. LOVELY DARK BLUE STRAIGHT GRAIN MOROCCO BY BOZERIAN JEUNE (stamp-signed at foot of Tome I spine), covers with pretty gilt frame enclosed by double gilt rule, raised bands, spine gilt in panels with large millepoint ornament with floral tools emanating from a central circle, gilt lettering, turn-ins with Greek key roll, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With frontispiece and six engravings by Cochin and Moreau as called for, all before letters, and EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED with 24 engravings by Marillier, here in proofs before the letter, and with three versions of the portrait of Fénélon by Vivien, engraved by Hubert, Figuet, and Savart. Cohen-de Ricci, col. 386-87 (noting the addition of the Marillier plates to some copies); Graesse II, 565; Brunet II, 1215-16. Spine evenly a little sunned, Marillier plates with minor marginal foxing, isolated small smudges to the (very generous) margins, one quire a little yellowed, a couple of leaves with small holes to a margin due to paper flaws, but AN ESPECIALLY FINE COPY--clean, fresh, and bright, in a most appealing binding with almost no signs of wear. Our copy of Fénélon's political allegory featuring the son of Odysseus is a very fine example of French Rococo book production, with printing, illustration, and binding by leading practitioners of those arts. Scion of a printing dynasty, Pierre-François Didot jeune (1732-95) sought to improve the family's productions by founding a factory to product the luxurious papers that characterize Didot editions, as well as by making improvements in type-founding to refine their always-admired font. Ray considers illustrators Cochin and Moreau le jeune part of the Rococo pantheon of greats headed by Boucher, Gravelot, and Eisen. He praises Cochin's "mastery of outline and firmness of composition," as well as his "acute observation and unpretentious humor." Ray was also impressed with Moreau's keen eye for detail, and agreed with the Goncourt brothers that "the grace and charm of his drawing . . . brought about 'a renaissance in the rococo style.'" Forced by financial necessity to take up book illustration, Pierre-Clémént Marillier (1740-1808) soon earned what Ray called "a position in the front rank of book artists" with his skill and energy. Ray deems Marillier "among the most accomplished" illustrators of the century, and he says that "nearly all of his designs are characterized by grace, liveliness, and firmness of drawing"a fitting description for the plates in our volumes. François Bozerian, generally called Bozerian jeune, was active in Paris from just after the turn of the century until 1818, and for much of that time, he worked with his elder brother Jean-Claude (1762-1840). The Bozerian workshop produced many fine bindings for clients that included the emperor Napoleon I, as well as leading bibliophiles of the day. Their works are valued today especially for their technical achievement and refinement of design. Our two volumes are especially elaborate--even for Bozerian work--and the precision of the faultless finishing here leaves a very strong impression of rigorous order.

136 x 85 mm. (5 5/8 x 3 1/4"). 6 p.l., 592, [8] pp. VERY PRETTY CONTEMPORARY PARISIAN BROWN MOROCCO, GILT AND INLAID, BY THE "ATELIER À LA TULIPE," covers with floral frame accented with heart tool pierced by two arrows, a large pomegranate of gilt-tooled inlaid dark red morocco at center, four inlaid red morocco tulips at each corner, raised bands, spine compartments with small gilt botanical tool at center, two of these on inlaid tan morocco lozenges, tan morocco label, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Text in French and Latin in parallel columns. Front pastedown with ex-libris of Jean Fürstenberg; verso of front free endpaper with early ink inscription: "Bibl. Schol." With a handwritten note, once tipped onto the final page of daily prayers, with handwritten Latin prayers in a contemporary hand. For the binding: Foot, "Henry Davis Gift" III, 179 (Davis 561); Michon, "Les Reliures Mosaiquées du XVIIIe siècle," pp. 51-2 and no. 223. Corners a little rubbed, front free endpaper creased, one leaf with old thin marginal glue stain (from once tipped-in manuscript prayers that are now laid in), one lower corner torn away, costing a few letters at the ends of seven lines on each side, other minor defects from devoted use, but an excellent specimen nevertheless, the text generally clean and with nothing approaching a major defect, and the unsophisticated binding very well preserved. This prayer book in French and Latin comes in a charming binding by a workshop Michon dubbed "Atelier à la tulipe" after the distinctive three-petalled flower that appears on the covers here. Foot records a 1752 edition of "Heures Nouvelles" in a binding nearly identical to ours: a large central pomegranate on the covers, with a tulip in each corner, a delicate gilt frame, and a spine in six compartments with a gilt flower or fruit at center, in two cases (as here) on inlaid citron morocco. According to Michon, the "tulipe" workshop, active from 1740 to 1785, was closer in style to Derome than to Padeloup, though it had its own distinctive style, one which emphasized harmonious mosaic designs. The pomegranate that dominates the boards is a Catholic symbol of the Passion of Christ, and is often featured in Renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child. This symbolism was no doubt meaningful to the early owner, given the signs here of devoted use: in addition to text neatly marked with "+" signs at the places where one should make the sign of the cross, this person also tipped in a leaf with seven neatly written short prayers in Latin for protection and purification, to be said while one is washing, getting dressed, and preparing for the day ahead. Even dedicated use could not dim the beauty of our binding, which attracted the eye of collector and connoisseur Jean (or Hans) Fürstenberg (1890-1982), a discriminating bibliophile of refined taste, who assembled one of the great collections of the 20th century, especially rich in fine and historic bookbindings and noted for its outstanding condition. Although not common, bindings from this atelier nevertheless appear at auction from time to time, invariably in small format like the present book, and generally commanding significant sums of money (as a typical example and good comparable, a 1761 "Heures Royales" of precisely the same size and basic decoration as ours sold in 2017 at Alde for 2,375).

203 x 127 mm. (8 x 5"). 4 p.l. (first blank), xxxii, 629, [3] pp. REGAL CONTEMPORARY RED MOROCCO, GILT, covers with French fillet border, central field semé with alternating fleur-de-lys and Louis XIV's stylized "L" topped with a crown, raised bands, spine compartments with crowned "L" at center, oblique fleur-de-lys at corners, marbled endpapers, olive green morocco label, all edges gilt. Printer's device on title page and four engraved plates, depicting the Entry into Jerusalem, the Crucifixion, the Descent into Hell, and the Resurrection. Front pastedown with morocco bookplate of Hans Fürstenberg; verso of front free endpaper with book label of the Fondation Fürstenberg. USTC 6098649. For the binding: Olivier, Pl. 2493, Fer no. 8. Top inner corner of covers a shade darker (but apparently not from moisture), boards tending to splay slightly, corners a bit bumped, endpapers with offsetting from binder's glue, but the binding lustrous, with very little wear to the joints, and generally pleasing. About a quarter of the leaves with small, faint dampstain at upper gutter, intermittent minor browning and foxing (more pronounced on a couple of quires), other unserious signs of devout use, but the text with nothing approaching a fatal defect. Bound for a distinguished library--and perhaps for a member of the French royal household--and with an illustrious modern provenance, this is a pleasing copy of a 17th century Parisian edition of the Office of Holy Week. The attractive engravings that accompany these paschal hours demonstrate the lush, graceful style that distinguished the fine late baroque printmakers. The scenes of the Crucifixion and Resurrection were engraved by Jean Morin (ca. 1605-50), whose innovation of combining engraving and etching on the same plate ushered in a new popular style of printmaking, and the depiction of the Entry into Jerusalem by Flemish artist Peter Paul Bouche (fl. ca. 1685-1702) is especially pleasing. But the story of this volume is its period binding. The owner who commissioned the binding may well have been a member of the noted Lamoignon family, whose celebrated library was built over several generations, but particularly by Chrétien-François de Lamoignon I (1644-1709), a cultivated man of letters and friend to writers such as Boileau and Racine. The "L" surmounted by a crown appears typically on the family bindings (though normally accompanied by the same cypher stamped in the margin of the third leaf of text, a stamp that is not present here). The impressive library was sold to bookseller Thomas Payne, and auctioned off in 1791-92. Equally (or, really, unequally) the repeating motif of Louis XIV's crowned "L" monogram could well indicate that this was the property of royalty. We have not been able to identify its specific owner, but this style of semis was not uncommon for royal bindings; the Russian National Library has two late 17th century examples with Louis XIV's own arms over an identical ground. According to Olivier, the semis repetition alternating the monarch's initial with a fleur-de-lys or with a specific royal's cipher became popular during the reign of Louis XIII and continued under his successors; "the result for royal bindings is a sort of uniformity in the ornamentation which seems to reflect, in the field of art, the unification and centralization of France." Our binding's crisp, precise tooling has survived beautifully despite apparent dedicated devotional use by its early owner. Our copy is further distinguished by coming from the collection of Hans (or Jean) Fürstenberg (1890-1982), a bibliophile of refined discrimination who assembled one of the great collections of the 20th century and whose books were noted for their outstanding condition. He put together one of the finest collections of 18th century French books ever assembled, and his library contained a discriminating selection of bindings from other periods, such as the present example.

200 x 125 mm. (7 7/8 x 5"). Two volumes. HANDSOME BLUE MOROCCO BY BEDFORD (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), French fillet borders, raised bands, compartments gilt with central pomegranate tool surrounded by floral tools and sprays, gilt lettering, lacy gilt turn-ins, all edges gilt. With frontispiece portrait in volume I and eight plates before letters after Moreau le Jeune. Front pastedowns with the bookplate of John Roland Abbey. Cohen-de Ricci 463; Vicaire III, 1131. Covers with just a couple negligible imperfections, plates a little foxed, a handful of trivial spots or smudges elsewhere, otherwise quite a fine and handsome copy--clean, fresh, and bright internally, in lustrous bindings--exactly the kind of books you'd expect J. R. Abbey to own. Produced by a bibliophile for bibliophiles, this is, in Brunet's opinion, the best and most complete edition of the works of Gresset, and our copy is offered with fine provenance and in elegant bindings. Jesuit poet Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset (1709-77) is best known for the first work here, the mock-heroic poem "Ver-Vert," which tells the story of a talented parrot, the conventual pet who has learned to repeat prayers and other pious phrases. Its owners take the parrot to a nearby convent to show off the bird's prowess, but during the journey, the parrot picks up startling new vocabulary and arrives cursing and swearing, much to the consternation of the nuns who brought it. The accompanying illustrations by Moreau le jeune illustrate with considerable charm the bird's fall from grace. A book collector turned publisher, bookseller, and bibliographer, Antoine-Augustin Renouard (1765-1853) was known for his collaborations with Moreau le jeune and other talented illustrators, as well as for issuing his books in various luxurious states. According to Vicaire, the present work was offered with or without engravings, on "papier vélin satiné" with engravings, or, as here, on that smooth, satiny paper with the plates before letters--at four times the price of the basic edition. Jean-Michel Moreau, known as Moreau le Jeune (1741-1814), provided illustrations for Diderot's encyclopedia and engraved works for François Boucher, in addition to illustrating the works of Rousseau and Voltaire. According to the Getty Museum, "publishers sought him out for his powers of observation and ability to capture nuances of gesture, pose, and light." Ray says that the best work by Moreau "showed him to be the equal of the established rococo masters Boucher, Eisen, and Gravelot," and that in his heyday, "he carried all before him." Our set was bound by Francis Bedford (1799-1883), who managed the firm of Charles Lewis for the latter's widow for five years and then was in a partnership for 10 years with John Clarke before establishing his own bindery in 1851. He shortly became recognized as the leading binder in fashionable West-End London, and his firm enjoyed prosperity not only until his death, but for a decade afterwards, under the ownership of Joseph Shepherd. Bedford bindings are almost always elegantly traditional in their design, as here, and they are consistently so well executed that their appeal to a wide audience has not diminished with the passage of time. Our copy was previously owned by John Roland Abbey (1894-1969), the most ambitious and successful English book collector of his time, whose library contained one of the finest collections of illustrated books and of fine and historic bindings ever assembled.

FIRST EDITION. 215 x 145 mm. (8 1/2 x 5 3/4"). viii, 200 pp. ELEGANT RED MOROCCO, GILT, BY ALLÔ (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers with triple fillet border, raised bands, spine compartments with urn of flowers at center, within a lozenge of stars, acanthus leaf cornerpieces, gilt lettering, richly gilt turn-ins. marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Woodcut head- and tailpieces, ENGRAVED TITLE PAGE, AND FOUR PLATES BY OR AFTER J. M. MOREAU (THE YOUNGER), AND FOUR ENGRAVED HEADPIECE VIGNETTES BY P. P. CHOFFARD. Ray, p. 69; Cohen-de Ricci, pp. 506-07 ("very pretty illustrations"); Holloway 105. ?Isolated faint marginal smudges (left during the printing process), but A VERY FINE COPY--clean and fresh internally, with excellent impressions of the engravings, and in a lustrous binding with virtually no signs of use. In an appropriately tasteful binding, this edition of Imbert's version of the "Judgment of Paris" is graced with engravings that combine the work of two of the most prominent figures in the illustration of French books of the day. Ray says that the work done by Jean-Michel Moreau le jeune (1741-1814) during the 1760s "showed him to be the equal of the established rococo masters Boucher, Eisen, and Gravelot" and that in his work during the 1770s, "he carried all before him." Less a book illustrator than a decorator, Pierre-Philippe Choffard (1730?-1809) came to prominence because of the decorations he produced for the 1762 edition of La Fontaine and the Ovid of 1767-71. He did a great deal of fine engraving, but very seldom from his own designs; the present work is distinguished by Ray as among the seven notable books with original Choffard creations. The headpiece and tailpiece vignettes that were his specialty can be seen in the title poem's charmingly detailed little scenes depicting the apple of discord and the emblems and gifts of, respectively, Juno, Minerva, and Venus. The story here is a retelling of the incident that triggered the Trojan War: the decision by Paris, prince of Troy, to award the golden apple for the fairest of the goddesses to Venus, winning for himself the hand of the beautiful Helen and incurring the wrath of the spurned Juno and Minerva. "Jugement" is the best work produced by Imbert (1747-90), one of a group of young poets who took Dorat's work as their model. With the publication of the present book, Imbert immediately placed himself beside his master. Noted binder Charles Allô established his Parisian atelier in the mid-19th century, and operated it until his death in 1875. Our graceful binding is typical of his distinguished work.

FIRST EDITION. 179 x 120 mm. (7 x 4 3/4"). 10 p.l., 496, 35, [1] pp. EXTREMELY FINE 19TH CENTURY RED MOROCCO BY HARDY (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), covers with gilt coat of arms and French fillet border, raised bands, compartments ruled in gilt and with elegant gilt floral and foliate tooling, gilt lettering, gilt dentelles, all edges gilt. Front free endpaper with bookplate of poet Auguste P. Garnier (1885-1966). Tchemerzine IX, 332. âTrivial imperfections only: A VERY FINE COPY INSIDE AND OUT. In a very handsome binding by one of the most widely sought-after binders of the turn of the 20th century, this is a beautifully preserved volume of verse by a founding member of the Académie française. A protégé of Malherbe, Honorat de Bueil, Seigneur de Racan (1589-1670) is primarily known for his elegant pastoral and religious poetry, which, as Britannica notes, succeeds at "preserving the elegiac lyricism of an earlier age and foreshadowing the gentle melancholy of Alphonse de Lamartine." According to Tchemerzine, the present work is "the most complete edition of Racan's religious works," and is in large part composed of his verse interpretations of the Psalms. The Hardy atelier produced luxurious volumes, many of them armorial, for a range of 19th century connoisseurs. (Although we have not been able to identify the coat of arms on the covers, the crown with pearls indicates that the owner bore the title of "Comte.") Among other connections in the bibliopegic world, Henri Hardy employed Jean Marius Michel as a gilder near the start of his career; he also worked with Charles Meunier and Émile Mercier before meeting Robert Hoe in Paris and agreeing to come to New York in early 1896 to serve as foreman of the newly established Club Bindery. In 1917, Hardy, along with his compatriots Leon Maillard and Gaston Pilon, formed the French Binders, with the stated intention of "bringing together distinguished members of the craft to afford them opportunity to work under the most advantageous conditions." The present item is an excellent example of Hardy's earlier work, is in outstanding condition inside and out, and makes an excellent impression on the shelf. The bookplate on the flyleaf indicates that it was once owned by the French poet Auguste P. Garnier (1885-1966), who later ran the Garnier publishing house established by his family in 1833.

212 x 130 mm. (8 1/4 x 5 1/4"). Two volumes. LOVELY LATE 19TH CENTURY DARK BLUE MOROCCO, VERY ELABORATELY GILT, BY BRANY (stamp-signed on front turn-ins), covers with large, lacy central lozenge formed by floral tools, shells, volutes, stars, and other small tools, cornerpieces of similar style, raised bands, spine compartments with central quatrefoil containing a bird in flight, gilt lettering, turn-ins with floral gilt roll, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. WITH A TOTAL OF 28 FINE ENGRAVINGS: three engraved portraits, EIGHT ENGRAVED PLATES BY MOREAU LE JEUNE, BEFORE LETTERS, EACH PRESENT IN TWO STATES, and EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH NINE PLATES from another edition showing different versions of the scenes, seven by Moreau le jeune (six, plus one in two states), one by Marillier, and one unsigned. A Large Paper Copy. Cohen-de Ricci 463; Vicaire III, 1131. Spines just slightly (and evenly) darkened, barely perceptible wear (that is expertly retouched) along front joints, trivial imperfections internally, otherwise quite a fine and handsome copy--clean, fresh, and bright internally, in lustrous bindings shining with gilt. Produced by a bibliophile for bibliophiles, this is, in Brunet's opinion, the best and most complete edition of the works of Gresset, and our copy is offered with illustrations by Moreau le jeune in two states before letters, with additional engravings from two other editions of Gresset, and in elegant bindings. Jesuit poet Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset (1709-77) is best known for the first work here, the mock-heroic poem "Ver-Vert," which tells the story of a talented parrot, the pet of a convent who has learned to repeat prayers and other pious phrases. Its owners take the pet to another convent to show off the bird's prowess, but during the journey, the parrot picks up startling new vocabulary and arrives cursing and swearing, much to the consternation of the nuns who brought it. The accompanying illustrations by Moreau le jeune illustrate with considerable charm the parrot's fall from grace. We have the opportunity here to see two corresponding interpretations of the episodes by Moreau, as additional--sometimes quite different--plates by him from a 1794 Didot edition have been inserted in our copy. A book collector turned publisher, bookseller, and bibliographer, Antoine-Augustin Renouard (1765-1853) was known for his collaborations with Moreau le jeune and other talented illustrators, and for issuing his books in varying levels of luxury. According to Vicaire, the present work was offered with or without engravings, on "papier vélin satiné" with engravings, or, as here, on that smooth, satiny paper with the plates before letters--at four times the price of the basic edition. Jean-Michel Moreau, known as Moreau le Jeune (1741-1814), provided illustrations for Diderot's encyclopedia and engraved works for François Boucher, in addition to illustrating the works of Rousseau and Voltaire. According to the Getty Museum, "publishers sought him out for his powers of observation and ability to capture nuances of gesture, pose, and light." Ray says that the best work by Moreau "showed him to be the equal of the established rococo masters Boucher, Eisen, and Gravelot," and that in his heyday, "he carried all before him." Our set was bound by the Parisian artisan Brany, who was, according to Flety, active in the last third of the 19th century. The bindings here, featuring very elaborate, precise finishing, are exceptionally accomplished.

215 x 130 mm. (8 1/2 x 5 1/4"). Three volumes. VERY ELEGANT DARK BLUE STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, GILT, BY CANAPE, covers framed by Neoclassical roll featuring swans and an urn, gilt supralibros of Isidoro Fernandez at center, raised bands, spine compartments gilt in the Bozerian style, with flowers radiating from a central circle, gilt lettering, turn-ins gilt with fan roll, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With frontispiece portrait of the author in two states, and 70 ENGRAVED PLATES BY MOREAU LE JEUNE, consisting of the 36 called for and a second state (before letters) of 34 of the plates. A Large Paper Copy. Cohen-de Ricci 283; Ray, "French," p. 88; Brunet II, 593; Vicaire III, 174. âSpines vaguely darkened (but the leather and gilt still very lustrous), joints of volume I with just a hint of wear, very soft offsetting from engravings, but AN EXTREMELY FINE COPY nevertheless--clean, fresh, and bright internally, with wonderful impressions of the plates, and in sparkling bindings that look most attractive on the shelf. This epistolary retelling of classical myths was published by one of the greatest French bibliophiles, illustrated by the man Ray calls "the greatest name among French illustrators of the 18th century," and bound by the celebrated Georges Canape for an important Spanish collector in the style of the period. Antoine Augustin Renouard's publications were renowned for their accuracy and beauty, and according to Cohen-de Ricci, the publisher particularly distinguished this work, declaring it impossible to conceive of a more elegant book with more profuse and pleasant illustrations. The animated and intricately detailed engravings here are the work of Jean-Michel Moreau, known as Moreau le jeune (1741-1814), deemed by Gordon Ray to be "the greatest name among French illustrators of the 18th century." He provided illustrations for Diderot's encyclopedia and engraved works for François Boucher, in addition to illustrating the works of Rousseau and Voltaire. According to the Getty Museum, "publishers sought him out for his powers of observation and ability to capture nuances of gesture, pose, and light." Ray considers the plates here some of the most successful of Moreau's later career. In them, the artist brings to life the Olympians, demi-gods, myriad nymphs, and human lovers from Desmoustier's "Letters to Emily," in which the author recounts tales from Ovid and other classical sources to a young lady pupil. First published in a series from 1786-98, it is the highlight of the brief career of Charles-Albert Desmoustier (1760-1801), a lawyer-turned-writer who also produced comedies and operas. Our copy was bound for Spanish bibliophile Isidoro Fernandez (1878-1963) by Georges Canape (1864-1940), one of the great French binders of his day. He produced consistently high-quality finishing in a distinguished career that lasted nearly 50 years. After taking over his father's workshop in 1894, he created both the Art Nouveau-style bindings popularized by Marius-Michel and classical revival bindings like ours, putting out volumes that, in the words of Duncan & DeBartha, were consistently "executed with superb technical precision." Here, he has employed Neoclassical elements in the distinctive roll framing the covers, and has tooled the spine compartments in the style of Bozerian, with fleurons created by a central circle radiating lancets and floral tools, against a stippled background. It is a binding of the highest quality and artistry, and in splendid condition.

Third Edition. 212 x 130 mm. (8 3/8 x 5 1/8"). A couple of leaves in quire A of volume I bound out of order, but complete. Four volumes. LOVELY RED STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, GILT, BY BOZERIAN (stamp-signed in gilt at foot of spine of volume I), covers with frame of gilt rules, guilloche roll (Culot roll #12) and bead-and-star roll (Culot roll #9) enclosing a grapevine roll (Culot roll #52), sunburst (Culot fer #15) cornerpieces, raised bands, spine compartments with elongated central leaf surrounded by ivy leaves on a pointillé ground, gilt lettering, turn-ins with Greek key roll (Culot roll #20), marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With 27 ANIMATED ENGRAVED PLATES after Marillier, Monsiau, Monnet, Demarne, Dutertre, and Marguerite Gérard; volume I enriched with an unsigned portrait frontispiece, proof etchings of two plates, and an additional engraving in the style of Boilly. Front pastedown of volume I with ex-libris of Henri Beraldi, Louis Giraud-Badin, John Delaware Lewis, and "DC" (Dominique Courvoisier); front flyleaf of volume III with ex-libris of Beraldi. Cohen-de Ricci 660; Ray, "French" 83. For the binding: Culot, "Jean-Claude Bozerian," plates I, II, VI, and VII. âA breath of rubbing to extremities, occasional minor foxing, mostly marginal, but A VERY PRETTY SET IN FINE CONDITION, internally clean and fresh with sharp impressions of the engravings, in lustrous, well-preserved bindings. Licentious, sensational, and (not surprisingly) an immediate success, this trio of novels chronicling the sexual escapades of a young libertine is offered here in the lavishly and elegantly decorated morocco of the premier Parisian binder of the period. Originally printed in 1787-90, "Les Amours" is comprised of three separate parts: "Une Année de la Vie du Chevalier de Faublas," "Six Semaines de la Vie du Chevalier de Faublas," and "La Fin des Amours du Chevalier de Faublas." Our edition is enhanced by sensuous illustrations that still manage to leave much to the imagination. The series follows our young protagonist from the time he is a teenager, relating numerous seductions, affairs with women of all social classes, and, perhaps most intriguing, his penchant for cross-dressing (including, at one point, dressing as a nun). Ray singles out this work among illustrated books of the post-Revolutionary period, saying that "apart from 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' of 1796, this book possesses the liveliest plates of any French novel of the period." He goes on to note that despite a sharp increase in pornographic material following the French Revolution, "the artists chose . . . to concentrate on the novel's abundant episodes of action and dramatic confrontation" rather than seizing on opportunities for "suggestive designs." Though never overtly erotic, many of the illustrations here portray a wonderful sense of intimacy--a quality perhaps best felt in the engravings designed by Marguerite Gérard (1761-1837), a highly successful student of renowned Rococo artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and a leading French genre painter. Our author, the writer and politician Jean-Baptiste Louvet (1760-1797), was a member of the Jacobin Club from the early days of the French Revolution, eventually siding with the ill-fated Girondins--a group of republican thinkers who helped bring an end to the monarchy, but who were eventually undermined and persecuted during the Reign of Terror. Louvet escaped Paris in 1793, becoming one of the few condemned Girondins to elude the guillotine. The sumptuous bindings are typical of work from the Bozerian atelier, notable for both its technical precision and aesthetic feeling. The volumes are wonderfully refined in the way they combine restraint and opulence, being at once animated, graceful, and polished. Our bindings are the work of Jean-Claude Bozerian (1762-1840), the elder of the Bozerian brothers (François is referred to as "le jeune"), who was active in Paris from 1795 to 1810. He began his career in Lyon as an apprentice bookseller, printer, and bookbinder, eventually deciding to focus on the latter craft. Marriage to the widow of binder Pierre Boulier allowed him to establish a binding workshop in Paris, where he was joined by his brother. His bindings were soon much in demand by French bibliophiles, who appreciated their superior materials, design, and execution. His work often enhances publications from the great house of Didot, his neighbor on the Quai des Augustins and a printer he much admired for his typography, book designs, and high-quality papers. Our set is also distinguished for its provenance. Former owner Henri Beraldi (1849-1931) was perhaps the most distinguished and knowledgeable writer on French bindings of the 19th century. His collection of French illustrated books and French bindings was considered to be among the very best in the world. John Delaware Lewis (1828-84) was an important bibliophile whose collection was disposed of in two sales, during June of 1866 and May of 1868, for an aggregate hammer total of £3,257.

256 x 190 mm. (10 x 7 1/2"). Two volumes. BEAUTIFUL 19TH CENTURY RED MOROCCO, GILT IN THE ROCOCO STYLE, BY CUZIN (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-ins), covers with a gilt-ruled border featuring rocaille motifs at the sides and a floral spray at each corner, elaborate inner frame of strapwork interwoven with scrolling acanthus, drawer-handle tools, flower garlands, and several special tools, including satyrs, mountain goats, insects, and large vases of flowers, raised bands, compartments with gilt lettering or a central floral sprig surrounded by a frame of leaves and flowers, turn-ins with intricate gilt lace roll-tooling, all edges gilt. WITH A TOTAL OF 102 EROTIC PLATES by Denon (each volume with a frontispiece and 50 plates), plus an engraved title in volume II. Front pastedowns with ex-libris of Léon Gambetta. Cohen-de Ricci 474-75. âLight offsetting from illustrations, paper in both volumes perhaps lightly pressed (but not washed), FIRST VOLUME with the faint stain from a ribbon marker (now gone), one plate slightly toned and with two very small repairs to margin, otherwise IN FINE CONDITION; paper in volume II slightly toned and with occasional small spots and light stains, but still excellent. None of this significant because THE GLORIOUS BINDINGS LUSTROUS AND UNWORN. Despite their scholarly titles, which promise scenes from the private lives of the 12 Caesars and secrets from an ancient Roman cult, these are among the most famous erotic books of the 18th century. In the first volume, the 12 Roman emperors from Julius Caesar to Domitian are depicted engaged in a panoply of intimate acts, beginning with Julius Caesar's liaison with King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia, which led his enemies to dub him "Queen of Bithynia." We see what Caesar's heir Augustus was willing to do in order to succeed his great-uncle, and his later sexual excesses as emperor, including incest. Antony and Cleopatra are relatively demure compared to the orgies of Caligula, Nero, and Claudius' wife, Messalina. The "Secret Cult of Roman Women" examined in the companion work is devoted to the fertility god Priapus and his phallic symbols, with guest appearances by assorted satyrs, nymphs, and Bacchantes. The images are white-on-black, to resemble sculptured wall medallions, and claim to be based on ancient carvings; however, Cohen-de Ricci informs us that, while the text is evidence of d'Hancarville's erudition, the illustrations are entirely the result of his (libertine) imagination. Art historian Pierre-François Hugues, Baron d'Hancarville (1719-1805) established himself in the world of antiquarians when he helped William Hamilton acquire the impressive Porcinari collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman antiquities that would subsequently be purchased by the British Museum. He then supervised the production of four sumptuous volumes of engravings documenting the collection. He seems to have undertaken the present work for his own amusement. A later issue of the second title facetiously attributed publication to the Imprimerie de Vatican (the Church had, of course, put it on the Index of Prohibited Books). According to Cohen-de Ricci, this is the first and most desirable printing, identifiable by 11 (rather than 10) lines of text on the title page of the first work, and by the use of the f-like "long s" in both volumes. The especially splendid bindings by Francisque Cuzin (1836-90) nod to the Rococo bindings of the 18th century and to the risqué subject matter, with satyrs cavorting about the elegant frame. Cuzin opened his Paris workshop in 1855, and soon made his name among bibliophiles of that city with his exquisite bindings, establishing what was called the "Cuzin style." Devauchelle says that this style was copied by Cuzin's colleagues, but was never equalled. Cuzin was not a gilder, but employed some of the best in the trade to execute his graceful designs, among them Marius Michel père, Wampflug, Maillard, and Cuzin's eventual successor, Émile Mercier. Our copy was once in the library of the distinguished French statesman Léon Gambetta (1838-82), one of the founders of the Third Republic, who served as president of the Chamber of Deputies. FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST PRINTINGS (11 lines on title page and long "s" in text) with these Illustrations.

First French Edition (text in English). 170 x 103 mm. (6 3/4 x 4"). Three volumes. REGAL CONTEMPORARY BEIGE MOROCCO, GILT AND INLAID, covers with gilt frame and inlaid cornerpieces of pink and burgundy morocco in floral designs, ARMS OF WILLIAM, DUKE OF BRUNSWICK, at center, inlaid in red and green morocco and lavishly gilt, raised bands, spine panels with graceful design of flowers and acanthus leaves, gilt lettering, gilt-ruled turn-ins, all edges gilt. Front pastedowns with bookplate of Wilhelm, Herzog zu Braunschweig, printed in colors and embossed with gilt; title pages with ink stamp "Prinz von Braunschweig." âSpines darkened to tan, head panels with traces of brown residue, possibly from library labels, boards faintly soiled at edges, but A FINE SET with no signs of use, inside or out. This is an exceptionally fine copy, with distinguished provenance, of the first Paris printing of a nautical adventure by a great American writer who enjoyed unusual popularity in France. Set during the American Revolution and first printed in 1823, "The Pilot" has for its protagonist a real-life American naval hero, John Paul Jones. Cooper (1789-1851) had himself worked as a commercial seaman and served in the U.S. Navy, and his firsthand knowledge of both the technical aspects of seamanship and the day-to-day realities of life at sea lend a ring of authenticity to his sea novels, of which this was the first. According to Encyclopedia Americana, "Cooper may be said in 'The Pilot' to have created a new literary type, the tale of adventure on the sea . . . . Smollett had already discovered the racy humors of seamen, but he had seen little else in their calling; it remained for Cooper to capture for fiction the mystery and beauty, the shock and thrill, of the sea, which in his pages has much of the proud pomp of Byron's ocean." Cooper spent the years 1826-28 in Paris, where his literary reputation gained him access to the best salons, and where he became a close friend of the marquis de Lafayette. Given the ornate decoration and the quality of materials and execution, this binding was very likely done by a Parisian workshop as a commission for Duke William of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1806-84), the last member of his family to rule the duchy of Brunswick. Although he was the ruler of the Duchy of Brunswick for more than 50 years, he preferred to spend his time enjoying the life of an aristocrat and left most of the official business to his ministers. He also failed to produce a legitimate heir (though he had a number of illegitimate children), and ended the House of Brunswick's rule over the duchy.

230 x 144 mm. (9 1/8 x 5 3/4"). Two volumes. Translated from Latin into Italian by Alessandro Marchetti. SPLENDID CRIMSON MOROCCO, GILT, BY DEROME LE JEUNE (his ticket with address of Rue St. Jacques on front pastedown of volume I), covers with border of multiple gilt rules and dotted rolls enclosing an ornate Rococo frame of flowers, acanthus leaves, garlands, catkins, and grape clusters, the cornerpieces semé with floral sprigs, raised bands, spines gilt in compartments with pineapple centerpiece within a lozenge of small tools, volute cornerpieces, two brown morocco labels, gilt-rolled turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Copper-engraved frontispiece and title page after Eisen in each volume, six engraved plates by Lemire, Aliamet and others after Cochin, Eisen, and Le Lorrain, and seven vignette headpieces and five vignette tailpieces, most after Cochin. Gordon 505; Brunet III, 1222. For the illustrations: Cohen-de Ricci 665-6; Fürstenberg, p. 86; Ray 9. âSlight wear to corners, somewhat broad (but faint) offsetting to flyleaves from turn-in glue, just a hint of offsetting from engravings, but A LOVELY SET IN VERY FINE CONDITION, clean and fresh internally with comfortable margins and excellent impressions of the engravings, and the nearly unworn bindings bright with gilt. This attractively printed Italian translation of "De Rerum Natura" boasts "very beautiful" engravings, in the opinion of Cohen-de Ricci, and opulent bindings by one of the greatest names in the history of French bookbinding. Written in the first century B.C., the text here is considered one of the best expositions on the philosophy of Epicurus. Popular in the Roman Empire, it fell into obscurity before being rediscovered by Italian humanist Poggio Bracciolini in the 15th century. It became one of the most influential humanist texts of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, inspiring writers and thinkers from Montaigne to Thomas Jefferson, a self-professed Epicurean who owned multiple editions. Translator Alessandro Marchetti (1633-1714) completed the first Italian vernacular version of Lucretius in 1669 but was denied permission to publish; it finally appeared in print in 1717. The present edition was revised by Francisco Gerbault, Italian and Spanish interpreter to Louis XV. The beautiful vignettes, tailpieces, and plates are mostly the work of Charles-Nicolas Cochin (1715-90) and Charles-Dominique-Joseph Eisen (1720-78), and so impressed Gordon Ray that he declared this edition "the model for the sumptuous Rococo volumes of the ensuing twenty-five years." Ray considers this some of Cochin's finest work, noting that the artist was "more at home with Lucretius' philosophical poem than with the amorous classical scenes of Ovid's 'Metamorphoses,'" and that his engravings here "are marked not only by the mastery of outline and firmness of composition which never deserted him, but also by acute observation and unpretentious humor." There were no fewer than 18 members of the Derome family who made their livings as binders in Paris from the middle of the 17th century until the first quarter of the 19th, but by far the most distinguished family member was Nicolas-Denis, called "le jeune" (1731-88). Known for the gracefulness of his bindings, and for being capable of "amazing delicacy" (in Hobson's words), Derome le jeune was, simply, the leading binder of the day, and his work was much in demand. Because he refused to turn away customers, Derome was forced to hire a number of assistants, whose work he could not always supervise closely. However, Thoinan says that the binder's best work is indicated by the presence of his ticket, as here. The excellent condition of our volumes allows the reader to appreciate "ancien régime" French book arts at their zenith, with smooth, well-margined pages, seductive illustrations, and bindings exuberant with gilt.

188 x 140 mm. (7 3/8 x 5 1/2"). 72 pp.; [1] leaf (miniature); XXXII pp. Tasteful contemporary olive green crushed morocco, each cover WITH A CENTRAL RECESSED PANEL OF MODELLED AND PAINTED LEATHER, that on the upper cover with a portrait of the Virgin Mary within an arched frame of acanthus leaves, that on the lower cover with the coat of arms of the Deburghgraeve family. With text and decorations lithographed, featuring decorative borders and initials throughout, those on 55 pages COLORED AND ILLUMINATED BY HAND, many of these in a Medieval or Renaissance style, others with Japanese or Greek motifs, with a small hand-painted miniature of the Crucifixion against a golden sky, and WITH A FULL-PAGE HAND-PAINTED MINIATURE showing the Flight into Egypt within a decorative border featuring vignettes of a peasant gathering wood and a knight in armor praying. With a hand-painted ribbon bookmark "Souvenir de ma 1ère Communion" dated 6 June 1909; carbon copy of a poem "A la Memoire de ma tres chere et regrettee cousine Mathilde Deburghgraeve-Canal" by Lucy Salze-Bouchet, dated February 1945 (this with short curving tear into one margin). Just the most trivial signs of wear, but A VERY FINE COPY, the vellum leaves quite clean and very bright, with shining decorations, and the binding lustrous and virtually unworn. Luxuriously lithographed on vellum, handsomely bound, and illuminated and painted by hand in vibrant colors, this charming prayer book was obviously treasured by its owners--the first of whom may have been a young lady who received it on the occasion of her First Communion. The text and decorations here have been reproduced lithographically from a manuscript of the period, being printed apparently by Bouasse-Lebel et Massin--a company specializing in devotional prints and books. (The firm's name appears in very small letters at various places in the volume.) Each leaf contains a different border design inspired by Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as artwork from around the world, in a pleasing pastiche of Western, Egyptian, Japanese, Indian, and Grecian motifs. Many of the borders have been hand-colored and present an array of distinct palettes, usually richly hued, which adds greatly to the book's appeal and the viewer's sense of discovery from page to page. The bespoke binding, featuring the Madonna in profile, beautifully modelled in leather, adds another element of luxury to the book. The coat of arms suggests that it was made for a member of the Deburghgraeve family, and the laid-in poem suggests that it remained with them through the death of the family's matriarch, Mathilde Deburghgraeve-Canal, in 1944. We know that Mathilde had three daughters all born around the turn of the century; based on the presence of a bookmark commemorating a First Communion in 1909, it is likely that the original recipient was among these three young ladies. Bouasse-Lebel was established in 1845 by Eulalie Bouasse-Lebel (1809-98) as a means of supporting herself and her children following the dissolution of her marriage. Though founded under difficult circumstances, Bouasse-Lebel became a very successful enterprise and even earned a papal commendation in 1871 for consistently excellent work. The company was highly regarded for the quality and delicacy of their productions, of which the present work is a choice example. Although individual religious cards printed by Bouasse-Lebel show up fairly frequently, far scarcer are complete books in the estimable condition seen here--particularly those with the kind of deluxe upgrades that make this particular item so desirable.

202 x 134 mm. (8 x 5 1/4"). Two volumes. VERY PRETTY EARLY 20TH CENTURY PLUM-COLORED CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, BY E. LUDWIG OF FRANKFURT (stamp-signed at tail edge of rear board), covers framed by gilt fillets, bead-and-lozenge roll, and gilt dots, raised bands, spine compartments with central rose sprig surrounded by curled tooling and small circlets, gilt titling, turn-ins with cresting acanthus leaf roll, leather hinges, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. With extra engraved title page by Vidal in both volumes, engraved portrait of La Fontaine after Rigaud in first volume, four vignettes (including two on the title pages), 43 tailpiece vignettes, and 80 FINE ENGRAVED PLATES AFTER EISEN. Cohen-de Ricci 569, 571-72; Lewine, pp. 280-81; Graesse IV, 75; Rochambeau 90. See also Ray 26 (describing the 1762 edition with our same illustrations). âSpines evenly sunned to hazel brown, small snag to edge of one board (touching gilt of frame), extremities lightly rubbed, occasional mild marginal smudging, other trivial imperfections, but a fine copy internally, clean and fresh with generous margins, with excellent impressions of the plates, in a lustrous binding. This is a handsomely bound pirated edition of the famous 1762 Fermiers-Généraux edition of La Fontaine's "Contes et Nouvelles," which is one of the very finest illustrated French books of the period, and a work that Ray calls "the collector's book 'par excellence.'" Cohen-de Ricci begins nearly six full pages of description on that edition by pronouncing that, "among the illustrated books of the 18th century, the original edition . . . as a whole is the most beautiful and the most agreeable." Our copy has the same plates as the 1762 edition, except that they are in reverse. The original group of images is generally accepted as the finest work of Charles Eisen (1720-78), Louis XV's Court painter, and drawing master to Madame de Pompadour. Bryan says that "almost all the important books published in France in his time contain his exquisite plates," which "he engraved with a light point and with striking originality." He "took his inspirations direct from nature, but add[ed] something of the ideal, after the manner of Watteau and Boucher." The substantial group of plates here, in Ray's words, is "the liveliest and the most adroit that [Eisen] ever drew. Thoroughly at home with the varied action of these lusty stories--their love passages, their intrigues, their practical jokes--he is also expert in choosing the moment in each that will best serve his purpose as an illustrator." The elegant bindings are the handiwork of Frankfurt artisan E. [Ernst?] Ludwig, who provided discerning German bibliophiles with fine hand-bindings during the first two decades of the 20th century. Many of the works he bound were strictly limited, bibliophile, or fine press editions; he is known to have created at least one binding in the style of Cobden-Sanderson for a Doves Press book. Our bindings have a distinctly French flair, and are well suited to a fine 18th century printing.

A Large Paper Copy. 310 x 225 mm. (12 1/8 x 9"). Four volumes. Translated and with notes and analysis by M. G. T. Villenave. VERY FINE RED STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, GILT, BY PURGOLD-HERING (stamp-signed in gilt at foot of spine), covers with border of three gilt rules, frame in the Romantic style with multiple gilt rules and elaborate cornerpieces, raised bands, spines gilt in compartments with intricate tooling, turn-ins with decorative gilt and blind rolls, tan endpapers, leather hinges, all edges gilt. WITH 144 FINE ENGRAVED PLATES after Moreau, Le Barbier, Monsiau, and others, as called for. Original tissue guards. Text in French and Latin on facing pages. Front pastedown with engraved bookplate of Jacques Laffitte. Ray 96; Cohen-de Ricci 773-4. For the binding: Béraldi I, 41; Culot, pp. 742-44; Flety, p. 148. Spines slightly and uniformly sunned, extremities with a hint of rubbing, boards just a little freckled, intermittent minor foxing (only rarely touching engravings), other trivial imperfections, but an extremely pleasing copy, clean and fresh with generous margins, the plates bright and richly impressed, and the elegant bindings sound and pleasing, with negligible signs of use. With illustrations by three Rococo masters, handsome press work by the leading French printer of the day, and a binding created by a prominent Parisian atelier, this set is a very desirable example of French book arts in the early 19th century. It also, unsurprisingly, comes from the library of a distinguished collector. This new translation of Ovid's tales of transformation is brought to life in the scenes by Nicolas-André Monsiau (1754-1837), Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier (1738-1826), and Jean-Michel Moreau (usually called Moreau le jeune, 1741-1814), an assemblage which Ray describes as "a comprehensive sampling of the work done by these masters in their later years." Our binding was executed during the five-year partnership (1820-25) between Jean-Georges Purgold, known to contemporaries as "the prince of binders," and Hering, about whose identity experts disagree. Beyond noting that "Hering" was an English name, Béraldi, Flety, and Culot have no definitive information on the identity of that member of the partnership, although they agree it was not the binder J. Hering (the descendant of the celebrated London binder Charles Hering), who was later associated with Muller. Culot observes that most Purgold-Hering bindings feature, as here, multiple gilt rules and fleuron cornerpieces. Béraldi ranks Purgold (ca. 1784-1829) as one of the three great binders of the Bourbon Restoration (with Simier and Thouvenin), and dubs him "The Meticulous." Ramsden deems Purgold the best binder of this triumvirate when it came to technical skill. Trained at the legendary Bozerian bindery, Purgold opened his own workshop in 1810. Culot calls him the "master of fillets," a title entirely justified by the decoration here, which includes 15 precisely executed fillets on each cover, in addition to those adorning each raised band. This set once graced the shelves of French banker and liberal politician Jacques Laffitte (1767-1844), who served as governor of the Bank of France (1814-20), Prime Minister (1830-31), and president of the Chamber of Deputies. Purgold-Hering bindings are not common; we were able to trace just seven appearing at auction in the past 60 years.

165 x 83 mm. (6 1/2 x 3 1/4"). 2 p.l., 649 pp., [1] (colophon) leaf. STRIKING CONTEMPORARY BURGUNDY MOROCCO, ELABORATELY GILT, BY GRUEL (stamp-signed at tail of spine), UPPER COVER WITH A LARGE AND RICHLY DETAILED OVAL BAS-RELIEF PLAQUETTE OF THE LAST SUPPER framed above and below by a large panel of interlacing open strapwork comprised of abstracted gilt floral and foliate curls and other decorative elements, lower cover similarly decorated, with its central medallion containing a gilt cipher in intertwined majuscules, raised bands, spine gilt in double-ruled compartments with central arabesque, gilt filigree turn-ins, claret moiré silk endleaves, all edges gilt, original brass clasps with strapwork decoration. With 26 illustrations, comprised of 22 large black and white woodcut headpieces, and four chromolithographed plates with gold highlights, along with numerous uncolored woodcut initials. Front free endleaf gilt-stamp "24 Mai 1891"; first Communion card of Andre Gallien, dated 9 May 1895, laid in. A VERY FINE COPY, the morocco lustrous and the leaves entirely crisp and clean. Gruel and Engelmann published and bound numerous works of devotion, like the present impressively adorned "Paroissien," a service book that includes the texts and prayers (in Latin and French) used to celebrate Mass throughout the year. The very pleasing plaquette on the front cover showing the Last Supper is reminiscent of the celebrated Apollo and Pegasus bindings done for collector Giovanni Battista Grimaldi (ca. 1524-ca. 1612). In her "Bookbinders and their Craft," Sarah Prideaux says that the Gruel firm, founded in 1811, "always had the highest reputation . . . for initiative in artistic matters, as well as for irreproachable execution in the detail of its many-sided achievements." Paul Gruel (1864-1954) took over the firm after the death of his father, the great Léon Gruel, in 1923 and ably directed the operation until his own death, maintaining the atelier's reputation for excellence. Over the years, the firm employed some of the most skillful artisans in the trade, including Prideaux herself.

illustrated with double-page plates of bindings. 5 vols. 8vo. Fine run of this French bookseller's catalogues, with numerous plates of Renaissance bindings. Bound in 3/4 brown morocco and marbled boards illustrated with double-page plates of bindings. 5 vols. 8vo.