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Laminated illustrated wrappers, 4to, 27 cm, 279 pp, colour ills. Lots 101-300. From the introduction: "Firstly, we can ascribe the great works to Jean de Ribes, i.e. the major books of the classical centuries, splendidly published in the 17th and 18th centuries, illustrated by the best artists, magnificently bound, often with coats of arms and in perfect condition. These are bibliophilic gems, which, after the Goncourts, were much coveted by our late 19th-century forebears. Books widely considered to be the most famous bibliophilic works of France s Golden Age stand majestically on the shelf alongside a beautiful Jarry manuscript, Les Chansons by Laborde, two festival books, and Les Amours pastorales by Longus, with binding attributed to Padeloup displaying the coat of arms of the Regent of France. Yet the library of Jean de Ribes was not confined to a cage of classicism. The man of tradition gathered souvenirs from the Count d Artois entourage and the Bourbon Restoration, a time during which his family had excelled. He was a man of culture open to the trends and celebrities of his time - Loti, Huysmans, Montesquiou, and Mallarmé - and his acquisitions were often further developed by his son Edouard, creating a remarkable sense of continuity, which is one of the outstanding features of this catalogue, with twelve works by Verlaine and seven by Proust. Their common approach is demonstrated in two specific areas. First of all, there is Montaigne s body of work; several of his works were present from the outset, and the collection was brilliantly completed by Edouard de Ribes. The other example is the commendable perseverance shown in the revival of what is undoubtedly a unique collection of books written or owned by Merard de Saint-Just, a resolutely light-hearted author and sophisticated 18th-century bibliophile and one-time owner of the Chateau de Saint-Just in the Oise region, which in 1828 became the property of the Ribes. Edouard de Ribes did not hesitate to broaden the range of the library he inherited; from Stendhal to include the Surrealists, from Flaubert to Cocteau, from Apollinaire to Picasso and Dufy, from Morocco to polycarbonate bindings, with a predilection for Monique Mathieu, Frère Claes. Pierre-Lucien Martin and Marius Michel. " The sale included 7 bindings by Paul Bonet and 11 by Marius Michel. The sale sections were: XVe & XVIe siecles - lots 101-124; XVIIe siecle 125-139; XVIIIe siecle 140-179; XIXe siecle 180-223; Xxe siecle 224-300. The first part of this sale had offered paintings and works of art ("Les trésors", lots 1-59). Lower fore-edge corner of rear wrapper creased, occasional pencil annotation, otherwise Near Fine.
Seller Inventory # ABE-68553
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