L'An IV. 1796 · Paris
by MONTESQUIEU, CHARLES LOUIS DE SECONDAT DE. (BINDINGS - MAYLANDER)
Paris: P. Didot l'aîné, L'An IV. 1796. Second Edition. 150 x 95 mm. (5 7/8 x 3 3/4"). x, 149 pp.
FINE JANSENIST CRUSHED MAROON MOROCCO BY MAYLANDER (stamp-signed on front doublure), raised bands, gilt lettering to spine panel, DARK GREEN CRUSHED MOROCCO DOUBLURES with gilt fillet border, mauve silk free endleaves, marbled flyleaves, leather hinges, all edges gilt. In a very fine matching maroon morocco pull-off box, lined with green morocco and polished calf. With medallion portrait of the author on title page, and 12 etchings: 10 for "Temple de Gnide" by Bertaux after Regnault's drawings and two for "Arsace" after Le Barbier, all before letters, all with tissue guards. Front flyleaf with engraved armorial bookplate of Alain de Suzannet. Cohen-De Ricci 729. ◆First plate with neat repair across much of bottom margin (well away from the engraved image), otherwise a virtually perfect copy, the text and plates with no signs of use, and IN AN UNWORN SPARKLING BINDING.
This is a lovely copy of Didot's second edition of "Gnide," printed on beautiful paper and with charming plates, offered here in a flawless Maylander binding. The text of the first (and by far the most important) work here is a prose poem on love (supposedly translated from the Greek) by one of the great political philosophers of the Enlightenment, Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755). In its own day, the work was popular largely because of its racy content; today, it is considered as a more serious accomplishment by modern scholars, who are inclined to see it as a philosophical fable. The second work is an Oriental romance written late in Montesquieu's life and not published until 1783. Although small in scale, the plates here are rich in detail and appeal. Born into the trade as the son of a gilder in the Marius Michel workshop, Emile Maylander (1866-1959) was still a child when he began to train with the best doreur of the day, Gustave Bénard. By the age of 10(!) he was working for the atelier of Domont, where he perfected his craft. He later worked for the great Cuzin and for Émile Mercier, in whose workshop he was the premier doreur. After Mercier's death in 1910, he began doing high-end gilding work for other binders, before opening his own studio in 1920. Flety tells us he quickly established a prominent reputation among collectors. Our copy comes from the collection of an important bibliophile, Comte Alain de Suzannet (1882-1950), best known for his extensive Dickens collection.. (Inventory #: ST19567-019)
FINE JANSENIST CRUSHED MAROON MOROCCO BY MAYLANDER (stamp-signed on front doublure), raised bands, gilt lettering to spine panel, DARK GREEN CRUSHED MOROCCO DOUBLURES with gilt fillet border, mauve silk free endleaves, marbled flyleaves, leather hinges, all edges gilt. In a very fine matching maroon morocco pull-off box, lined with green morocco and polished calf. With medallion portrait of the author on title page, and 12 etchings: 10 for "Temple de Gnide" by Bertaux after Regnault's drawings and two for "Arsace" after Le Barbier, all before letters, all with tissue guards. Front flyleaf with engraved armorial bookplate of Alain de Suzannet. Cohen-De Ricci 729. ◆First plate with neat repair across much of bottom margin (well away from the engraved image), otherwise a virtually perfect copy, the text and plates with no signs of use, and IN AN UNWORN SPARKLING BINDING.
This is a lovely copy of Didot's second edition of "Gnide," printed on beautiful paper and with charming plates, offered here in a flawless Maylander binding. The text of the first (and by far the most important) work here is a prose poem on love (supposedly translated from the Greek) by one of the great political philosophers of the Enlightenment, Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755). In its own day, the work was popular largely because of its racy content; today, it is considered as a more serious accomplishment by modern scholars, who are inclined to see it as a philosophical fable. The second work is an Oriental romance written late in Montesquieu's life and not published until 1783. Although small in scale, the plates here are rich in detail and appeal. Born into the trade as the son of a gilder in the Marius Michel workshop, Emile Maylander (1866-1959) was still a child when he began to train with the best doreur of the day, Gustave Bénard. By the age of 10(!) he was working for the atelier of Domont, where he perfected his craft. He later worked for the great Cuzin and for Émile Mercier, in whose workshop he was the premier doreur. After Mercier's death in 1910, he began doing high-end gilding work for other binders, before opening his own studio in 1920. Flety tells us he quickly established a prominent reputation among collectors. Our copy comes from the collection of an important bibliophile, Comte Alain de Suzannet (1882-1950), best known for his extensive Dickens collection.. (Inventory #: ST19567-019)