2 p.l., 60 pp. 8vo (189 x 131 mm.), late 19th-cent. marbled boards, red sheep lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Laneuville, Henry & Bonnefons de la Vialle, 1821.

A scarce sale catalogue of paintings and several drawings, with nearly all prices in a contemporary hand and several marginal notes, along with a curious letter bound-in at the end. The contents of this sale were probably drawn from the stock of Laneuville (1748-1826) and Bon Thomas Henry (1766-1836). One hand, in ink, has recorded all but a few prices, while another, possibly later and in pencil, has noted the provenance of one... More

106 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Le Brun, 1785.

The uncommon sale catalogue of the collection of a famous patron of the arts. Bailli de Breteuil (1725?-85), an influential diplomat who was ambassador to Malta, collected paintings, sculptures, curiosities, and objets d’art. He lived in Rome for about two decades and he owned a magnificent Roman villa decorated by Lavallée-Poussin. Upon returning to Paris in 1787, he frequented Grimod de La Reynière’s salon. Rumors abounded that Bailli was engaged in an affair with Madame Grimod.

The present catalogue fully... More

Finely engraved frontis. with profile of Le Bas (drawn by Cochin & engraved by C.E. Gaucher) & finely engraved tailpiece at the end of the biographical sketch (by same). xlix, 92, 19 pp. catalogue list. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff boards (head of spine a little split), leaves uncut. Paris: Clousier & Joullain, 1783.

The very rare sale catalogue of the engraver to the Cabinet du Roi; with a valuable list of 133 catalogues produced by Joullain since 1763. Le Bas (1707-83), studied under Antoine Hérisset and is famous for his skilled imitations of works by Teniers, Wouwerman, Falens, Coypel, Watteau, Oudry... More

viii, 268 pp. 8vo, early 19th-cent. marbled boards (spine defective). Amsterdam: P. Yver, [1785].

The extremely rare French edition (there was an edition in Dutch the same year) of this catalogue of an impressive sale. A contemporary annotator has supplemented it with prices, buyers’ names, and commentary on the artworks, almost all dismissive, in the margins. Van Slingelandt (1701-82), a great patron of the arts who lived in Dordrecht, amassed one of the most notable Dutch painting collections of the 18th century. This heavily annotated volume is the first and most important part of the sale, describing 701(!) paintings along... More

1 p.l., ii, 58 pp. 8vo (205 x 134 mm.), cont. blue paper wrappers bound in brown crushed morocco-backed marbled boards (spine a trifle rubbed), title on spine. Paris: Paillet & Boileau, An X [i.e., 1802].

A rare auction catalogue describing the large picture collection (or inventory) of the history painter Martin (1737-1800). A pupil of Vien and Cipriani, he became an associate of the Académie in 1771, exhibiting at the Salon until 1798. According to the entry in the Getty Provenance Index written by Benjamin Peronnet, Martin, starting in 1776, became a part-time dealer, which was against the rules... More

2 p.l., 66, [1] pp. Small 8vo (180 x 105 mm.), late 19th-century cloth-backed marbled boards, spine gilt. Paris: P. Remy & Musier, 1773.

[bound after]:

([BENARD, —]). Catalogue des Bronzes, Marbres, Porcelaines, Meubles, & autres objets de curiosité. Provenant du Cabinet de M.*** Dont la Vente se fera…le Jeudi 26 Mai 1774, & jour suivans… 9 pp. Small 8vo. Paris: Chariot, 1774.

I. The very rare auction catalogue of Morand’s important cabinet of anatomical curiosities, natural history specimens, art, and antiquities (see below). Morand (1697-1773), the esteemed surgeon and contributor to the Encylopédie, possessed an eclectic collection, but focused principally... More

1 p.l., xxiv, 74 pp. 8vo, self-wrappers, stitched as issued (stitching loose), leaves uncut. Paris: Regnault-Lalande, 1811.

The rare catalogue of this joint sale of the collections of Ozanne (1728-1811) and Coïny (1761-1809), which took place 2-11 December 1811. The former, a distinguished marine artist and engineer, collaborated with Duhamel du Monceau on several illustrated works and taught naval architecture and navigation to the sons of the royal family. Le Tellier de Courtanvaux used one of Ozanne’s ships as a platform to test Pierre Le Roy’s marine chronometer.

A student of Suvée and J.P. Lebas, Coïny exhibited at the Salon... More

viii, 104, 7 pp. 8vo (213 x 138 mm.), modern cloth-backed marbled boards, red sheep lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Coutellier & Regnault-Delalande, 1820.

An uncommon auction catalogue describing the artist’s vast collection of prints, paintings, and drawings, with the printed price-list bound-in at the end. Pallière (1761-1820), born in Bordeaux, studied under Vincent and exhibited portraits at the Paris Salons from 1798 to 1804. This is an especially large catalogue published by the expert Regnault-Delalande (1762-1824), with 378 lots.

Lots 1-288 & 367-78 consist of prints and large groups of prints by contemporary and Old Master artists. Regnault-Delalande has prepared... More

10 pp. Small 8vo, orig. printed wrappers (wrappers detached), partially stitched. Paris: F. Schayé, Me. Boulouze & Vignères, 1859.

82 lots. Pencil annotations throughout in a contemporary hand with nearly all prices and buyers’ names. Possibly F. A. Rapilly’s copy. Rapilly purchased a majority of the lots in this sale.

Good copy, with valuable provenance information; largely disbound. From the library of Jacques Fryszman (1909-98), the great historian of art and collector of drawings, who wrote the Lugt number in the top right corner of the wrappers (or first leaf of text) on nearly all of his catalogues. See Lugt... More

40 pp. Small 8vo (198 x 125 mm.), 20th-cent. cloth-backed marbled boards, title on spine. Paris: Pérignon & Chariot, 1813.

The scarce catalogue, fully priced in a contemporary hand, of the first auction administered by Pérignon (1785-1864), an influential dealer, collector, and eventual advisor to the Louvre. He assembled this group of paintings and drawings over the course of trips to Belgium and Holland. Many French dealers exploited the turbulent times of the Napoleonic era to travel and pry artworks from private hands and ecclesiastical collections.

The 144 lots described include works from the Northern school by Jordaens, J. B.... More

8 pp. 8vo, 19th-cent. marbled boards (joints restored), spine gilt. Paris: Poultier & Constantin, 1807.

The rare sale catalogue, fully priced in a contemporary hand, of Louis François Prault (1734-1806), ancien Imprimeur du Roi and son of the great publisher and bookseller Laurent François (1712-80). Prault’s firm printed many auction catalogues in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Because of the Constantins relationship with the Prault family, who printed almost all of their sale catalogues, either Guillaume Jean Constantin or his son, Amédée, was the expert for this sale.

The present catalogue describes Prault’s choice collection of paintings (by Greuze... More

23 pp. 8vo (210 x 135 mm.), partially stitched (edge of title-page expertly repaired), uncut. Paris: Félix & Pérignon, 1825.

The surprisingly rare auction catalogue of Regnault-Delalande (1762-1824), one of the most prodigious Parisian dealers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; WorldCat records no copy in North America. Regnault presided over a number of famous sales from the period, foremost among them those of the expert Basan, Count Potocki, Rigal, and the influential critic Saint-Yves. The introduction claims that Regnault-Delalande produced more than 300 sale catalogues (the Getty Provenance Index records approximately 222). This memorial concludes (in trans.)... More