Five vols. bound in three. 8vo, orig. blue boards, nicely rebacked in sympathetic white paper, printed labels on spines, uncut. The Hague: S. & J. Luchtmans et al., 1824.

A fine uncut set in the original boards of the sale catalogue of the Meerman collection, “one of the most famous private libraries in Europe.”–Munby, Phillipps Studies, Vol. III, p. 26. The library was founded by Gerard Meerman (1722-71), a prominent jurist and the author of Origines Typographicae in which he proclaimed Laurent Coster the inventor of printing. Gerard’s greatest coup was to acquire the entire manuscript collection of the Collège... More

xvi, 4, 489 pp. 8vo, cont. sheep-backed marbled boards, flat spine gilt. Paris: De Bure frères, 1822.

The large and fine library formed by Paignon-Dijonval (1708-92), was inherited by his grandson, Morel-Vindé, who made important additions to it. Morel-Vindé (1759-1842), the author of the Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen (1790), was active as an agronomist. He served as a member of Parlement and became Pair de France in 1815; Louis XVIII created him baron and vicomte.

This library of 3216 lots contained books and manuscripts of the highest quality. The most expensive item of the sale was... More

Numerous text illus. 2 p.l., xlvi, [2], 459, [1] pp.; 2 p.l., 274 pp., one leaf; 2 p.l., 309, [3] pp. Three vols. in two. Large 8vo, orig. printed wrappers bound in cont. blue morocco-backed marbled boards, signed “Petitot Rel.,” t.e.g. Paris: Techener, 1897-98-98. [with]: (—). Catalogue de la Collection de Dessins et Estampes de l’Ecole française du XVIIe et du XVIIIe Siècle de feu M. le Baron Jérôme Pichon. 2 p.l., 124 pp. Large 8vo, binding as above. Paris: A. Danlos, 1897.

The posthumous sale of Baron Pichon’s second library (more than 6000 lots) of illuminated manuscripts... More

Engraved vignette of the collector’s bookplate on title. 2 p.l., 4, [4] (schedule of sale), vii, 414, 4 pp. 8vo, cont. red half-morocco & marbled boards, spine gilt, t.e.g. Paris: 1838.

[bound with]:

(—). Autographes et Manuscrits de M. G. de Pixerécourt…dont la Vente aura lieu le mercredi 4 November 1840 et jours suivans… Engraved vignette of the collector’s bookplate on title. vii, [1], 114 pp., one leaf of errata. 8vo. Paris: 1840.

Pixerécourt (1773-1844), the author of more than a hundred plays, “the Shakespeare and Corneille of the Boulevards,” was one of the founders of the Société des Bibliophiles français... 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

3 p.l., 208 pp. 8vo, mid-19th-century blue cloth over boards bound for Sir Thomas Phillipps in the cheapest fashion possible (joints with splits, cloth & title somewhat soiled), uncut. Liverpool: 1816.

Roscoe (1753-1831), historian, patron of the arts, abolitionist and M.P., formed a fine library of Italian literature and early printed books illustrating the rise and progress of the art of printing, and several important manuscripts. Following his retirement, he became a partner of a Liverpool bank; after it failed in 1816, Roscoe was obliged to sell his library to satisfy part of the claims. His friends bought a selection... More

3 p.l., 371 pp. 8vo, 19th-cent. calf-backed marbled boards (minor foxing & spotting), entirely uncut. Liège: S. Dauvrain, 1785.

An important first in catalogues: this is the first auction catalogue to provide collations; it is very rare. The catalogue was compiled by Jean Noël Paquot (1722-1803), scholar, professor of Hebrew, and librarian at the University of Louvain and later to the duc d’Arenberg. Paquot provides uncommonly long (and accurate) title transcriptions, authors’ names for anonymous works, critical annotations, and full pagination collations with lists of contents.

Saroléa, the wealthy canon of the Liège cathedral, was close to many members of... More

xvi, 643, [1], 90 pp. Thick 8vo, attractive antique half-calf & marbled boards (title a little dusty), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine, uncut. Paris: Leclerc, 1788.

This vast library of 8302 lots (containing about 20,000 books) comprised the components of no less than three other celebrated collections: those of Jean Grolier, de Thou, and the Président Charron de Ménars. De Thou’s library, with all its Grolier books, passed en bloc in 1681 into Ménar’s library, on whose decease it passed into the possession of the Cardinal de Rohan. By the continued care of the Cardinal and his... More

2 p.l., 119 pp. 8vo, cont. marbled boards, finely rebacked & recornered in calf, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. London: 1813.

A fine copy of this uncommon catalogue, here printed on fine and thick paper with many outer and lower edges uncut. Willett (1719-95), after inheriting the family’s West Indian estates, devoted his life to scholarship, botany, and the collecting of books and pictures. He formed a very rich library, strong in incunabula, travel, botany, topography, and architecture. His collections of incunabula and Caxtons, as well as four block books, were amongst the finest of the time... More

4, 99 pp. 8vo, cont. red morocco-backed blue paste-paper boards, flat spine gilt. Paris: Gogué & Née de la Rochelle, 1781.

A rare and noteworthy catalogue, containing many book s from the celebrated library of Claude Gabriel de Boze (1680-1753). While de Boze’s library was being prepared for sale after his death in 1753, two distinguished bibliophiles — Jules François Cotte, Président au Parlement de Paris, and Charles Robert Boutin, Maître des Requêtes, purchased the entire library for the sum of 83,000 livres. They, in turn, sold most of the 15th-century books, except for the Gutenberg Bible, to Gaignat. Cotte... More

Par Guillaume-Franç. De Bure, le jeune. 3 p.l., lv, [1], 241 pp. 8vo, cont. mottled calf (head of spine a little worn), triple gilt fillet round sides, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: G.F. De Bure, 1757.

One of the choicest and most celebrated collections formed in France during the 18th century, this copy has been priced throughout in a contemporary hand. Girardot, a timber merchant, on his retirement from business, became depressed. As Bogeng relates, his doctor, Hyacinthe Baron, himself an important collector, advised him to cure his melancholia by forming a library. The result is... More

2 p.l., 192 pp., one leaf of errata. 8vo, cont. calf (joints nicely repaired), flat spine gilt, contrasting leather lettering piece on spine. London: Edwards; Paris: Laurent, 1790.

A priced copy of the Paris edition of this famous sale; an English edition appeared the next year. For a fascinating account of this catalogue and sale (which caused traffic jams along Pall Mall), see Arthur Rau’s “Bibliotheca Parisina” in The Book Collector (Autumn 1969), pp. 307-17. Amongst the buyers at this sale were Lord Spencer, Douce, Woodhull, Cracherode, and the Duke of Newcastle.

Thanks to the recent researches of Milton McC... More