Many black & white illus. 70, [1] p. 4to (270 x 213 mm.), brown printed semi-stiff wrappers. Paris: 1947.

The rare auction catalogue for the second 1947 Fénéon sale. This large-format catalogue is extensively illustrated unlike the first catalogue from April. Fénéon’s widow died in April 1946, precipitating a series of sales the following year. In accordance with the Fénéon’s wishes, the proceeds from the auctions were used to establish a prize for “a young writer, painter, or sculptor, 35 or under, in a modest situation.”

“For some fifty years, from the beginning of his career in the 1880s until... More

viii, 167 pp. 8vo, orig. pink paper wrappers, uncut. Paris: Regnault-Delalande, 1803.

A rare sale catalogue, fully priced in a contemporary hand. This sale took place following the death of the widow of Jean Guillaume Alibert (?1763-180?), who died shortly after her husband. He was a well-known dealer and publisher of prints on Rue Fromenteau in Paris. The business’s stock was liquidated and the present catalogue features famous works by Audran, Callot, Edelinck, Pesne, etc.

The star of the sale, to which Regnault-Delalande devotes no less than 52 pages of the catalogue (pp. 97-148), was a “Recueil de Portraits de... More

3 pp. Small 8vo, modern calf-backed marbled semi-stiff boards (spine slightly rubbed), spine gilt. [Paris: 1769].

An interleaved and annotated copy of this rare catalogue. Amand (1730-69), winner of the 1756 Prix de Rome for his Samson and Delilah (now at the Landesmuseum in Mainz), studied under Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre and became a member of the Académie in 1767. He is very probably the “Jean François Amand or Aman” known to be working in Rome in 1759. From a printed note at the end of the catalogue, we learn that Amand died during a stay in Rome where he... More

Finely engraved frontis. (mounted on a stub at an early date). xvi, ix-xii, 306, lv pp. Small 8vo (165 x 100 mm.), cont. mottled sheep, green morocco lettering-pieces on spine, spine gilt. Paris: P. Prault & J. Barrois, 1747.

The uncommon catalogue of one of Gersaint’s great auctions, with his customary erudite descriptions. The Vicomte de Fonspertuis (1669-1747), “despite a Jansenist education, entered whole-heartedly into the life of the royal court and won the favour of Philippe II, Duc d’Orléans. He developed his love of art through his maternal uncle, Du Vivier, who bequeathed him his remarkable collection, rich in... More

x, 69 pp. Small 8vo (165 x 105 mm.), late 19th-century brown morocco-backed marbled boards (head of spine chipped), spine gilt. Paris: Didot l’aîné, 1766.

The uncommon auction catalogue, fully priced and with many buyers’ names written throughout in a contemporary hand, of the wide-ranging collection (or stock?) of the famed portraitist, peintre du roi, and close friend of Chardin. According to Patrick Michel, Aved (1702-66) was one of the most well-known examples of an artist with a sideline as a dealer; the Académie de Saint-Luc accused him of “the illegal practice of selling and disloyal competition.” The Baron von... More

47 pp. Small 8vo (169 x 102 mm.), modern marbled boards, gilt title on spine. [Paris: 1747].

A scarce and early auction catalogue dispersing a substantial collection of paintings belonging to a “Baron de Banckheim,” possibly a fictitious provenance. We also do not know the expert in charge of this sale, but we do see that they borrowed heavily from the celebrated catalogues of the leading art dealer of the time, Edme François Gersaint (1694-1750). The foremost scholar on Gersaint, Guillaume Glorieux, writes that a number of catalogues of this period plagiarized the authoritative biographies of artists composed by Gersaint.

... More

Woodcut vignette on title. 24 pp. 8vo (200 x 125 mm.), late 19th-century stiff marbled boards (spine a little rubbed), brown morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: C. Ballard, 1758.

A rare early sale catalogue of drawings and prints compiled by Basan (1723-97), one of the leading experts of the mid-18th century. Divided by vacation, the catalogue concisely describes 199 group lots, some quite large. Each section concludes with a portefeuille.

Very good copy. Engraved bookplate of G[eorges] P[annier] (1853-1944), the Parisian art dealer and collector, and stamp of the Bibliothèque Heim on verso of title. Contemporary manuscript correction on p.... More

Imperial coat-of-arms vignette on title. xii, 28 pp. 8vo (215 x 132 mm.), late 19th-century blue sheep backed-marbled boards (upper & lower joints split but holding), title on spine. Paris: L’Auteur, 1809.

The large-paper version of this unusually finely printed auction catalogue detailing the personal collection of a history painter who was reçu by the Académie Royale in 1761. Belle (1722-1806), a pupil of François Lemoyne, worked at the Gobelins manufactory from 1755, where he adapted pictures by his contemporaries as well as his own designs into painted tapestry cartoons. His lengthy career saw him commissioned by the Comte d’Angiviller... More

48 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Bénard, 1807.

The rare sale catalogue of a varied print and drawings collection. It describes 341 lots alphabetically by artist, with a number of large group lots, and includes works by Bartolozzi, Callot, Delattre, Hollar, van Ostade, and Watelet, as well as a number of English artists. It concludes with a handful of dictionaries, catalogues raisonnés, and sale catalogues.

Nice copy. We locate only one copy in North America.

❧ Lugt 7174. More

Three engraved plates. viii, 53 pp., [3] pages of schedule of sale. 8vo (201 x 125 mm.), gray modern cloth-backed marbled boards, title on spine. Paris: Delaroche, Billaudel & Balbastre, 1813.

A scarce example of an illustrated sale catalogue from the period, it contains three nicely engraved plates of works by Murillo, de Morales, and Rubens (most copies lack the plates). Lugt erroneously records the seller as “Billaudet.” The RKD copy has an inscription on the title-page linking the contents of the sale to Billaudel, whose name, curiously, is also found in the imprint. Billaudel concurrently operated as a dealer... More

8 pp. 8vo (199 x 125 mm.), modern aubergine cloth, title on upper cover. Paris: Bezançon & Regnault-Delalande, 1813.

A scarce auction catalogue offering the contents of a bankrupt dealership, owned by “Blankenstein.” A chapter in a 1994 text on Franco-German relations during the French Revolution (cited below) mentions an Alexandre Guillaume Blankenstein, a converted Jew from Frankfurt, originally named Aron Levi Wetzlar, who opened a luxurious bookstore on the quai Malaquais around 1810, which then went under three years later. We know of two suites of prints published by Blankenstein. The title-page of this catalogue mentions that a judge... More

Finely engraved frontis. port of the collector in Vol. I & an engraved frontis. coat-of-arms in Vol. II. xxi, [2], 374 pp.; xiv, [2], 426 pp.; 50 pp. Three vols in two. 8vo, cont. green sheep-backed marbled boards, spines gilt. Ghent: Ad. van der Meersch, [1858].

The very uncommon auction catalogue of one of the great book collections formed in the Low Countries in the 19th century. “Ce bibliophile est mort en 1857 à l’âge de 86 ans. Sa position sociale lui permettait d’aspirer aux honneurs et aux emplois; il préféra s’isoler dans une vie retirée, consacrant son temps, ses... More