Browse Items (91 total)

EnglishThis image displays yet another example of a register of signatures, with the colophon appearing just be- low. Here we see the beauty and finesse of printed text as realised by Aldus Manutius, The italic font, the spacing of characters and the…

EnglishThis item is on display to show the exquisite richness of the engraving shown. Note the texture and pristine whiteness of the paper used; this was intended for a reader seeking luxury. The engraving would have been passed through the press at…

English This bookplate of Fréderic Lachèvre (1855-1943), French bibliophile, literary critic, editor, and specialist in 17th century literature of the Libertines, is remarkable for the finesse of its engraving. The image of the skull resting on a…

EnglishVisible is the printer’s mark of printer and bookseller François l’Honoré (1673?-1748?), originally from the town of Sedan, Alsace. Initially basing himself in Den Haag where he collaborated with Etienne Foulque, he subsequently set up a…

EnglishThe paper that makes up the cover for this little French comedy of the 17th century has been created with a technique new for this era: hand blockprinted paper, termed “dominoté” in French. The motif used here has been printed and then the…

EnglishIn the 20th century, in addition to the pasted-in ex-libris bookplate, we find many different styles and formats of ex-libris indications. The stamped ex-libris turns out to be not only a less onerous form but also one that is much more…

EnglishThis image shows a very fine mottling scheme, where the white/cream colours are omnipresent on a background of red and blue. In this example, the dark colours had been deposited on the surface of the liquid mixture before the white. It is this…

EnglishPrinted in Merseburg (Germany) in 1753 by Christian Ludwig Forberger, this work displays an outstanding and perhaps mindboggling combination of font sizes and styles, as well as a mixture of red and black lettering, on one title page. (With no…

EnglishBringing to life the adage of “waste not, want not”, this book’s binding is made of parchment that originally was someone’s correspondence. With paper and leather being expensive commodities due to the ever-increasing amount of titles being…

English The endpapers of this accounting “textbook” by François Barrême, a very popular work in its time, was used by its owner to puzzle out practical exercises of calculation, including problems and answers. French Les pages de gardes du livre de…