French Antique Love Novels & Edifying Letters of Missionaries in Red & Brown - set of 4
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Four exceptional French volumes from the 1820s, each bound in the elegant half-leather style with hand-tooled leather spines, gilt lettering, raised bands, ornate gold florallet details on covers, and spectacular marbled paper making each book an extraordinary work of decorative art. Discovered at an antique bookseller in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, this collection features Antoine Caillot's rare illustrated two-volume "Morceaux Choisis de Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses" (1823), documenting missionary journeys throughout India with engravings that significantly increase the books' value, alongside two works by François-René de Chateaubriand—the pioneering Romantic novellas "Atala," "Rene," "Le Dernier Abencerage," and "Les Natchez," depicting tragic love in the American wilderness, and "Les Martyrs" (circa 1826), an epic tale of love, faith, and sacrifice during Christian persecution under Diocletian. These volumes—likely valued by antiquarian specialists at multiples of this collection price given their illustrations and historical significance—offer both compelling windows into early 19th-century French Romanticism and missionary history, and breathtaking examples of bookbinding craftsmanship that have been treasured across two centuries.
Details & Care
Material: Paper, Leather
Dimensions: 7" x 4 1/4" x 1" - 7 1/2" x 5" x 1 1/8"
Pamela's notes
Four volumes all from the 1820s, part of my French market find. This set has especially ornate bindings, gilt details on the covers that make them feel especially decorative. The marbled papers are extraordinary, and several volumes include period engravings. I see these displayed where the gold tooling becomes part of the room's story, perhaps on a dark wood surface where the gilt really sings.
Four exceptional French volumes from the 1820s, each bound in the elegant half-leather style with hand-tooled leather spines, gilt lettering, raised bands, ornate gold florallet details on covers, and spectacular marbled paper making each book an extraordinary work of decorative art. Discovered at an antique bookseller in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, this collection features Antoine Caillot's rare illustrated two-volume "Morceaux Choisis de Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses" (1823), documenting missionary journeys throughout India with engravings that significantly increase the books' value, alongside two works by François-René de Chateaubriand—the pioneering Romantic novellas "Atala," "Rene," "Le Dernier Abencerage," and "Les Natchez," depicting tragic love in the American wilderness, and "Les Martyrs" (circa 1826), an epic tale of love, faith, and sacrifice during Christian persecution under Diocletian. These volumes—likely valued by antiquarian specialists at multiples of this collection price given their illustrations and historical significance—offer both compelling windows into early 19th-century French Romanticism and missionary history, and breathtaking examples of bookbinding craftsmanship that have been treasured across two centuries.
Details & Care
Material: Paper, Leather
Dimensions: 7" x 4 1/4" x 1" - 7 1/2" x 5" x 1 1/8"
Pamela's notes
Four volumes all from the 1820s, part of my French market find. This set has especially ornate bindings, gilt details on the covers that make them feel especially decorative. The marbled papers are extraordinary, and several volumes include period engravings. I see these displayed where the gold tooling becomes part of the room's story, perhaps on a dark wood surface where the gilt really sings.
