l'Ingenieux chevalier Don Quichotte de La Manche. Traduction Nouvelle. Illustre par Grandville.
Tours: A Mame et Cie, Imprimeurs-Libraires, 1858. Both parts, abridged, but then it is the Grandville steel engravings that are the attraction here; good strong strikes if a bit diminutive, no patch on Dore' of course. Hardbound in quarter pressed morocco with morocco corner-tips over green cloth boards, old marbled endsheets, a nineteenth century custom job in sound shape, details below, but first of all, item has been sophisticated by a clever amateur. The giveaway is the much-too-strong tint (a modern dark blue) to textblock edges which clashes with book's general aesthetic; adroitly applied (edge tints are dry, stroked on with saturated cottonball) but simply not comme il faut. Done to disguise an ex library state? possibly. Further, the corner-tips have most probably been strengthened with glue. As for the item as it stands, there are trivial abrasions, and text paper is not fully alkaline and is foxed throughout. nothing else to report. Plates are all in good condition, these were struck on alkaline tissue and laid down on thickish alkaline paper. Viva Grandville! who has his own personal vision of our madman.
Cat.No: 251796
Price: $125.00