Beschreibung:

MOREAU, PIERRE. Les Sainctes Prieres de l'ame Chrestienne, Escrites & gravées après le naturel de la plume Par P. Moreau Me Escrivain Juré. Paris: Jean Henault 1649. 12mo, 155 x 98 mm. (6 1/8 x 3 7/8 in.), contemporary Parisian binding ATTRIBUTED TO THE ATELIER OF FLORIMOND BADIER dark red morocco over pasteboard, covers tooled in gold to a late fanfare design with roll-tooled outer border and an interlacing double and single fillet forming compartments filled with pointillé spirals, volutes and small floral tools, spine in six compartments tooled in pointillé, two original metal fore-edge clasps in the form of scallop shells, gilt edges, marbled pastedown endpapers, plain free endpapers, minor wear to extremities; occasional very faint browning to outer margins . ENGRAVED THROUGHOUT, fourth(?) issue, 106 unnumbered leaves, title within architectural border, a flower on verso, dedication to Queen Marie de Medici, crucifix on verso, calligraphic text, 28 full-page images of flowers or religious emblems (including repeats), a few other small figures embellishing the text, all pages within a variety of delicately engraved borders of flowers, cornucopia, fruits, masks, etc., several signed by Moreau. First printed in 1631, Pierre Moreau's finely engraved prayer-book was reissued, with the date modified on the title-page and a few minor alterations to the borders, in 1632 and 1644; this 1649 issue appears to be the last. In it the arms of Marie de Medici do not appear on the verso of the title as in the earlier issues, but are printed on fols. [25] and [103]. Pierre Moreau was a professional calligrapher who is best known for having designed several typefaces imitating different calligraphic hands, with which he printed a dozen books during his service as imprimeur du roi from 1642 to 1648. The very finely executed binding, formerly considered the work of Le Gascon, is now attributed to the atelier of Florimond Badier (so named after the only one of its many binders whose name has survived), established in Paris c. 1630 and quickly becoming the foremost Parisian bindery of the period, specializing particularly in the fashionable pointillé decoration. The late fanfare design of the present binding conforms to the Esmerian catalogue's description of the first of the two main types of design produced in the atelier Badier (part II, p. 25). Other copies of Moreau's prayer book were bound and similarly decorated there: cf. Esmerian, Douze tableaux synoptiques , Annexe A-IV, no. 37 and II, lot 16, a copy of a 1634 edition of this work, tooled in the fanfare style by the "Maître Doreur," (active c. 1622-1644) who is believed to have joined the atelier Badier as its principal finisher/gilder. (See also lot 99, supra ). Brunet III, 1895-96 and Supplement I, 1117 (citing this copy); Raphaël Esmerian, Douze tableaux synoptiques sur la reliure au XVIIe siècle (Paris 1972), Annexe A-IV, no. 38). Provenance 1. By, "membre des ci-devant Collège et Académie de Chirurgie", (sale, Paris, 15 January 1810 [catalogue date 1809], lot 19) 2. Duriez collection 3. Charles Nodier (sale, Paris, 27 April-11 May 1844, lot 15) 4. Jacques-Charles-Brunet (sale, Paris, Part 1, 20-24 April 1868, lot 32, FF1500, to Auguste Fontaine (catalogue 1872) 5. Jean-Joseph Sosthène, baron de La Roche Lacarelle (sale, Paris, 30 April-5 May 1888, lot 26, illus.) 6. Anonymous owner (sale, Paris, 6-7 November 1968, lot 34, illus.) 7. with Pierre Berès, book-label (catalogue, 350 Livres Illustrés , no. 223).