Album Amicorum Addressed to Carl Bobies

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[Vienna], [1817] Aquatint frontispiece, 17 water-colour illustrations (one a cut-out of a butterfly, one with moveable parts), three ink illustrations, three pieces of embroidery and one collage on gauze, three calligraphic tributes and 32 manuscript tributes (three on them within water-coloured borders). On white, blue, brown, green, grey and pink paper. Oblong 8vo. [112 x 140 x 20 mm]. 65ff. Bound in contemporary straight-grained red goatskin, the covers tooled in gilt with a border of onlaid strips of green goatskin, tooled with roundels and fleurons on a dotted background within fillets, the corners left open and decorated to a fan design, enclosing a lozenge-shaped centrepiece of onlaid green and citron goatskin, hollowed at the corners, with the initials C. B. on the front and the date 1817 on the rear. Smooth spine divided into five panels by strips of onlaid green goatskin and a gilt pallet, the first, third and fifth panels tooled to a lattice design, the second and fourth with gouges and roundels, the edges of the boards tooled with a gilt wave role, the turn-ins and matching inside joints with a palmette role, ivory coloured silk doublures and endleaves with a gilt vine role border, gilt edges. Contained within the original slipcase of straight-grained green goatskin, lined with green paper and with a green ribbon pull, the covers tooled in gilt with a vine role border and in the corners triangular onlays of red goatskin, tooled with gouges and dots, and a star-shaped centrepiece of citron and red goatskin divided by fillets, the edges of the case bordered with a wave roll. A delightful Album Amicorum, addressed to C.B., who is named in one tribute as Carl Bobies. The entries are signed, most are dated 28th January 1817 and a number of them are addressed from Wien (i.e. Vienna). Many of the offerings are more than competent works of art and represent pastoral scenes, shrines and memorials, flowers, musical instruments and figures. Most of the scenes are idealised, but a view of a village by a lake is identified as Töplitz. Two of the samples of embroidery are on paper with large gilt impressions of a binder's tool in the corners, and the cut-out butterfly is mounted within a gilt border. The binding, and its original case, are also highly attractive and in fine condition.

• GBP 3,000.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: ebc2107

• bookseller: George Bayntun (GREAT BRITAIN)