SOUVENIRS DE MADAME DE CAYLUS by (VELLUM PRINTING). (BINDINGS - GRUEL). CAYLUS, [MARTHE-MARGUERITE LE VALOIS DE VILLETTE DE MURÇAY], COMTESSE DE - 1860

Paris: J. Techener, 1860. Nouvelle Edition, ONE OF TWO KNOWN COPIES PRINTED ON VELLUM. 198 x 125 mm. (7 3/4 x 4 3/4"). 2 p.l., xlv, [iii], 268, [4] pp.
SUPERB CRIMSON CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, BY GRUEL (stamp-signed at foot of spine and on front doublure), covers gilt in an animated design featuring a central lion rampant surrounded by three frames formed by volutes, fleurons, and gilt rules, raised bands, spine compartments with central fleur-de-lys within a similar frame, gilt lettering, NAVY MOROCCO DOUBLURES framed by gilt rule and catkins forming compartments with fleurs-de-lys and fleurons, leather hinges, burgundy silk free endleaves, all edges gilt. Text within gilt-ruled borders, title page with hand-painted arms of Madame de Caylus in colors and brushed gold, and FIVE SEPIA PEN-AND-WASH DRAWINGS THAT WERE USED AS THE ORIGINAL ARTWORK FOR THE ENGRAVINGS in this work, all framed in gold, the illustrations comprising: the portrait of Madame de Caylus after a painting by Daullé in her lifetime; Madame de Montespan acting as Femme de Chambre to Mademoiselle de la Vallière; the Reconciliation of the King with Madame de Montespan; the Promenade of Madame de Maintenon and Madame de Montchevreuil in the Forest of Fontainebleu; and the Prince de Condé seized by smallpox. A Large Paper [Vellum] Copy. Verso of front free endleaf with morocco bookplate of Robert Hoe. Brunet I, 1705: "One copy printed on vellum with the arms of M[adame] de Caylus painted on the title page, a gold frame and five original sepia drawings enhanced with gold, 660 fr sold from the Jos. Techener bookstore (1865)." ◆Half title and final page with faint overall toning, margin of one plate with one-inch ink mark (possibly done during production?), isolated faint smudges, other trivial imperfections, but A VERY LOVELY COPY, the vellum smooth and creamy, and the unworn the binding with especially lustrous leather and glittering gilt.

This is a beautifully bound, appropriately ultra-deluxe copy of a luxurious edition of the memoirs of a noblewoman raised at the court of the Sun King, the book printed on vellum and from a very distinguished private collection. In the text, Madame de Caylus (1673-1729) offers an insider's account of perhaps the most glittering court Europe has ever known. As the cousin of Madame de Maintenon, Louis XIV's morganatic wife, she was privy to all the intrigues surrounding the royal household. This work was first published by Voltaire in 1770, but the present edition is considered the best. Brunet mentions one vellum copy that matches the description of this one; we have seen one other copy on vellum, but its plates were without the gilt frames seen here, and the title page did not have the hand-painted coat of arms. The splendid binding is the work of one of the greatest French binding dynasties. In her "Bookbinders and their Craft," Prideaux says that the Gruel firm, founded in 1811, "has always had the highest reputation . . . for initiative in artistic matters, as well as for irreproachable execution in the detail of its many-sided achievements." Our binding stands as testament to the truth of this statement. The tooling is remarkable for the almost three-dimensional quality of the leaves, blossoms, vases, and volutes. There is a regal quality befitting the court of Louis XIV, with symbols of monarchy rendered in lavish gold, and with materials and workmanship of the highest quality. The Gruel bindery was managed by several family members over the years, most famously by Léon Gruel (1841-1923), and the list of binders who trained at the Gruel atelier is the most distinguished in Europe. The volume's provenance is suitably distinguished. According to Beverly Chew, the library of Robert Hoe (1839-1911), founding member and first president of the Grolier Club, was "the finest [America] has ever contained." Hoe acquired illuminated manuscripts, early printing (he owned a Gutenberg Bible on paper and one on vellum), fine bindings, French and English literature, and Americana, and when his library was sold in 1911-12, it fetched nearly $2 million, a record that held until the Streeter sale more than 50 years later..