eu já tinha comentado aqui a qualidade exuberante das obras impressas por Ambroise-Firmin Didot et Fils, século retrasado. muito antes das nossas compilações atuais e edições em CD-Rom voce podia adquirir da prensa da família Didot catálogos impressionates como o que mostramos aqui. este exemplar está sendo vendido na E-Bay e, melhor ainda, traz o autógrafo de Firmin Didot.
o livreiro que está disponbilizando esta peça nos diz:
"L'ORNEMENT POLYCHROME/100 COLOR PLATES/RARE 1876 SIGNED
INSCRIBED by PUBLISHER to SOTHERAN/HUGE, ILLUSTRATED
L'ORNEMENT POLYCHROME: CENT PLANCHES EN COULEURS, OR ET ARGENT, CONTENANT ENVIRON 2,000 MOTIFS DE TOUS LES STYLES, ART ANCIEN ET ASIATIQUE, MOYEN AGE, RENAISSANCE, XVII SIECLE. RECUEIL HISTORIQUE ET PRATIQUE. PUBLIE SOUS LA DIRECTION DE M. A. RACINET. AVEC DES NOTICES EXPLICATIVES ET UNE INTRODUCTION GENERALE. Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot Freres, Fils etc cie, no date [crica 1876]. First Edition. Inscribed by the publisher. Text in French. Rare.
A huge and lavishly-illustrated classic historical encyclopedia of ornament, the "Racinet" is one of the great "Grammar-of-Ornament" style works of the second half of the l9th Century. This superb series of 100 large plates were printed by advanced chromolithography by Firmin Didot in Paris, one of the finest lithographers in the world. The 100 color, chromolithographic plates are printed on only one side of each page, with gold- and silver-overprinting; each plate is accompanied by a leaf of descriptive text. Studies of ornament include surface patterns and motifs adapted from borders, tiles, carved wood panels, jewelry, pottery, china, weapons, etc. Sources include characteristic patterns of Primitive, Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, Greco-Roman, Etruscan, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Persian, Arabian, Moorish, Byzantine, Middle Ages, Byzantine, Celtic, Romanesque, Renaissance, and XVI, XVII, and XVIII Centuries. This massive big book, together with Owen Jones' 'Grammar of Ornament', represent among the greatest accomplishments in chromolithography, now a lost art.
'L'Ornement Polychrome' was and is a valuable research tool for the study of the development of design. It was utilised in the creation of the Henry II style, popular from the late 19th century through the 1940s and the Gothic Revival, among others. A very useful and practical reference work for designers, artists, colourists, restorers and historians of decoration, a great sourcebook of historic decoration, pattern, design motifs and color. A cornerstone work for any printing arts collector. This elephant folio book measures 16 inches by 12 inches and weighs approximately 12 lbs. This copy was inscribed by the publisher, Ambroise-Firmin Didot: "a M. Sotheran, Hommage a bonne confraternite, A. Firmin Didot". Henry Sotheran's is the oldest and one of the most distinguised rare booksellers in England, so the book was probably inscribed to the owner of that bookshop. The Didots were among the more important printers and publishers in France since the 17th Century, and Ambroise-Firman Didot directed the family firm from 1827 to 1876. This book must have been one of the last and most impressive books he published before his death.
Published more than 120 years ago, First Edition copies of this tome are rare and highly-sought-after by collectors. Probably the vast majority of copies of this book were broken up to frame the illustrations, and I understand that one of the best hotels in Europe has these plates framed on their walls. This book has been collated and all 100 plates are present; this book was once in the collection of the New Haven Free Public Library, which sold it to raise funding. Unfortunately there are small perforated stamps on the lower margins of each plate; also, there is a whiteish discoloration on the foredges of 14 plates, only slightly affecting one of the images. Complete copies of this book usually sell for between $1200 and $2500. This book is complete and is in the rare original decorative binding, so it should be quite valuable. Another copy is not likely to come up for sale on ebay.
NOTE: There are more pictures at the bottom of this listing. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.
From the Preface: "Au moment ou nous faisons paraitre la derniere livraison de ce vaste Recueil, nous sommes dispenses de la tache ingrate d'en faire nous-memes l'eloge par l'accueil si favorable qu'il a deja du public. Qu'il nous soit permis seulement de constater que les promesses faites a nos Souscripteurs en 1869 ont ete, a tous les points de vue largement remplies. Nouse annoncions alors un ouvrage ou, tout en donnant aux enseignements si precieux des arts antique et oriental la place qui leur est due, nous en assignerions une tres-importante a l'element pratique et moderne; et, en effet, sur cent planches dont se compose l'ouvrage, cinquante ont ete consacrees aux arts de la Renaissance et des dix-septieme et dix-huitieme siecles.
"Nous disions que, grace a la regle suivie de presenter le motif d'ornement en lui-meme, sans l'adapter exclusivement a telle ou telle forme architecturale, a tel ou tel emploi industriel nous esperions donner au moins deux mille motifs repartis et combines dans nos cent planches, coloriees; c'est ce nombre, en effet, qui a ete obtenu, nombre s'augmentant considerablement des subdivisions ou details d'un meme motif d'ensemble, qui tous ont leur interet propre et que l'application peut isoler. Quant a l'execution de livre, nous sommes plus a l'aise pour rendre ici a son auteur une justice que les suffrages les plus competents and deja ratifiee.
"L'heureux choix des motifs, puises aux sources memes, tous de valeur et pour la plupart inedits; le groupement ingenieux de ces motifs si nombreux et parfois difficiles a rapprocher dans des compositions toujours harmonieuses et bien concues; l'exactitude severe du dessin et la fidelite de la couleur, ne font pas mois d'honneur a M. Racient que la connaissance approfondue de son sujet, qui lui a permis de presenter dans un ordre historique et raisomne un aussi vaste ensemble."
Contents include: Art Peimitif; Art Egyptien; Art Assyrien; Antique Grecque; Antiquite Greco-Romaine; Art Chinois; Art Japonais; Art Indien; Art Persan; Art Arabe; Art Mauresque; Moyen Age; Celtique; XVIe et XVIIe siecle; XVIIIe siecle; Renaissance; Tableau De Concordance des signes et titres mis sur les planches avec les numeros d'ordre qu'elles doivent occuper dans le recueil; Planches et Notices; Table des mofits contenus dans les cent planches, classes par genres ou indutries, etc.
According to wikipedia, Ambroise-Firmin Didot was the: "Eldest son of Firmin, born 1790, died 1876; followed first a diplomatic career and was for a time attache of the French Embassy at Constantinople. He took advantage of his position to visit the East and Greece, being the first to discover the location of Pergamacum. When his father retired in 1827, he, together with his brother Hyacinthe, took the management of the publishing business. They published "Bibliothèque des auteurs Grecs", "Bibliothèque des auteurs Latins", and "Bibliothèque des auteurs français", an immense collection of two hundred and fifty volumes..."
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Very large folio - sized hardover book; iv + 60 pages of text, with 100 color plates [collated, complete], and more than 80 monochrome illustrations. Good condition book; withdrawn from a library, with usual institutional markings on the endpapers; small perforated stamps on title page and all plates; no other writing or markings in text; there is a white chalky discoloration on the fore-edges of 14 plates and 16 pages of text, not affecting text, and only somewhat affecting one of the images; small tear on one page repaired with tape; no other torn or missing pages, two pages of text shortened on fore-edge; black and gilt decorative endpapers with library labels; all page edges gilt. Original publisher's heavy decorative fine binding, with ornate gilt designs and tooling; spine professionally rebacked retaining most of the original cloth; cover edges protected by red cloth tape; fraying to spine tips; cracking to spine cloth; light scuffing to covers. Overall a solid and attractive copy of this beautiful book."
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