Epreuve du premier alphabet droit et penché, ornée de quadres et de cartouches.

8 leaves (10 pages of which are printed, 6 pages blank ) with types, vignettes, rules and borders.

– bound with:
Phaedrus. Fabulae et Publii Syri sententiae. Paris, Typographia Regia 1729. Engr. front., (4), 86 pages.

– bound with:
Horatius Flaccus, Quintus. Opera. Paris, Typographia Regia 1733. Title with typographical vignette and border, (2), 224 pages.

Black morocco binding by Simier, relieur du roy. Spine on four raised bands, gilt titles to three compartments, two compartments with blindembossed ornamentation. Covers framed by three blindembossed rolls with gilt point in each corner. Small- 8vo (122 x 78 mm). Spine neatly restored, extremeties worn. -

I. Berlin Catalogue 5393 ; Audin, no. 3 ; Birrell and Garnett, p. 16 ; cf. Bigmore and Wyman I, 446. "C'est le plus petit caractère gravé en France à cette époque. Il est diminué d'un tiers par rapport à la 'sedanaise' gravée vers 1625 par Jean Jannon à Sedan (...) Ce spécimen de format très réduit (10,5 x 6,8 cm) contient non seulement les nouveaux caractères, mais la collection des cadres, filets et ornements. Le premier et le dernier feuillet en forme de couverture décorée montrent ces nouvelles vignettes de fonte" (Jammes, Collection de spécimens de caractères, 18). -

II. Updike I, 246. "The sédanoise font was used in a 32mo volume printed by the Imprimerie Royale in 1729 – Phaedri fabulae, et Publii Syri sententiae – and the interesting Latin preface makes allusion to the types, which are clear though minute".

III. Bibliothèque Nationale. L'art du livre à l'imprimerie nationale no. 183. "Edition remarquable par l'exiguité et la netteté des caractères qui ont servi à son exécution". (Jammes, Typographia Regiae Nr. 67).

- Louis Luce, the third royal type cutter, who made his notable types and ornaments for the Imprimerie Royale, printed very few copies of his specimens, which "causes them to be much prized by bibliophiles" (Bigmore and Wyman), the rarest of these is this booklet of 'Perle' types. A few quires lightly spotted or age-toned throughout the volume. A fine sammelband with highly interesting typographical rarities.