LES MÉDAILLES ET PLAQUETTES MODERNES de Dompierre de Chaufepié, H.J. de - 8211

Harlem, 8211. Folio [38 by 30 cm], contemporary matching red half morocco with marbled sides; spines with five raised bands, ruled and lettered in gilt; top page edges gilt; marbled endpapers; original printed paper front fascicle covers bound in at end of each volume. 150 pages; titles printed in red and black in first two volumes; phototype allegorical titles in all three volumes; text illustrations; 7 tipped-in plates of sketches; 109 superb phototype plates of medals; 4-page prospectus with sample plate bound in at end of final volume. Bilingual (French and Dutch). Bindings lightly worn, with spines darkened. Very good or better. The complete set of this rare and important illustrated catalogue of 19th-century medals and plaquettes in the Royal Cabinet in the Hague. Individual volumes are infrequently offered, and are often incomplete, with plates having been removed for framing. Indeed, this may be the only complete original set that we have ever handled. The tipped-in facsimiles of sketches are extraordinary, and the plates depicting medals and plaquettes are of excellent quality. Overall, a wonderful work that highlights the exceptional medallic art of the late 19th century. Henri Jean de Dompierre de Chaufepié (1861-1911) began his career in 1889 working with the engraved gems and Greek coins at the Koninklijk Penningkabinet. In 1892, he was appointed a conservator at the Museum van Oudheden te Leiden, but returned to the Royal Coin Cabinet the following year as director. He published in a number of numismatic fields, but became best known for his effort in promoting modern medallic art through publications such as Catalogus der Nederlandsche en op Nederland betrekking hebbende Gedenkpenningen (1903-1906) and the magnificently printed and illustrated Les médailles et plaquettes modernes (1899-1907). Clain-Stefanelli 14101. Grierson 256 (giving the dates as 1899-1906). Modesti 925 ("Opera eccezionale, che raccoglie ed elenca tutte le medaglie e le placchette presenti nel Museo di Amsterdam (ma anche negli altri musei olandesi e belgi), realizzate dal 1850 in pot. Quindi un'opera che offre la più vasta panoramica della medaglistica ottocentesca in veste grafica elegantissima, che richiese all'autore quasi un decennio di lauoro"). Ex Birmingham Assay Office Library, with their small, circular stamp, and listed on page 83 of Westwood's beautifully printed catalogue of that library (also giving the dates as 1899-1906).