LIVRES RARES ET MANUSCRITS
REMARKABLE PRAYER BOOKS AND
TRAVEL BOOKS
BOOKS ILLUSTRATED BY MAJOR ARTISTS
PLAYING CARDS
Paris – From 22 June to 5 July, Christie’s presents an Online Sale of rare books and manuscripts with over 220 lots, covering a wide overview of the history of books from the 15th century to the present day. Among other highlights, the sale includes an illuminated missal for the use of Notre-Dame de Paris, a surrealist card game, a travel book dating from the 18th century, and a rare volume of fashion and trade costume engravings. The global estimate for the sale is around 1 million euros.
REMARKABLE PRAYER BOOKS
One of the highlights of the sale is a sumptuous late 14th-century illuminated missal for the use of Notre-Dame (Estimate: €40,000 – 60,000). The provenance of this remarkably well-preserved volume makes it truly exceptional. Indications suggest that the manuscript was used by a priest at Notre-Dame, in particular for its Calendar listing all the saints of the Church of Paris. Another rare and exceptional lot is a 19th-century prayer book woven entirely with punched cards on a Jacquard loom, allowing various complex patterns to be created. The work, in between craftsmanship and early information technology, is believed to have been produced in only around fifty copies (Estimate: €10,000 - 15,000).
TRAVEL BOOKS & ENCYCLOPAEDIC KNOWLEDGE
The sale also includes a magnificent travel book dating from 1782, with original red Morocco binding and illustrated with striking handcoloured plates. These very detailed images are highly evocative of the customs of India, Malaysia and China. The artist, Pierre Sonnerat, one of the greatest illustrator-naturalists of the period, was commissioned by King Louis XV to explore the Orient. This is the earliest example of a book describing and depicting a number of previously unknown species of birds and fruits such as the lychee. A copy of Diderot’s Encyclopédie featured in the sale brings together all 35 volumes and 3,129 illustrated plates of the original version. It is stamped with the coat of arms of Maria Feodorovna (1759-1828), Empress Consort of Russia (Estimate: €30,000 - 50,000).
The sale will also feature a valuable collection of late 17th -century engravings by the Larmessins, a major dynasty of Grand Siècle engravers. It is probably the most complete series of “Costumes of the trades” by the family ever seen on the market. The characters, in the manner of Arcimboldo, combine emblematic tools and objects representing a trade or a social status. Beyond their artistic value, these engravings are rooted in masquerade traditions dating back to the 16th century: spectacular costumes had to impress at first sight. A 1936 MoMa exhibition highlighted the links between this fanciful, “arcimboldesque” aesthetic and collages by Max Ernst or Dali's experimentation. (Estimate: €30,000 – 40,000).
WRITERS AND ARTISTS: LOVE AND HATE STORIES
Several lots shed light on the mutual influences, quarrels and deep friendships between writers and artists. Fascinating conversations, as well as more heated exchanges, are revealed in handwritten manuscripts and letters. A letter from Flaubert to his muse, the poet Louise Colet (Estimate: €6,000 - 8,000), a handwritten manuscript by Leo Tolstoy in response to a speech by Émile Zola (Estimate: €10,000 - 15,000), and a letter from Pierre Soulages to Michel Butor (Estimate: €6,000 - 8,000) should appeal to collectors.
The sale will also feature texts by René Char illustrated by major 20th -century artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, as well as Lettera Amorosa (1963), one of the most beautiful books illustrated by Georges Braque. The volume combines poetic forms and the language of colours. It is superbly bound by P.L. Martin (Estimate: €30,000 - 40,000).
THE PLAYING CARD, A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION: FROM CARD-MAKERS TO SURREALISTS
A complete tarot deck, wood-block printed and coloured using stencils, produced by card-maker Nicolas Bodet in the 18th century, should appeal to Card-game enthusiasts (Estimate: €10,000 - 15,000). In 1941, the surrealist group exiled in Marseille attempted to resume its activities. The idea of reinterpreting the traditional deck of cards first came about in one of the city's cafés, the Brûleur de loups. The project was quickly entrusted to the artist Frédéric Delanglade. The deck of cards for sale, first printed in 1943, brings together the original drawings by Delanglade and his sketches. It is an invaluable record of this period in the history of Surrealism (Estimate: €5,000 - 7,000).
PRACTICAL INFO
Online Sale: 22 June – 5 July
Viewing: 30 June – 5 July at Christie’s, 9 avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris
PRESS CONTACT: pressparis@christies.com | 01 40 46 84 08
