1853-1865. Folio, ff. [2] title-page with wood-engraved vignette and complete series Index, [3] Vorwort, [3] sectional titles; with 65 individual loose plates as issued on 64 sheets (plates 15/16 on one large double-page plate, and numbered 1-46, 1-10, 1-4; 1-5), a number with descriptive text on verso, with some 280 illustrations in copperplate engraving, lithography, chromolithography and wood-engravings, and a number of facsimiles, each with descriptive text; with seemingly later tissue guards; a few plates browned due to varying paper quality, with some occasional light foxing, soiling and marginal edge-wear but otherwise clean and bright; faint library stamp on verso of title-leaf; sheets loosely housed within original series concluding interim printed grey wrapper from 1865, in turn housed within original 1854 plain linen backed printed card portfolio, with nine small sections from previous printed wrappers mounted on rear pastedown and cover giving contents for each annual part, retaining all of the original linen ties, head and tail of spine a little worn, remains of two paper labels on spine, card covers lightly foxed and soiled, with faint library stamp on upper cover An appealing and complete copy of this rare and valuable history of printing and the book-trade. "A volume of the highest interest and curiosity, containing 65 plates engraved on steel and wood, lithographed and printed in colours, representing 220 subjects connected with book selling and the arts in connection, -portraits, seals and marks of early printers, facsimiles of early typography and of autograph letters of printers, &c" (Bigmore & Wyman, I. p.432.) This magnificent and richly illustrated book printing and trade history across Europe and America was originally issued in annual pictorial fascicles over thirteen years between 1853 and 1865. All areas of the book trade are discussed and illustrated in detail, with plates dedicated to leading printers, book and manuscript dealers in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, England and America from the 15th to the 19th century. The plates, mainly in lithograph but also in letterpress, reproduce book-trade documents, initials, printer’s devices and bookplates, etc, with a number of particularly striking chromolithograph plates of reproducing 24 medieval and renaissance book bindings.
Lempertz was a Cologne art and book dealer, who was one of the first to realise the importance of reproductions for the study of book-bindings (the others were Tuckett, Cundall, and Libri). On completion of this work in 1865, the title and contents leaves were issued, as found here.
The original owner has retained the final series concluding interim wrapper, having purchased the original card portfolio case. Whilst not retaining all of the original wrappers, they have, however, cut out the ‘contents’ section from each which they have neatly mounted onto the rear pastedown and cover.