Recueil de testes de caractere & de charges. dessinées par Leonard de Vinci Florentin, & gravées par M. le C. de C.
Paris: J. Mariette, 1730.
A Set of Plates by Caylus after Leonardo
[LEONARDO DA VINCI]. [Caylus, Anne Claude Philippe, Comte de [illustrator]. Recueil de testes de caractere & de charges. dessinées par Leonard de Vinci Florentin, & gravées par M. le C. de C. Paris: J. Mariette, 1730.
First edition. Quarto (11 3/8 x 8 5/8 inches; 289 x 219 mm.) 22, [2, catalog] pp. With engraved sepia title-page after Agostino Carracci and 59 numbered engravings on 31 plates. Most engravings are 2 to a page. And a final sepia engraving entitled "di mano di Lodovico Cigoli."
Contemporary red morocco, elaborately tooled in gilt. Binding with some professional restoration. Spine stamped and lettered in gilt. All leaves bound on stubs. All edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. Overall very good.
A set of plates by Caylus after Leonardo's grotesque face studies. The number of plates can vary, but this copy contains all the engravings described in the printed "Catalogue des pièces" at the end of the preface. According to the British Museum "a series of 60 plates reproducing drawings by Leonardo da Vinci engraved by Caylus, including a title-page showing Hercules and Hydra fighting within an ornamental framework, after A. Carracci... 60 half-bust figures within roundels, printed two per folio, apart from plates nos 53 and 54 that are full-page squared plates, and pl. n. 60 which is the head of a figure by Cigoli." This is consistent with our copy, with the exception that plate number 55 is also alone on the sheet.
Cohen-De Ricci 212 (40 plates) & 623 (36 plates)
HBS 68433.
$7,500.
Price: $7,500.00
Item #68433