Illustrations
[London]: [Longman, Hurst, Rees & Orme], [ca. 1810]. First edition. Hardcover. Quarto. [34 plates]. Bound in period 3/4 red pebbled leather over tan marbled paper boards. Decorative paper title with black lettering pasted on the front cover. Bound with plates in numerical order, but missing 19 of the 51 engraved plates as originally issued. Also missing from this copy is any text giving publication information. The title page simply reads, "Illustrations by Moses".
This extremely scarce work collects 32 full-page steel-plate engravings by English illustrator Henry Moses (1781–1870), based on scenes from Jean Froissart's Chronicles of the 100 Years' War. The artist seems to have been influenced by images from the mediaeval illuminated manuscript copies of Froissarts work. Here we see various scenes of French court life, various members of the French nobility, and other royalty, as well as some battle scenes. Each image is numbered, and captioned underneath.
Binding with front board detached but present. Some rubbing and chipping to extremities. Interior with some scholarly annotations in pencil from a previous owner on the front free endpaper and in the lower margins of many of the plates. Pencil markings also at the bottom of the label on the front cover. Most plates throughout with light to moderate foxing and water stains. Binding in poor, interior in good- condition overall. Extremely scarce. poor to g-. Item #48456
Alternate titles: Moses's Illustrations (cover), Illustrations by Moses, Illustrations to Froissart's Chronicles, Illustrations by Henry Moses.
Price: $350.00