Workmanship & Artistry

A collection of 125 inlaid bindings of the 18th Century: The rarest, most demanding and most exquisite of all bookbinding techniques.

Over 25 years in the making, this collection of inlaid bindings represents a field so rare that hardly any specimens even came on the market in the 19th and 20th centuries. In Louis-Marie Michon’s 1956 bibliography of 18th century inlaid bindings, he found only 84 examples in all the public libraries in France.

The sheer size of this collection, with its 125 outstanding mosaic bindings by the most famous and skilled craftsmen of their time, is remarkable enough, but the workmanship and artistry of these examples is what shines through in this catalogue: the seamless inlays of multi-coloured leather, the inspired glimmer of gold tooling, the iridescent gleam of mineral detail.

This collection reminds us of the stark contrast between the world that gave birth to these treasures, and the world that surrounds us. In our modern, on-demand era of disposable goods and cheap labour, it is too easy to lose our feel and appreciation for the carefully considered details that were at the heart of the precious work on these bindings. Understanding them requires us to travel back in time to a world steeped in tradition, a world in which this painstaking artisanal discipline still lived and thrived. It is paramount to mention the very fine to mint condition of all of these jewels. Find some of the most spectacular works from the collection below.
You can order our richly illustrated catalogue 84 “à compartiments” in the online shop or browse through it virtually.

This collection, given its uniqueness und unrepeatability, is for sale only as a whole.