23 Feb 2018
Cabinet de Curiosités #1
And your Friday bibliographical curiosity today is... this 1784 clandestine defence of the Waldensian Christian movement ! A copy that may have belonged to the famous Geneva naturalist and philosopher Charles Bonnet !
Attributed by Quérard to scholar Jacques Maranda, the book contains very interesting information on the history of the Christian movement founded by the Lyon preacher Pierre Valdo (or Valdès), as well as fragments from "La Noble Leiçon" in the Vaud language, one of the fundamental texts of this long persecuted movement !
The Waldensians’ historical ties with Geneva invite us to formulate the hypothesis that the handwritten inscription "C. Bonnet" on the title page could come from the great Genevan scientist Charles Bonnet (1720-1793), a most erudite mind and the author of pioneering studies on parthenogenesis !
Attributed by Quérard to scholar Jacques Maranda, the book contains very interesting information on the history of the Christian movement founded by the Lyon preacher Pierre Valdo (or Valdès), as well as fragments from "La Noble Leiçon" in the Vaud language, one of the fundamental texts of this long persecuted movement !
The Waldensians’ historical ties with Geneva invite us to formulate the hypothesis that the handwritten inscription "C. Bonnet" on the title page could come from the great Genevan scientist Charles Bonnet (1720-1793), a most erudite mind and the author of pioneering studies on parthenogenesis !
16 Feb 2018
A sumptuous "Liber Amicorum" ?
We’re back ! And we’ve got something really beautiful to present to you !
Chances are one of you might help us solve the mystery that is this extraordinary copy of the doctoral thesis of Dutch lawyer Willem Wendilium van Berckel (1718-1799) !
This unique copy is remarkable in that it contains only the title page and the dedication leaves of the thesis : in lieu of the actual 50 pages text, 6 luxurious silk leaves ! What's more, the printed paper quires and silk leaves come in an astonishing green velvet binding decorated with gold thread embroidy !
The purpose for manufacturing this objet remains uncertain; yet, the inclusion of the dedication leaves following the title page and blank silk leaves seem to indicate that the blank leaves were meant to be filled by the student's friends and family.
The unusually magnificent character of the binding, which stands in contrast with the austerity of a legal thesis, invites us to think that this copy was meant to be a sumptuous "Liber Amicorum" !
Dear friends, please let us know what you think of this !
Chances are one of you might help us solve the mystery that is this extraordinary copy of the doctoral thesis of Dutch lawyer Willem Wendilium van Berckel (1718-1799) !
This unique copy is remarkable in that it contains only the title page and the dedication leaves of the thesis : in lieu of the actual 50 pages text, 6 luxurious silk leaves ! What's more, the printed paper quires and silk leaves come in an astonishing green velvet binding decorated with gold thread embroidy !
The purpose for manufacturing this objet remains uncertain; yet, the inclusion of the dedication leaves following the title page and blank silk leaves seem to indicate that the blank leaves were meant to be filled by the student's friends and family.
The unusually magnificent character of the binding, which stands in contrast with the austerity of a legal thesis, invites us to think that this copy was meant to be a sumptuous "Liber Amicorum" !
Dear friends, please let us know what you think of this !
5 Jan 2018
Flos Aetatis
The whole team of Librería Comellas wishes you a happy new year!
To celebrate the passage to 2018, we invite you to discover this very rare collection of treatises composed by French theologian Jacques Almain, a posthumous edition published in 1518!
Five hundred years old! The prime of life!
To celebrate the passage to 2018, we invite you to discover this very rare collection of treatises composed by French theologian Jacques Almain, a posthumous edition published in 1518!
Five hundred years old! The prime of life!
29 Dec 2017
Madame de Pompadour's "bibliothèque"
As the year 2017 comes to an end, the time has come for us to thank you, as more and more of you follow us here!
In your honour, it is our pleasure to present to you a copy of the library catalogue of a great patroness of the arts and letters, who was born on December, 29th: Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, better known as Madame de Pompadour (29 Dec. 1721 - 15 Apr. 1764)!
Dear friends and bibliophiles, on behalf of the Librería Comellas team, I wish you a very happy end of the year!
In your honour, it is our pleasure to present to you a copy of the library catalogue of a great patroness of the arts and letters, who was born on December, 29th: Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, better known as Madame de Pompadour (29 Dec. 1721 - 15 Apr. 1764)!
Dear friends and bibliophiles, on behalf of the Librería Comellas team, I wish you a very happy end of the year!
22 Dec 2017
Occitan Cuckold Anthems
What better day than today - as the intense political campaign has finally come to an end here in Catalonia - to present to you a charming little collection of… cuckold anthems!
Printed in Montpellier, this collection of songs in Occitan patois (including one in French) was published on the occasion of the 1832 carnival, during which, as tradition dictated, the young grooms celebrated their condition as new "cournards"!
Needless to say, such anthems to the inevitability of deception and unfulfilled promises could still resonate today!
Printed in Montpellier, this collection of songs in Occitan patois (including one in French) was published on the occasion of the 1832 carnival, during which, as tradition dictated, the young grooms celebrated their condition as new "cournards"!
Needless to say, such anthems to the inevitability of deception and unfulfilled promises could still resonate today!
15 Dec 2017
"Pourtraits Divers"
As the finest connoisseurs of the history of French Renaissance engraving will know, there is no "typo" above, but the exact (“trait pour trait”, if I may say!) title of the fabulous collection of engravings published by the great Lyon printer Jan de Tournes in 1557!
The work of de Tournes' favourite engraver Bernard Solomon (known as "le Petit Bernard"), this amazing book does include portraits, but also scenes of everyday life, of hunting, as well as mythological scenes, allegories, etc.
The copy we present to you today is uncut, and contains 64 plates! (i.e. one plate more than the 63 in the most complete copies recorded).
An exceptional work, from the title to the last page!
The work of de Tournes' favourite engraver Bernard Solomon (known as "le Petit Bernard"), this amazing book does include portraits, but also scenes of everyday life, of hunting, as well as mythological scenes, allegories, etc.
The copy we present to you today is uncut, and contains 64 plates! (i.e. one plate more than the 63 in the most complete copies recorded).
An exceptional work, from the title to the last page!
24 Nov 2017
Sign Language
On November, 24th, 1712, Charles-Michel de l'Epée, founder of the Institute for the Deaf and Mute and inventor of "sign language", was born: a century and a half before Saussure, the Abbé de l'Epée already invited us to conceive of any language - spoken or not - as a system of signs!
As a tribute to l’Epée, here is an "ex dono authoris" copy of the original edition of his main work, published in 1776 !
Should you want to know more about this work, please sign up to our webiste !
As a tribute to l’Epée, here is an "ex dono authoris" copy of the original edition of his main work, published in 1776 !
Should you want to know more about this work, please sign up to our webiste !
11 Nov 2017
The Metric System
Today, as we celebrate both World Science Day for Peace and Development and the "Dia de las librerías" here in Barcelona, we invite you to discover this precious book from 1796, intended to publicize the metric system- the implementation of which was one of the most brilliant manifestations of the rational and universalist ideals of the French Revolution!
The 17 memoirs, plates and tables that make up this collection first appeared separately, before being bound here together under a collective title; the work also contains the text of the law of Germinal, 18th, Year III (1795) which established the metric system throughout the territory of the French Republic.
May peace and centimeters be upon you!
The 17 memoirs, plates and tables that make up this collection first appeared separately, before being bound here together under a collective title; the work also contains the text of the law of Germinal, 18th, Year III (1795) which established the metric system throughout the territory of the French Republic.
May peace and centimeters be upon you!
