[ALBUM OF BLANK PAPER IN RED MOROCCO BINDING]

[Album of paper in an 18th-century French red morocco binding]

4to. (15 5/16 x 10 1/4 inches). 90 leaves of 18th-century watermarked glazed paper.

18th-century French red morocco boards with elaborate gilt borders, spine gilt in six compartments, four silk ties at board edges, all edges gilt.

Provenance: Edgard Stern (bookplate)

90 blank sheets of laid paper with the watermark of a French/Dutch papermaker, in a beautiful red morocco binding.

This watermark originates from the mills of Jean Villadary [or Villedary], a French papermaker in Angoumois, Vraichamp, Beauvais or La Couronne. From 1668 to 1758, the firm was active in France and afterwards, they owned a paper mill in Hattem, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, until 1812. A law passed in 1688 regulating paper manufacturing ruled that the initials and name of papermarks had to be added to the watermark on every sheet of paper made. The name or initials VI (or IV) can be found over a period of 150 years, during which they became known as a hallmark of excellence.

Churchill, W.A.. Watermarks in Paper in Holland, England, France, etc. in the XVII and XVIII Centuries and Their Interconnection 1865-1947, (Amsterdam: 1935).

Item #39704

Price: $4,500.00