Romance

1538 · ST14933 — <p>Paris: Jehan Masse Jean Macé 1538. Fourth Edition. 182 x 91 mm. 6 3/8 x 3 3/4". 8 p.l. ccciii 1 blank leaves.Edited by Clément Marot. <br />ELEGANT SCARLET MOROCCO BY LORTIC stamp-signed on front turn-in covers tooled in gilt and blind in a Grolieresque strapwork design raised bands spine compartments with central gilt rose surrounded by blind tooling gilt titling turn-ins richly gilt marbled endpapers all edges gilt. With title page vignette and 49 impressions of 26 CHARMING WOODCUTS in the text. Front pastedown with engraved bookplate of P. Grandsire. Brunet III 1175; Bourdillon "Early Editions of the Roman de la Rose" the "S" version pp. 62-63. ◆Leaves lightly washed and pressed following the bibliophilic fashion at the time of binding occasional mild browning or small marginal stains but still A LOVELY COPY clean and still crisp IN A SPARKLING BINDING.<br /><br />Beautifully bound this is a most attractive copy of the last early edition of this classic of courtly love perhaps the most influential work in Medieval French literature. An allegorical love poem that unfolds as a dream vision the "Romance of the Rose" is the work of two authors Guillaume de Lorris who composed the first 4000 or so lines around 1230 and Jean de Meun who contributed an additional 18000 lines 40 years later. Our version was edited by the poet Clément Marot 1496-1544 to make the language more accessible to 16th century French readers and his efforts contributed to a renewed popularity for the tale. Marot did four recensions of the text; this is the final one. After our printing no other edition appeared until 1735. According to Bourdillon the woodcuts here are copied from the "very pretty" series in the 1529 edition. The scenes are impressive in the level of detail especially considering their diminutive size. Pierre Marcellin Lortic 1822-92 was one of the great binders of 19th century Paris known for his superb interpretations of traditional styles as in the present binding. According to Flety "at once artisan and artiste intelligent and conscientious an expert and a lover of his metier he knew how to give his work the finish the brilliance that very few practitioners of his time could attain." Our copy comes from the library of French bibliophile Paul Grandsire of Nogenten-Bassigny Haute-Marne whose notable collection of French imprints from the 15th to the 18th centuries was sold in 1930. All early versions of the "Romance of the Rose" are sought after and this is especially true of well-preserved copies of those editions with charming illustrations and in fine bindings favored by discriminating bibliophiles.</p> Jehan Masse [Jean Macé]