Greve

1822 · 2128 — Lithogr. front. portrait of Greve XVI 526 8 pages 1 large folded table "Giesser Zettel fuer Buchbinder" and 4 numbered large folded plates ; 2 16 16 with a foreword by the author to his fellow colleagues XX 2 388 pages and 7 numbered folded lithogr. plates. Cont. light blue boards gilt label to spine. All edges gilt top and lower corners of edges gauffered. 180 x 105 mm. Binding rubbed extremeties worn labels minimally chipped. <br /><br /><br />Mejer 1804 ; Pollard & Potter 36 ; Schmidt-Künsemüller 7261. First edition of arguably the most important German bookbinding manual of the first half of the 19th century. Ernst Wilhelm Greve born 1787 was originally from Copenhagen but worked most of his life in Berlin as a bookbinder. Volume I with a remarkable large plate 515 x 405 mm which according to an advert in volume II was also published separately depicting numerous examples of fillets borders signs vignettes and ornaments after designs by the Berlin based artist and engraver Thieme numbered 1 through 170 each design is priced individually and could be ordered directly from the artist and furthermore including a four-page publicity leaflet by Greve quoting tools papers and other bookbinding materials which could be purchased at his bookbindery. The four-page subscriber's list contains ca 100 subscribers with 32 of them being bookbinders or apprentice bookbinders. A fresh and clean copy quite unusual for such a manual and very rare thus. Maurer