Rare, Striking 1808-10 Hand-colored French "Coquilles" Bookplate Engravings exotic wood Front clasp closes and holds

Front clasp closes and holds tight

rich color throughout

used to render an alternating design of two different flowers

The metal looks like brass

But it is the painting of the horse at the center of the wall box that really sold me on this--definitely the improvisatory addition of whoever made this many years ago

Rare, Striking 1808-10 Hand-colored French "Coquilles" Bookplate Engravings exotic wood Front clasp closes and holdsSOLD : E, F My photos do not do these hand colored bookplate woodcut engravings justice they are subtle but quite stunning I think, with the interplay of the engraving and the coloration making them feel both unusual and really rather exquisite. They come from a scarce 1808 10 work "Conchyliogie systmatique et classification mthodique des coquilles," by the French naturalist Pierre Denys de Montfort (1766 1820) with the plates drawn and engraved by