Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 159 6 Mar 2021
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Jacques Guay, Engraver of Gems
Leturcq, J.-F. NOTICE SUR JACQUES GUAY, GRAVEUR SUR PIERRES FINES DU ROI LOUIS XV, PAR J.-F. LETURCQ. DOCUMENTS INÉDITS ÉMANANT DE GUAY ET NOTES SUR LES OEUVRES DE GRAVURE EN TAILLE-DOUCE ET EN PIERRES FINES DE LA LARQUISE DE POMPADOUR. Paris: Librairie de J. Baur, 1873. 4to, somewhat later green cloth-backed marbled boards; red spine label, gilt; silk marker; original printed paper covers bound in. viii, 266, (4) pages; finely executed half-title with a decorative border; title printed in red and black; 3 facsimile plates; 8 fine photogravure plates, final 2 in sepia. Original paper covers and endpapers foxed. Untrimmed, with contents near fine. Quite rare. Item number 135, depicted on one of the plates, comprises "Un portrait du Franklin portant la coiffure de fourrure connue par les portraits en terre cuite de Nini." Sinkankas 3909: "Handsome work, made from high quality materials, tastefully designed and illustrated... The prefatory matter ... discusses the art of the gem engraver, the history of the art, various engravers... and several large gem collections. The career of Guay is given in considerable detail along with remarks on his gems and his relation to Pompadour. This portion occupies pages up to 60... the main body of text ... consists of essays on prints made by Pompadour from Guay gems... Leturcq mentions that not all works attributed to Pompadour ... are her own inasmuch as only five engraved gems can be certainly attributed to her hand. More important are her engravings of the Guay gems, some 52 to be precise, which are reproduced on the plates... Among other plates in this interesting work is the famous plate reproduced from Mariette showing a gem engraver at work, also a facsimile of Guay's handwriting, and a pair of sepia-tinted plates giving facsimiles of Boucher designs."
Leturcq, J.-F. NOTICE SUR JACQUES GUAY, GRAVEUR SUR PIERRES FINES DU ROI LOUIS XV, PAR J.-F. LETURCQ. DOCUMENTS INÉDITS ÉMANANT DE GUAY ET NOTES SUR LES OEUVRES DE GRAVURE EN TAILLE-DOUCE ET EN PIERRES FINES DE LA LARQUISE DE POMPADOUR. Paris: Librairie de J. Baur, 1873. 4to, somewhat later green cloth-backed marbled boards; red spine label, gilt; silk marker; original printed paper covers bound in. viii, 266, (4) pages; finely executed half-title with a decorative border; title printed in red and black; 3 facsimile plates; 8 fine photogravure plates, final 2 in sepia. Original paper covers and endpapers foxed. Untrimmed, with contents near fine. Quite rare. Item number 135, depicted on one of the plates, comprises "Un portrait du Franklin portant la coiffure de fourrure connue par les portraits en terre cuite de Nini." Sinkankas 3909: "Handsome work, made from high quality materials, tastefully designed and illustrated... The prefatory matter ... discusses the art of the gem engraver, the history of the art, various engravers... and several large gem collections. The career of Guay is given in considerable detail along with remarks on his gems and his relation to Pompadour. This portion occupies pages up to 60... the main body of text ... consists of essays on prints made by Pompadour from Guay gems... Leturcq mentions that not all works attributed to Pompadour ... are her own inasmuch as only five engraved gems can be certainly attributed to her hand. More important are her engravings of the Guay gems, some 52 to be precise, which are reproduced on the plates... Among other plates in this interesting work is the famous plate reproduced from Mariette showing a gem engraver at work, also a facsimile of Guay's handwriting, and a pair of sepia-tinted plates giving facsimiles of Boucher designs."