Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 161 18 Sep 2021
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
The Gustave Dreyfus Reliefs & Plaquettes
de Ricci, Seymour. THE GUSTAVE DREYFUS COLLECTION. II: RELIEFS AND PLAQUETTES. Oxford: At the University Press, 1931. Thick folio [40 by 30 cm], original blue cloth, gilt. xvi, 300 pages; title printed in red and black; 127 superb plates depicting 453 reliefs and plaquettes. Spine rubbed; hinges cracked, as is frequently the case. Inscribed and signed by Sir Joseph Duveen. Very good. The rare original edition of this important, beautifully produced work. "The Gustave Dreyfus collection of Italian plaquettes is the choicest in the world," de Ricci writes in his preface. A printed notice on the verso of the half-title reveals that "The collection of Monsieur Gustave Dreyfus was acquired in 1930 from his executors by Sir Joseph Duveen Bart." Sir Joseph, Lord Milbank, was the moving force of the New York City firm of Duveen Brothers and, by most accounts, remains the greatest international art dealer of all time. His trade in master paintings and other superb works of art is legendary. He sponsored the publication of three massive volumes devoted to the Dreyfus collection. Another volume by de Ricci was devoted to the bronzes, and George Hill's initial master work on the medals completes the triad. The limited initial printings and concentration of copies in institutional holdings combine to make the appearance at sale of any of the three volumes a noteworthy occasion. The collection itself now resides at the National Gallery of Art as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Clain-Stefanelli 14268.
de Ricci, Seymour. THE GUSTAVE DREYFUS COLLECTION. II: RELIEFS AND PLAQUETTES. Oxford: At the University Press, 1931. Thick folio [40 by 30 cm], original blue cloth, gilt. xvi, 300 pages; title printed in red and black; 127 superb plates depicting 453 reliefs and plaquettes. Spine rubbed; hinges cracked, as is frequently the case. Inscribed and signed by Sir Joseph Duveen. Very good. The rare original edition of this important, beautifully produced work. "The Gustave Dreyfus collection of Italian plaquettes is the choicest in the world," de Ricci writes in his preface. A printed notice on the verso of the half-title reveals that "The collection of Monsieur Gustave Dreyfus was acquired in 1930 from his executors by Sir Joseph Duveen Bart." Sir Joseph, Lord Milbank, was the moving force of the New York City firm of Duveen Brothers and, by most accounts, remains the greatest international art dealer of all time. His trade in master paintings and other superb works of art is legendary. He sponsored the publication of three massive volumes devoted to the Dreyfus collection. Another volume by de Ricci was devoted to the bronzes, and George Hill's initial master work on the medals completes the triad. The limited initial printings and concentration of copies in institutional holdings combine to make the appearance at sale of any of the three volumes a noteworthy occasion. The collection itself now resides at the National Gallery of Art as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Clain-Stefanelli 14268.