[ENAMELS - MANUSCRIPT]. Notice des Emaux Exposes dans les Galleries du Musee du Louvre [and] Notice des Emaux, Bijoux et Objets Divers by Laborde [Leon Emmanuel Simon Joseph], comte de. [Annotated by: Anatole de Courde de Montaiglon] - 1853

Paris: Vinchon, 1853. First Edition. Together 2 vols. 8vo. 348; Ex-library markings on spines, perforations on title-pages and other leaves, bookplates, accession stamps. Vol. I: contemporary quarter morocco over mottled boards, somewhat worn, front joint mended, headcap chipped, binder's blanks brittle, overall a good copy in a sound binding, the text quite fresh. Vol. 2: contemporary quarter roan over blue boards, very worn, boards detached, spine defective; marbled endpapers, binder's blanks, and title-page detached; textblock and interleaved sheets brittle. This volume is in poor condition and is preserved in a four flap lig-free phase box. One of the most important scholarly works on the history of enamel art. This is Anatole de Montaiglon's copy, with vol. 2 interleaved and extensively annotated throughout. This was the "Inventaire des joyaux de Louis, duc d'Anjou dresse vers 1360-1368" (pp. 1-120 pp.), all with annotations and corrections); the very important "Glossaire et Repertoire" (pp. 121-548), with every page interleaved and with thousands of annotations and corrections), ranging from almost every conceivable definition associated with enamels (from "Acerofaires" to "Zodiacre"); and the "Table" (pp. 549-552).

It is almost certain that Montaiglon's revisions and augmentations of Laborde's "Glossaire et Repertoire" were destined to be published as a second edition. Upon completion, he signed and dated his work on p. 548: "Troyes, Octobre 1878." Montaiglon even pasted in several of his own engraved head- and tailpiece vignettes into the text. To our knowledge, the vast amount of information in this volume has not been published in any form.

Montaiglon (1824-1895) was a highly esteemed antiquarian. He trained as an archivist and paleographer at the Ecole des chartes, and from there went to the Louvre, and then the Arsenal. Montaiglon was a great admirer of Laborde: he prided himself on purchasing Laborde's "Renaissance des arts a la cour de France" as soon as it was published (1850-1855). (Source: Jules Guiffrey, "Anatole de Courde de Montaiglon, 1824-1895. Notice biographique," 1897). In 1864 he became a teacher at the Ecole des chartes where he taught bibliography and archival enterprise. He was a prodigious writer on historical literature and the history of art (more than 700 separate articles and monographs were published by him). He was beloved by his many students and respected by his colleagues, as we learn from the memorials to him in the "Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes" (Année 1895, pp. 591-597).

Provenance: Anatole de Montaiglon with his monogram on spines, bookplates in both volumes, and signatures in vol. 2. -- Forbes Library Northampton, Mass.