Pierres Antiques Gravées

Gemmae Antiquae Caelatae, on which the engravers have put their names. Drawn and Engraved in Copper on the Originals or after the Prints, by Bernard Picart. Drawn from the principal Cabinets of Europe, explained by M. Philippe de Stosch, Councillor of H.M. the King of Poland, Elector of Saxony, dedicated to His M. Imp. and Cath. Charles VI Amsterdam, Bernard Picart, 1724. In-folio, full marbled calf. Spine decorated with fleurons. Title piece. Gilt edges. Small defects to the boards. Small tear on the 4th plate. Title in Latin with opposite title in French, dedication, XXI, 97 pp. table of engravings, [1] f. First edition of this description of gems from the most famous European cabinets. Bilingual text, with the translation from Latin into French by M. de Limiers, of the Academy of Bologna. 70 beautiful copper-engraved plates, as well as bands and initials, all engraved by Bernard Picart (1673-1733). Well completed with plate LXVIII - Hercules with Jole - which was frequently "removed" from the volume at the time before binding for an "obscenity" which today seems quite amiable, Hercules having the only impudence to present himself to us, naked, the glance carried towards the reader. Ex-libris. De Bure, "Bibliographie instructive", 5913, "magnificently executed work" - Cohen, 959 - Brunet, V, 552, "Quite a sought-after work [...] whose engravings are more elegant than exact".