[OVIDE]. [SALOMON, Bernard]

The Metamorphosis of Ovid figured Lyon, Jean de Tournes, 1564 "A WONDERFUL LITTLE VOLUME!" (THOMAS FROGNALL DIBDIN). a splendid copy of one of the most beautiful 16th century lyonian illustrated books. BOUND IN MOROCCO WITH THE ARMS OF THE COUNTESS PRÉVOST DE CHANTEMESLE Second illustrated edition of this translation in verse, attributed in turn to Charles Fontaine, Jean de Vauzelles or Barthélemy Aneau In-8 (160 x 110 mm). Remarkable and fine woodcut frames on each page. In all, 26 different frames, grotesque and arabic, repeated several times. A woodcut headband and initial. Text printed in small italic characters by Robert Granjon COLLATION : a-l8 m4 (m4 blank) : (92) ff. (quires c and e interchanged, quire l bound out of order) CONTENTS : a1r : title, a2r : dedication, a3r : text ILLUSTRATION : 178 woodcuts attributed to Bernard Salomon, known as Little Bernard Eighteenth century BINDING ATTRIBUTED TO LA FERTÉ. Red morocco, gilt decoration, triple fillet in frame, arms in the center of the boards, long spine with vertical titling decorated with nice vegetable irons, gilt edges. PROVENANCE: old ownership mark scratched on title page -- inscription not deciphered from an old hand in brown ink in margin of m3v -- Françoise (or Francine) Huguette Guyard de Changey, Countess Prévost de Chantemesle (1749-1825; arms; OHR, pl. 2188) -- Eugène Renevey (bookplate with motto: "Qui peine gagne"; his sale, Paris, May 1924, I, no. 43, binding reproduced). The binding could suggest a La Vallière provenance, but the Duke owned a copy bound in tan calf of this edition (1788, IV, n° 12512) Faint stain in the inner margin of the first leaves, tiny white stain in d7, small hole in i1 During her widowhood, Françoise (or Francine) Huguette Guyard de Changey (1749-1825) became the mistress of Louis François de Bourbon, Prince de Conti (1734-1814), whose exile she shared near Barcelona. She was appointed in 1814 as one of his executors and one of his three universal legatees. She refused the succession of the prince, keeping only a few souvenirs, and retired to her brother's house in Échevronne. BIBLIOGRAPHY: USTC 54094 -- Brunet, IV, col. 287: "the edition of these plates [...] is not inferior to the first one, because the wooden plates support a numerous print run without weakening"; Supplement, II, col. 116-117 -- A. F. Didot, Essai typographique et bibliographique sur l'histoire de la gravure sur bois, Paris, 1863, col. 239-240 : "perhaps the prettiest book of this period that was executed with woodcut subjects and frames [...]. A wonderful little volume!" exclaims Dibdin -- Brun, p. 276 -- Cartier, II, 376 -- Mortimer, French, II, n° 403 : "among the most attracted volumes printed at Lyons" -- P. Sharratt, Bernard Salomon, illustrateur lyonnais, Genève, 2005, n° 39 -- for the provenance see : H. de Woelmont, Notices généalogiques, Paris, 1923, t. II, p. 369