E. COLLET (Active in the 19th - 20th centuries) Villefranche-sur-Mer Watercolor on paper. Signed and dated 1908 lower right. Framed under glass. Sight: 19 x 26.5 cm

AMADIS DE GAULE :11 vols. Out of 12, vol. 8 is missing. Paris, Vincent Sertenas, Est. Groulleau et Jehan Longis, 1540-56. Seventeenth-century calf, ornate ribbed spine. Composite copy: Vol. 1 1548, Vol. 2 1550, Vol. 3 1547, Vol. 4 1543 E. O. T. 5 1544 E. O. T. 6 1557. T. 7 1546 T. 9 1553. T. 10. 1551. T. 11 1559. T. 12 title page reprinted with an erroneous date which is not that of the colophon of Est. Groulleau 1556. Translation of this chivalric novel of Spanish origin, adapted to French tastes by Nicolas de Herberay, Claude Colet, Jacques Gohory and Guillaume Aubert in a lighter, more rhetorical style. As a whole, this work, rarely complete, consists of twelve books written by several authors, each adding a new book with no particular connection to the previous one. The in-f° publication was begun by Denis Jadot in 1540 and continued by Etienne Groulleau until 1556. In the meantime, an in-8° edition appeared from 1548 to 1560. The majority of the set is decorated with thistle lettering designed by Denis Jadot for the Amadis, Geofroy Tory's "lettres fleuries" and 4 larger ones in books I and III featuring God holding a globe and a "T" on a fleurdelisé semé. In addition, each in texto is surrounded by ornamented or "grotesque" woodcuts, some with coats of arms at the bottom. Translation of this chivalric novel of Spanish origin, adapted to French tastes through the use of a lighter, more rhetorical style by Nicolas de Herberay, Claude Colet, Jacques Gohory and Guillaume Aubert. Palau, 10506. These editions, with their humanist typography augmented by flowery lettering and elegant, uncluttered illustrations, made an essential contribution to the heyday of the 16th-century French figure book. Some wear to covers and corners. A very rare set, of which we know of no complete first-edition copies in French public libraries.