COMMERCE. Rare cendrier du night-club CHARLY's Luxembourg. Faïence belge. Diamètre 10,5 cm

DEGRANGE (Edmond). L'Arithmétique pratique, analisée et démontrée dans tous ses développemens et dans ses différentes applications à tous les usages du commerce, de la banque, de la finance, des arts et métiers. Paris : Ve Hocquart ; Bordeaux : J. Foulquier, Filiatre frères, 1808. - 2 volumes in-8, 198 x 121: xxxiv, 320 pp. ; (2 ff.), 290 pp., (1 f. blank). Long-grained red morocco, gilt pampers border and gilt fleuron corners on boards, smoothed spine decorated with gilt roulettes, bouquet and ships, dark green morocco for title, tomaison and border at bottom of spine, gilt border inside, dark green moiré tabis linings and endpapers, gilt edges (period binding). Rare first edition of this complete course in arithmetic, including the basics of the subject and all aspects of commercial accounting. Dedicated to François-Nicolas Mollien, Minister of the Treasury, it begins with a long chapter on La Manière d'étudier l'arithmétique. Edmond Degrange (1763-1826?) was a professor of commercial accounting. A native of Bordeaux, he contributed to Marandon's Courrier de la Gironde, was a member of several revolutionary committees, and was appointed to the departmental directoire in April 1794. He was also one of the main editors of the Journal du Club National de Bordeaux with Jean-Baptiste Lacombe until Lacombe's execution in 1794. Copy on wove paper, complete with the publisher's and author's signatures on the verso of the title of the first volume. Splendid binding strictly of the period, unsigned but attributable to a bookbinder named P. Boyer, who used the ship's iron on the spine (cf. Culot, Relieurs et reliures décorées en France aux époques Directoire et Empire, no. 63). Curiously, the binder designed a different framing for the caissons of the two volumes, except for the title and tail caissons. On the first volume, the motifs in the center of the caissons are surrounded by two stars and four branches at the corners, and the title page features 8 stars; on the second volume, the same motifs are surrounded by two wavy fillets and 4 stars, and the same applies to the title page. Waxing on the boards. Inner hinge of first volume front cover weakened. The lining frames of the second volume have been partially rebound, obviously at the time. Some scattered foxing, not serious.