44 - ROYAL ORDINANCES (The) Concerning the Powers and Jurisdiction of the Provost’s Office of the Merchants and the Aldermen of the City of Paris. Newly corrected based on the registers of the Hostel of that city. To which have been appended several ancient ordinances concerning the tolls payable on all goods. Together with the privilege granted to the burghers. Paris, Guillaume Merlin and Vincent Sertenas, 1556. In-4 (232 x 148 mm), strictly period binding in fawn calfskin, with the covers featuring an elaborate decoration composed of interlacing patterns and arabesques executed entirely in line work and extending around a central cartouche bearing, in its center, in gilded capital letters, the inscription *Aperi os tuum muto et causis omnium qui pertra, decerne quod justum est*, the spine adorned with a repeating pattern consisting of a scattering of small fleurs-de-lis within a frame divided into lozenges; gilt edges.

ROYAL ORDINANCES (The) Concerning the Powers and Jurisdiction of the Provost’s Office of the Merchants and the Aldermen of the City of Paris. Newly corrected based on the registers of the Hostel of that city. To which have been appended several ancient ordinances concerning the tolls payable on all goods. Together with the privilege granted to the burghers. Paris, Guillaume Merlin and Vincent Sertenas, 1556. In-4 (232 x 148 mm), strictly period binding in fawn calfskin, with the covers featuring an elaborate decoration composed of interlacing patterns and arabesques executed entirely in line work and extending around a central cartouche bearing, in its center, in gilded capital letters, the inscription *Aperi os tuum muto et causis omnium qui pertra, decerne quod justum est*, the spine adorned with a repeating pattern consisting of a scattering of small fleurs-de-lis within a frame divided into lozenges; gilt edges. A rare edition—not cited by Brunet, with only one copy listed in the Supplement—of these Ordinances of the greatest interest concerning the organization, operation, and rules of commerce in Paris during the 16th century. A very beautiful binding with architecturally inspired decoration executed entirely in filigree without the use of small metal elements. Surrounding a large central cartouche covering nearly the entire front and back covers are arabesques punctuated by floral motifs. The cartouche itself, bearing an inscription in gold letters at its center, consists of interlacing patterns ending in scrollwork resembling cut leather—a motif characteristic of Bellifontaine architecture. The use of a background of small gilded dots serves here to enhance the three-dimensional quality of the design as a whole. This elaborate type of decoration, which presents an ever-changing design based on a single basic pattern, was produced by a few major Parisian workshops beginning in 1550. Two particularly accomplished examples include the 1554 edition of Diodorus of Sicily bearing the coat of arms of Henry II (BNF, Res. J. 75, reproduced in Laffitte and Le Bars, *Reliures royales de la Renaissance*, 1999, no. 110) and the 1550 Novum Testamentum by Estienne from the Bibliotheca Wittockiana, reproduced in Hobson and Culot, Bookbinding in Italy and France in the 16th Century, 1990, no. 52. The central inscription, which can be translated as: “Open your mouth for the speechless, for the cause of all the forsaken, and judge with justice,” is taken from the Book of Proverbs 31:8–9. The coat of arms of the city of Paris is wood-engraved on the title page. A carefully regulated copy. From the library of Jean Ballesdens, with his signature in green ink framed by decorative borders on the title page. A lawyer and member of the Academy, Jean Ballesdens (1595–1675) was one of the great bibliophiles of his time. His library, whose volumes are identified by the presence of his handwritten bookplate, rivaled that of his patron, Chancellor Séguier. The latter had appointed him as his private secretary and tutor to his grandchildren, the Coislin children. In particular, he owned several bindings crafted in the previous century for Grolier and Mahieu. See our no. 17, Plautus, for another work from this provenance. Skillful restorations along the edges of the covers. Acquired by Émile Rossignol in 1957.