54 - [France]. PETIT, Victor.

[France]. PETIT, Victor. Castles of the Loire Valley from the 15th, 16th, and 17th Centuries, drawn from life and lithographed by Victor Petit, a member of the Institut des Provinces and several archaeological societies. Paris, Ch. Boivin, 1861. 2 volumes in one large in-plano volume (the first volume bound after the second). Contemporary brown half-shagreen, cold-stamped fillet on the covers, ribbed spine, gilt title (corners and edges worn, cap covers missing, split joints, a few scattered marginal foxing spots on the plates, which remain fresh; text pages browned). The first volume contains the castles of the departments of Loire, Saône-et-Loire, Allier, Nièvre, Cher, Yonne, Loiret, Sarthe, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, and Indre-et-Loire. (2) ff., pp. VII–X (preface and introduction), 25 pp. Table of contents on pp. VI and VI, and 50 plates. The second volume contains the castles of the departments of Indre-et-Loire (Part 2), Indre, Sarthe, Deux-Sèvres, Mayenne, Maine-et-Loire, and Loire-Inférieure. (2) ff., 26 pp., table of contents pp. V–VI, and 50 plates. The work is fully illustrated with all 100 plates. The plates, finely drawn and lithographed by the author, are mounted on tabs. Lithographs in black on a tinted background, printed on applied China paper. Victor Petit (1817–1871) was an architectural draftsman, illustrator, and writer. A magnificent volume on French castles.