24 - [HISTORY - CEREMONY] - DE BUSSCHER, Edmond

[HISTORY - CEREMONY] - DE BUSSCHER, Edmond "Description of the historical procession of the Counts of Flanders, which paraded through the streets of Ghent on October 23, 1849" [Followed by:] "Album of the historical procession of the Counts of Flanders, featuring figures, costumes, armor, banners, etc., drawn by Messrs. Félix de Vigne, etc." Ghent, De Busscher Brothers Printing and Lithography, 1849 and 1852, 2 vols. In-4°. Bottle-green glossy half-calf. Spine with 4 raised bands decorated with gold beading. Author’s name and title in gold. Decorated and gilded headbands. Normal wear and tear. Rare foxing. Autograph dedication signed by the author to Kervyn de Volkaersbeke in the first volume. First editions of this superb two-volume festive, historical, and artistic publication. Edmond de Busscher’s first volume offers a meticulous historical and archaeological account of the lavish medieval procession held in Ghent on October 23, 1849, illustrated with a large loose-leaf plate. The second volume is the famous Illustrated Album of the Festival. The 80 lithographed plates (frontispiece + 79 plates) based on drawings by the painter Félix de Vigne and his collaborators accurately reproduce the costumes, banners, armor, and equestrian figures of the reenactment, the entire set having been magnificently watercolored at the time. A first-rate visual record of the great Belgian historical processions of the 19th century. Provenance: from the Library of Philippe Kervyn of Volkaersbeke (ex-libris) References: Bibliographie gantoise, IV, 1422; Vinet, 792