Lyriques choisis de poètes français

Description

Manuscript in French in modern calligraphic Gothic bookhand on parchment, containing the poems of Paul-Marie Verlaine and Louis Gabriel Charles Vicaire in the hand of, and illuminated by, Alberto Sangorski (1862-1932). Decoration: Full-page portrait within a decorative oval, of a young woman holding a rose on page 4, and six roundels, semi-roundels, or cartouches containing bucolic scenes on pages 7, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 21. Major initials elaborately illuminated with gold, red, blue, purple, green, pink, and brown, minor initials supplied in red. Contents: 'Mon rêve familier' by Paul-Marie Verlaine; 'Jeunesse' and 'Cimetière de campagne' by Louis Gabriel Charles Vicaire. The first and final five leaves are blank. Colophon: Ce livre a été écrit / illustré et les / miniatures peintes / par / Alberto Sangorski / Londres. 1917 / This manuscript was executed by me Alberto Sangorski. Leaf size: 210 x 135 mm. The number of verse lines per page varies.


Referenced in: Private pleasures : illuminated manuscripts from Persia to Paris: the collection of Denys Spittle (Cambridge : Fitzwilliam Museum, [2007]) pp. 74-77. Potten, Edward, 'From Byzantium to Alberto Sangorski: Treasures from the Thomas Edward Watson Collection at the Brotherton Library, University of Leeds', The Book Collector, Autumn 2023, pp. 1-16 (pp. 14-16).

Features

Twentieth-century full blue goatskin over wooden boards; six outer borders formed with gilt fillets and rolls, the fourth dotted and with four small circular black goatskin inlays in corners; the inner panel bordered with a design of repeated gold tools, inlaid in the corners with a small circular inlay of black goatskin; in the centre of the front cover a gold arabesque lozenge inlaid on black goatskin and densely tooled with repeating dots, at the centre of which are set five non-precious stones one red, surrounded by four white; the lozenge in an oval design made up of the same gold tools used for the outer border, with six further black inlays; the rear cover undecorated save a double gilt fillet to form a border; the doublures are lined with blue watered silk, the turn-ins decorated with a double gilt fillet border; the first flyleaf front and rear is lined with blue watered silk; sewn onto five raised supports, the spine compartments gilt tooled and direct lettered in gilt:
Lyriques choisis de poètes français. Although the binding is said to be by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, it cannot be; Francis Longinus Sangorski (1875-1912) was a founding partner in the firm of Sangorski & Sutcliffe, but died in 1912, and Alberto Sangorski’s association with the firm ended soon afterwards. Most bindings on these later calligraphic manuscripts are by Rivière & Son, but this binding is unsigned and does appear to be a Rivière binding. Housed within a bespoke blue leather clasped clam-shell box, lined with white watered silk and with a felt compartment to fit the volume; the spine of the clam-shell box lettered: Lyriques choisis de poètes français.

Provenance

Presumably acquired new in 1917 by Thomas Edward Watson (1851-1921), thence, Sir Geoffrey Watson (1897-1961), Daphne Southwell [Watson] (1907-1998); Stanley Denys Trevor Spittle (1920–2003). Accepted in lieu of Estate Duty by H M Government and allocated to Special Collections & Galleries at the University of Leeds Libraries, 2022.

Access and usage

Reproduction

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Access to this material is unrestricted.

This material is in copyright as dictated by the 1998 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act in the UK until 31 December 2039 and has been identified as an Orphan Work. The Library has taken the approach to place the material online in order to support research, learning and teaching.

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