ELZEVIER PRESS. LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA. Epistolae. Leiden: [Bonaventure & Abraham] Elzevier 1639. 12mo, EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY MOSAIC BINDING of citron morocco, covers with large cut-out ornamental onlay of yellow morocco gilt-tooled and -dotted to a floral design with small acorn tools, gilt-dotted outline, within gilt-tooled frame incorporating acorn tools, tulip tools at angles, spine in six compartments, red morocco lettering-piece in the second, the remainder with gilt star and circle or tulip tool on gilt-stippled ground, the lowermost on a red morocco onlay, turn-ins gilt, edges marbled and gilt, endleaves of floral and gilt brocade paper (the coloring slightly rubbed in places), two-part citron morocco pull-off case by Riviere, small marginal repairs to first two leaves, minor inkstain to title. FIRST ELZEVIER EDITION, printer's woodcut device on title. Willems -- . Sold as a binding, not subject to return.

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ELZEVIER PRESS. LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA. Epistolae. Leiden: [Bonaventure & Abraham] Elzevier 1639. 12mo, EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY MOSAIC BINDING of citron morocco, covers with large cut-out ornamental onlay of yellow morocco gilt-tooled and -dotted to a floral design with small acorn tools, gilt-dotted outline, within gilt-tooled frame incorporating acorn tools, tulip tools at angles, spine in six compartments, red morocco lettering-piece in the second, the remainder with gilt star and circle or tulip tool on gilt-stippled ground, the lowermost on a red morocco onlay, turn-ins gilt, edges marbled and gilt, endleaves of floral and gilt brocade paper (the coloring slightly rubbed in places), two-part citron morocco pull-off case by Riviere, small marginal repairs to first two leaves, minor inkstain to title. FIRST ELZEVIER EDITION, printer's woodcut device on title. Willems -- . Sold as a binding, not subject to return.

The binding may have issued from the "Atelier des Petits Classiques", who seem to have specialized in the binding of small format editions of the classics, mainly Elzeviers. The tulip tool is reproduced in L.-M. Michon, Les Reliures mosaiquées du XVIIIe siècle (Paris 1956), no. 76, on a binding dated c. 1730.

Provenance: Joachim Gomez de la Cortina, Marquis de Morante, morocco bookplate -- Mortimer L. Schiff, bookplate.