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Gift of

George S . Swarth

THE EX-LIBRIS SERIES. EDITED BY GLEKSON WHITE.

FRENCH BOOK-PLATES.

%* THE FIRST EDITIOIf'oF THIS BOOK WAS PUBI^ISHED
IN 1892, AJtU WAS EXHAUSTED ALMOST IMME;
DIATELY. THE PRES^KT ISSUE IS LIMITED TO 750
COPIES OF THE ORDINARY EDITION, AND 38
COPIES ON TALL JAJ^NESE VELLUM (OF WHICH
35 ONLY ARE FOR SALE).

French Book-plates

by Walter Hamilton, Chairman

of Council of the Ex-Libris Society

and Vice-President of the Societe

Franyaise des Colleftionneurs

d'Ex-Libris

London ; George Bell & Sons, York Street,
Covent Garden, & New York. Mdcccxcvi

ClilSWU.K |-KK>s: -VllAKI.K> W III 1 I I N(;H AM AM) CO.
TOOKS ei'lKI. (.HAMKKV I.ANK, I.OM)r)S.

PREFACE.

INCE the first edition of this Handbook
was published in 1892 the taste for
collecting book-plates has spread with

I such rapidity that that which was

formerly the hobby of a few, has now become the
serious pursuit of the many-
Societies devoted to the collection and study of
ex-libris have been founded by eminent genea-
logists and heraldists. not only in Great Britain,
but also in Germany, France, and the United
States, alt of which are in a flourishing condition,
numbering many active and enthusiastic members.
Each of these societies publishes an illustrated
Journal in which the book-plates of all ages and
countries are being reproduced and described from
almost every point of view. Whilst the ever-
widening circle of literature on the topic shows
that the taste has now also spread to Sweden, to
Italy, to Belgium, to Switzerland, and to South
America.

Such intense literary activity has led to the
recent publication of many interesting records of
French ex-libris, and in order to keep my readers

vi Preface.

au courant with the present state of knowledge, it
has been found necessary to increase the number
of chapters, to add materially to the others, and to
include nearly a hundred facsimiles, in addition to
those in the former edition.

The writings of Poulet-Malassis, Henri Bouchot,
Octave Uzanne, le Pere Ingold, Auguste Castan,
A. Benoit, Henri Jadart, and H. Jardere, are all
well-known to French collectors, but they have not
been translated, and what is even more serious for
the British collector, the original editions are now
for the most part unobtainable.

I have therefore attempted to embody all the
principal facts to be gleaned from these authorities
with the information derived from my own collec-
tion, so as to produce a succinct history of French
book-plates from 1574 (the year named on the
first known dated French book-plate) to the present
day. In the alphabetical list of artists and en-
gravers will be found such a concentration of
information useful to collectors as does not exist
in any other work on the subject.

Heraldic details have been avoided as far as
possible, yet some little space has necessarily been
devoted to the explanation of the principal
differences between the systems of the two nations,
in order to enable a collector of French book-
plates to understand certain peculiarities either not
to be found on British armorial bearings, or
conveying a different meaning to that ascribed to
them in British heraldry.

Of the illustrations, many have been reproduced
from rare old examples, whilst those of modern

Preface. vii

date are of interest, either on account of the fame
of their artists, or their owners, or for the beauty
or quaintness of their design.

As the majority are dated specimens, they have
an educational value in representing the styles of
heraldry and of ornamentation in vogue at the
various periods during the last three centuries.

To Dr. Bouland, President of the French
Society, 1 am greatly indebted for the loan of
several interesting reproductions, and my thanks
are also due to Messieurs Aglatis Bouvenne, Henry
Andrd, L. Joly, L^on Quantin, le Pere Ingold, and
other artists and owners of book-plates for their
kind permission to reproduce them here.

A final tribute of gratitude remains to be paid
to one who shares all my labours, or my cares,
and adds that charm to life that makes success
worth striving for.

Every line in this little book has passed under
her eyes, for revision or correction, and I would
pray:

" Untouch'd with any shade of years.
May those kind eyes forever dwell !

They have not shed a many tears,

Etear eyes, since first I knew them well."

Walter Hamilton.

" Ellarbee,"

Clapham Common, Surrey.

BOOK-PLATE OK J. K. MICHAUIJ. I791.

CONTENTS.

Chronological Summary of the principal

Historical Events herein alluded to. i

Chapter I. Introduction 5

II. Identification and Classifica-
tion 21

III. A few Notes on French

Heraldry 39

IV. Early Examples, 1574-1650 ... 62
V. Ek-Libris, 1650-1700 77

VI. Ex-LiBRis, 1700-1789 84

VII. The First Republic 109

The First Empire 123

VIII. The Restoration and Louis-
Philippe 134

The Second Empire 140

IX. The Frontier Provinces ... 152
X. Ecclesiastical and Scholastic

Ex-LiBRis 169

X[. Book-plates of the Huguenots. 197

XII. Book-pij^tes of MEniCAi. Men . 208

Chapter XIII.

XIV.

XV.

XVI.
XVII.

Contents.

pa(;r

Canting Arms and Punning

Plates 218

Phrases ok Possession . . . 232
Book-plates of some Famous

Men . . . 248

Modern Ex-Libris 275

A List of Artists and En-
gravers 301

Bibliography 345

Index 353

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY

OF THE

PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL EVENTS

HEREIN ALLUDED TO.

N his " Petite Revue d'Ex-Libris Alsa-
ciens," Mons. Auguste Stoeber claimed
to have discovered an armorial ex-
libris which had been engraved for
Conrad Wolfhart, of Rouffach, who died in 1561,
but the evidence is not conclusive, otherwise this
would have been the earliest French book-plate
known.

1574. Earliest known dated French book-plate,
" Ex Bibliotkeca Caroli Albosii."

The first English book-plate, that of Sir
Nicholas Bacon, was also dated 1574.

Henry III., then King of France, was
assassinated August, 1589.
1 585. The earliest known French armorial book-
plate, that of Fra7tfois de la Rochefoucauld,
engraved some time before 1585.

2 French Book-plates.

1589. Henry IV., King of France.

1598. April : The Edict of Nantes was issued by
Henry IV., granting religious freedom to
the Reformed Church ; he was assassinated
by Ravaillac May 14, 16 10.

1610. Louis XIII., King, son of the above, died
May 14, 1643.

1 6 1 1 . The first dated armorial French book-plate,
that of Alexandre Bouchart, by Leonard
Gaultier.

16 1 3. The second dated armorial French book-
plate, that of Melchior de la Valine.

1638. The system of showing the heraldic colours,
metals, and furs on engravings by conven-
tional lines and dots was adopted about this
date, and has been in use ever since.

1643. Louis XIV., King, son of the above, died
September i, 1715.

1685. October. Revocation by Louis XIV. of
the Edict of Nantes, followed by the flight
of thousands of French Protestants (or
Huguenots) to Great Britain, Holland,
and America.

1 715. Louis XV., King, great-grandson of the
above, died of smallpox. May 10, 1774.

1774. Louis XVI., King, grandson of the above.

1789. July. Surrender and destruction of the
Chateau de la Bastille in Paris. This
marks the actual commencement of the
French Revolution.

1 790. June. Abolition of all titles and armorial
bearings.

1793. Louis XVI. beheaded January 21, and

Chronological Summary. 3

was, according to Legitimist reckoning,
succeeded by his young son, Louis XVI L,
who, however, never reigned, and is sup-
posed to have died in prison on June 8,
1795. The government was Republican in
name until

1804. May. Napoleon Buonaparte proclaimed
Emperor.

1808. New nobility of France created, tides and
heraldry revived.

1814. Abdication of Napoleon in favour of his
son, Napoleon H., who, however, never
reigned.

18 14. Restoration of the Monarchy under Louis
XVIIL, brother of Louis XVL; he died
September, 1824.

1824. Charles X., King, brother of the above,
deposed in July, 1830 ; succeeded by his
cousin —

1830. Louis-Philippe, as King of the French.

1848. February. Abdication and flight of Louis-
Philippe. Proclamation of a Republic ;
Louis Napoleon elected President of the
Republic, December, 1848.

1852. December. Proclamation of Napoleon IIL
as Emperor of the French {the Second
Empire).

1870. Overthrow of the Empire; Republic pro-
claimed.

FRENCH EX-LIBRIS.

CHAPTER 1.

INTRODUCTION.

jjT is nearly a quarter of a century since
Mons. Maurice Tourneux first drew
I attention to the subject of French book-
_^_^^_^ I plates in an article which appeared in
' L' Amateur d'Autographes" for April, 1872.
This was descriptive of the famous collection of
Mons. Aglaiis Bouvenne, who is himself the
designer of some of the most interesting and
artistic of modern French book-plates. Next fol-
lowed the well-known work of Mons. A. Poulet-
Malassis, " Les Ex-Libris Franijais," the preface
to which is dated January 20th, 1874; a second
edition was issued in the following year by P.
Rouquette, Paris, 1875. Then, after a long
interval, appeared " Les Ex-Libris et les Marques
de Possession du Livre," by Henri Bouchot.
Paris : Edouard Rouveyre, 1 89 1 .

6 French Book-plates.

Beyond these, and a few pamphlets descriptive
of local collections, such as the " Petite Revue
d*Ex-Libris Alsaciens," by Auguste Stoeber, 1881,
and some articles by Octave Uzanne in ** Le
Livre Moderne,'* comparatively little had been
written on the topic until the appearance of the
first edition of this work.

Indeed, in his last article in " Le Livre Mo-
derne" (No. 24, December, 1891), M. Octave
Uzanne deplored the want of interest shown by
the French authors in this important branch of
bibliographical art. From amongst the hundreds
of thousands of book-plates known to exist in
public and private collections, there would, he
said, be no difficulty in selecting sufficient repre-
sentative examples to form a magnificent " Dic-
tionnaire Illustr6 des Ex-Libris." The task must,
however, remain unperformed until an author is
found possessing not only sufficient taste, skill, and
leisure to undertake it, but also ample means to
carry it out, for such a work would undoubtedly be
costly, and not many publishers would be willing
to undertake the risk of producing it.

Hitherto no such collection has been published,
either in Great Britain or in France ; the nearest
approach, in French, being the "Armorial du
Bibliophile," by Joannis Guigard, which deals only
with the stamps on armorial bookbindings, and the
splendid work on German Ex-Libris by Herr
Frederic Warnecke, published in Berlin in 1890.

M. A. Poulet-Malassis opens his work with the
expression : " Pas un des dictionnaires de la langue
frangaise n'a admis le terme ex-libris^ composd de

Introduction. 7

deux mots latins qui signifient//^5//&rcj . , .faisant
partie des livres. It est pourtant consacr^ par
I'usage et se dit de toute marque de propri^t^
appliqu^e i I'ext^rieur ou a I'lnt^rieur d'un volume."

He could, however, no longer complain of the
absence of the term ex-libris from the dictionaries,
as, since he wrote, M. Pierre Larousse has inserted
the following definition in vol. vii. of " Le Grand
Dictionnaire Universel du XIX siecle" (Paris,
4to, 1866-1877):

" Ex-LiBRis, mots latins qui signifient Htt^rale-
ment des livres, d'entre des livres, faisant partie
des livres, avec le nom du proprietaire. Ces mots
s'inscrivent ordinal rement en tete de chaque volume
d'une bibliotheque avec la signature du proprie-
taire. On connait ce trait d'ignorance d'un finan-
cier, homme d'ordre avant tout, qui avait ordonn^
a son chapelier de caller soigneusement au fond
de son chapeau ' Ex-Libris Vaudore.' "

But what is still more singular than the omission
of ex-libris from their dictionaries, is that no word,
or phrase, in their own pure and beautiful language
has been set apart by our neighbours to define
these interesting marks of book possession.

On early French ex-libris the phrases of posses-
sion are most frequently found in Latin, as, indeed,
is the case with the early book-plates of most
nations. The earliest known example, and that
is simply typographical, is of Ailleboust of Autun,
dated 1574; it has the expression Ex bibliotfieca ;
but it was not until about 1700 that this and
similar phrases came into general use, and they
were then gradually adopted in nearly the following

8 French Book-plates.

order : Ex bibliolluca ; Ex libris ; Ex catalogo
bidliolheca ; Ex musao ; InsigJie libroruni ; Bib-
liotfiiqiie de — ; Z?« cabinet de — ; Je suis a M — ;
J'appartiens &, — .

It will be noticed that Latin gradually gave way
to the French language, and on more modern
plates French expressions are usually employed.
" Je suis a Jean Tommins " (1750) and "J'appar-
tiens a Lucien Werner" have a distinct character
of their own. " Ce livre est du Monastere de la
visitation de Sainte Marie de Clermont" (1830), or
" Ce livre fait partie de la Bibliotheque de M.
le Comte de Fortia d'Urban, demeurant ^ Paris,
Chauss^e d'Antin, rue de la Rochefoucault," are
clear and positive statements of fact. Other col-
lectors are less explicit, simply inserting : " Biblio-
theque de Fastoret," " Bibliotheque de Rosny,"
" De la Bibliotheque de M. le Chevalier Dam-
poigne," " Du Cabinet de Messire Barthelemy
Gabriel Rolland."

The term Ex-libris is now generally understood
to refer to the labels, either printed or engraved,
fixed by owners inside their books, to show by
names, arms, or other devices, to whom the
volumes belong. But French collectors employ
the term Ex-libris in a much wider sense than we
do ; as, for instance, in reference to the manuscript
entries of ownership in books, as we shall see later
on, when dealing with the so-called ex-libris of
Francois Rabelais and of Charlotte Corday,
which are in reality but the autographs of these
celebrities written in books which once belonged
to them.

Introduction. 9

That this is the well-understood rule is borne
out in the very opening sentences of the charming
little brochure, " Petite Revue d'Ex-Libris Alsa-
ciens," by the late Mons. Auguste Stoeber (Mul-
house, 1881): "Lorsque, encore assis sur les
bancs de I'^cole, nous tracions, d'une main peu
exerc^e, sur la garde de nos livres de classe notre
nora accompagn^ de ce verset enfantin :

Ce livre est k moi,
Comme Paris est au roj ;

Regardc dans ce rond,

nous ne doutions guere que nous y inscrivions des
ex-libris, et cela aussi peu que plus tard, lorsque,
entres au college, latinistes en herbe, nous y
griffonions un gibet auquel etait pendu Pierrot,
illustration suivie invariablement de ce quatrain
macaronique :

Aspice Pierrot pendu,
Quod librum n'a pas rendu.
Pierrot pendu non fuisset
Si librum reddidisset.

A cette ^poque le nom ^Ex-libris n'^tait connu et
employe que par les savants de profession et par
les hommes du monde, amateurs de livres,"

A recent and more authoritative ruling is that
of the Council of the Sociiii Frangaise des Col-
lectionneurs d'Ex'Libris, which not only permits
autographs and other manuscript entries in books
to be styled Ex-libris, but opens the columns
of its journal to the consideration and reproduction
of the armorial bearings, monograms, and devices

lo French Book-plates.

to be found stamped on the leather bindings of
books, to which it also applies the term Ex4ibris.

In the programme issued with the first part of
the Archives de la SocUU Franfaise occurs the
following paragraph dealing with this question :
" Bien des personnes considerent, a bon droit, les
marques imprimees en or, ou a froid sur les plats
des livres, comme de veritables Ex-Libris. Ce
sont, disait un 6rudit, les Ex-Libris Fran^ais par
excellence, leur 6tude est li^e a celle des Ex-
Libris graves. Les archives donneront une large
hospitality a tous les documents, notes, ou deter-
mination d'armoiries que nos membres voudront
bien nous communiquer."

British collectors treat these super libros as
things apart from ex-libris. A system which
includes book-plates, autographs, and armorial
bearings on bookbindings under the one term Ex-
Libris leads to confusion in correspondence, and
is therefore to be deprecated.

The earliest known examples of ex-libris are
German, and the custom of using them originated
no doubt in that country, where costly bindings,
with arms emblazoned on the covers, as in France
and Italy, were seldom indulged in.

Earliest in the field in the art of printing, and
prolific in book-making, the Germans never at-
tached very particular importance to elegant and
sumptuous bindings.

Valuing their books for their intrinsic, rather
than extrinsic merits, they covered them with
good stout wooden boards and strong metal
clasps, and soon discovered that a printed label.

Introduction. 1 1

or a rough woodcut of a coat-of-arms, was as
useful a mode of proclaiming the ownership of a
volume as the showy, but costly, system of heraldic
emblazoning in gold, silver, and colours, adopted
by their more luxurious neighbours.

Hence it is not so very uncommon to find
German ex-libris dated in the early years of the
sixteenth century, whereas the earliest known
French plate is of a much later date. In fact, no
French ex-libris of undoubted authenticity has
been discovered with an earlier date than 1574, a
memorable year for collectors, as being that which
is also found on the earliest known English plate,
the fine armorial of Sir Nicholas Bacon, a fac-
simile of which will be found in Mr. Griggs's
valuable collection of "Examples of Armorial
Book-Plates," 1884.

Unfortunately, the first French dated ex-Iibris
is nothing more than a*^lain label printed with
movable type, and bearing the inscription : "Ex
BibliothecS Caroli Albosii E. Eduensis. Ex labore
quies. 1574."

Now, with the exception of the dated autographs
of owners of books, with which we are not here
dealing, this ex-libris of the book collector of Autun
is the earliest dated example of a French mark of
possession which has yet been found affixed to
the interior of a book in any French library.

It may well be, however, that this was not
actually the first ex-libris employed in France, for
there exist, in collections of old engravings, many
nameless coats-of-arms emblazoned by French
artists in the sixteenth century, the origin and use

12 French Book-plates.

of which are doubtful, and may remain unrecog-
nized for ever.

A long interval occurs between 1574 and the
next dated plate, which is that of Alexandre
Boucharty Sieur de Blosseville, an ex-libris, folio
size, engraved by Leonard Gaultier, and dated
161 1.

Alexandre Bouchart was councillor in the par-
liament of Rouen ; he died some time before 1622.
His ex-libris was found fixed on the cover of a
copy of the works of Ptolemy in the Bibliotheque
Nationale in Paris. The ** Ptolemy " was printed
in Amsterdam, 1605, folio-

This engraving is exceedingly valuable on ac-
count of its rarity, its early date, the beauty of
its design, and the simplicity and purity of its
heraldry. M. Henri Bouchot gives a reproduc-
tion of it in his work on ** Les Ex-Libris " (p. 32),
but as it is only a quarter the size of the original,
and is not clearly printed, it gives but a faint idea
of the beauty of the work. This is, according to
the most recent investigation, the next French
plate to that of Charles Ailleboust d'Autun, in
order of date as actually printed or engraved on the
ex-libris itself, and of unquestionable authenticity.

Then comes a plate which is not only of the
greatest interest on account of its antiquity, but
also because of its large size, its extreme rarity,
and the quaint design. The plate is that of
Melchior de la Valine, Canon, etc., of St. George
at Nancy, which bears the date 161 3 in the centre
of the pedestal. The shield at the top bears the
arms of Melchior de la Valine, not tinctured, sup-

Introduction. 13

ported by two angels, one of whom holds over the
shield the hat of a protonotaire of the Court of
Rome. Below, in an oval escutcheon, are the
names and titles of the owner, supported on the
left by the Virgin Mary carrying the infant Jesus,
and on the right by St. Nicholas with three small
children.

An account of this plate was furnished to the
" Journal de la Soci^t^ d'Arch^ologie Lorraine "
(Nancy, 1864), by M. Beaupr^, and Poulet-
Malassis also mentions it, but at second-hand, as
he had not seen it, and he gives the date incorrectly
as 161 r. It is not signed, but has been attributed
to Jacques Callot and, with more probability, to
Jacques Bellange.

There is a lapse of nearly forty years before we
come to the next dated plate — AndrS Felibieti,
Escuier, Sieur des Avaux, Historiographe du
Roy, a fine armorial ex-libris, dated 1650.

Some excellent examples are known which
prove that between 1574 and 1650 book-plates
were engraved and coming into general use, but
as they are not dated their age can only be ap-
proximately arrived at from internal evidence.
Those French gentlemen of the fifteenth, sixteenth,
and seventeenth centuries who loved books, and
formed large libraries, adopted the Italian fashion
of having their treasures sumptuously bound. The
magnificently illuminated manuscripts, and livres
d'heures, which were produced for the great lords
and ladies in the fifteenth century, required no
ex-libris, for on nearly every page occurred the
arms or badges, the ciphers, or the initials of the

14 French Book-plates.

fortunate owner, whose right to the book was thus
for ever placed beyond all question or doubt. The
invention of printing, and the consequent rapid
multiplication of books, although it greatly inter-
fered with the choice individuality of each impres-
sion, did not at once totally destroy it.

BOOK- PLATE Ot .■

The early printers left blanks for initials and
illuminations, which were afterwards filled in,
freehand, by the artists who had hitherto been
employed to illuminate the manuscripts, their ser-
vices were thus in greater demand than ever.
Most of the early printed books were heavy folios,
and were sumptuously bound, the arms of the
owners being grandly emblazoned in the centre

Introduction. 1 5

of the side boards ; generally with some cipher,
flower, or monogram in the corners, and the mono-
gram, or one of the principal charges of the shield,
repeated between each band on the back. The
present custom of ranging books closely in cases,
with only their backs in view, was not suitable
for these ponderous tomes. Some of the more
ordinary works were placed loosely in open cases
round the library, with their fore-edges towards
the reader, but the valuable books were fully dis-
played on long tables or counters, of the right
height for a reader to stand at and turn them over
without fatigue. Thus the beauty of the binding
was seen at once, and must have been so fearfully
tantalizing to the visiting bibliomaniac, that the
owners often thought it advisable to chain their
volumes in their places. With these, as with the
manuscripts, and for similar reasons, the use of ex-
libris long appeared unnecessary, which accounts
for their somewhat late adoption in France ; the
marks of ownership are on the bindings them-
selves, the lovely productions of the early masters
of bibliopegy, whose elegance and style modern
binders vainly attempt to imitate, and cannot
excel.

To collect early bindings is a noble hobby, but
one which is, and ever must remain, the hobby
of a few wealthy collectors, whereas the collection
of ex-libris was, until quite recently, a taste
requiring patience and skill rather than a well-
filled purse.

Styles and periods in French ex-libris are not
nearly so well defined, nor so easily recognized, as

k «

1 6 French Book-plates.

they are in British plates by the simple terms we
use, such as Early English, Jacobean, Chippendale,
wreath and ribbon, book-pile, library interior, etc.

French military plates are often decorated with
flags, cannon, and fine trophies of arms, but book-
piles and library interiors are somewhat un-
common, as are also early plates containing the
portraits of their owners.

One of the earliest portrait plates is that of Amy
Lamy, with the motto ** Usque ad aras,'* probably
engraved by some pupil of Thomas de Leu, of
which the date is doubtful.

Another, and of greater interest, is that of the
famous critic, the Abbe Desfontaines (1685-1745),
a fine engraving by Schmit, after Tocqu^, repre-
senting Petr. Fr. Guyot Desfontaines presb. Rotho-
mag., with the following lines :

Dum te Phoebus amat scribentem, Moevius odit,
Et lepidis salibus maeret inepta cohors.

Which a French admirer translates thus :

Ch^ri du dieu des arts, craint et ha'i des sots,
L'lgnorance en courroux frt^mit de ses bons mots.

On modern ex-libris portraits occasionally
occur, as on that of M. Manet, with the pun-
ning phrase, ** Manet et Manebit," and that of
a well-known English collector and scholar, Mr.
H. S. Ashbee, designed by Paul Avril, a French
artist. Another represents M. Georges Vicaire,
in the costume of a chef, superintending the pre-
paration of a ragout of books to please the
literary gourmands. But probably the finest

Introduction. 17

, modern portrait ex-Hbris is that drawn by M.
. Henry Andr6, the book-plate artist, for himself :
this is dated 1894.

The collector must be on his guard against
modem reprints from old plates, or ex-libris
printed from re-engraved copper plates.

French collectors will commission engravers to
copy rare old plates rather than be without exam-
ples of them in their albums ; this they do openly
and acknowledge frankly ; but it is sometimes
otherwise with the men whom they employ. They
work off a number of copies for sale, mix them up
with a parcel of genuine ex-libris, and so deceive
the unwary collector.

The British collector will not find it easy to
add much to his store in Paris, unless he is pre-
pared to pay prices quite out of proportion to those
usually charged for plates in this country.

In the first place, it is almost a waste of time to
ask for ex-libris in any of the ordinary second-
hand book shops; the books are all fairly well
gleaned before reaching there, by individuals who
collect the ex-libris for certain dealers who make a
speciality of them. These dealers are not very
numerous, they are all well known to the French
collectors, and they have standing orders to re-
serve all their finest specimens for these regular
customers. Consequently the stray passer-by, or
the unfortunate foreigner, has little chance of
picking up any but common or uninteresting
plates.

In provincial towns there is, of course, less de-
mand for plates, but a second-hand book shop in

1 8 French Book-plates.

a French provincial town is usually a depressing
place, and the books they have for sale seldom
contain plates more interesting than a school or
college-prize label. Yet these are occasionally
very pretty little engravings, and the collector who
prizes pictorial ex-libris would be glad to possess
such a plate as that, for instance, designed by
Apoux for the Institutio7i Guillot, of Colombes
(Seine).

The French take considerable interest in the
historical, antiquarian, and literary associations
of their country, and there are many enthusiastic
collectors of ex-libris in France ; it was therefore
somewhat remarkable that a society of collectors
was not formed at least as early in Paris as ours
was in London. At length, however, the topic
was broached by Dr. Louis Bouland in a letter
published in ** La Curiosite Universelle " (i, Rue
Rameau, Paris) on March 14, 1892, No. 269, from
which the following are extracts :

"In No. 266 of * La Curiosite Universelle' I
pointed out the advantages and pleasures to be
derived from the formation of a Society of Col-
lectors of Ex-Libris. I then mentioned that I
should be pleased to correspond with collectors
who might be willing to form the nucleus of such
a society, and I have already received many
promises of support.

" Those who have written to me are of the
opinion, in which I concur, that the best way to
arrive at a practical result would be to constitute
a society to which each member should pay a
subscription, the funds thus obtained being em-

Introduction. 19

ployed in printing and publishing a small inde-
pendent journal.

** To achieve this result some one must take the
initiative, write to the collectors, and call a pre-
liminary meeting.

** I am quite willing to do this, and ask the
support of all my brother collectors, to whom I
offer the use of my rooms for their first meeting.

" They have but to write to me, and if they
only take as much interest in the scheme as I do,
it must be a success."

At first the efforts of Dr. Bouland did not meet
with much encouragement, and for a whole year
he was striving to start the society. At length
the first meeting was held at his house on the
30th April, 1893, when a committee was appointed,
the rules were drawn up, and the society definitely
formed. That Dr. Bouland should have been
elected its president was a compliment which was
due to him as its founder, but those who have the
honour of his acquaintance well know that he also
merited the distinction on account of his learning,
his researches in all branches of bibliographical
lore, his tastes for heraldry and art, and his ardour
as a book-plate collector.

In December, 1893, the first number of the
Society's Journal was published, entitled Archives
de la SociiU Franfaise des Collectionneurs d Ex-
Libris^ a handsome folio which has since been
issued regularly every month, with numerous
illustrations and reproductions. In this publi-
cation it will be seen that the name of the ener-
getic president frequently appears as a contributor.

20 French Book-plates.

Les Archives de la Sociiti are published by
Messrs. Paul L. Huard, No. 28, rue des Bons
Enfants, Paris, and the Secretary is Mons. L^on
Quantin, 20 bis, rue Louis Blanc, Paris.

UOOK-PLATE OF M. L^ON QUAXTIN,

Secretaire di la SociM Fran^aise des Collectionneurs d'F.x-I.ibiis.

CHAPTER II.
IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION.

■UnUM COLLECTOR will probably find it
B^^^SS more difficult to identify and classify
Swv^N the ex-libris of France than those of
iStUOUS 3"y other country. The number of
anonymous plates of comparatively early date is
so large, the coronets of nobility are so irregular
and so frequently misappropriated, and the great
Revolution created such a general confusion in
family history and in heraldry, that the identifica-
tion of anonymous French ex-libris is embarrassing
in most instances, impossible in some. In the
rare cases were the book-plate remains fixed in
the book to which it originally belonged, some
little assistance may be derived as to its date and
possible ownership, and at least one point may be
settled with tolerable certainty, namely, that the
engraving has really been intended for, and has
served as, an ex-libris ; whereas, when once ex-
tracted from its book, many an early armorial ex-
libris may be easily mistaken for a woodcut used

22 French Book-piatcs.

on a dedication, or for an illustration extracted
from some old treatise on heraldry.

The French name the styles in vogue at certain
periods after their kings, as the style Henri IV.,
Louis XIII., Louis XIV., R^gence.. Louis XV.,
and Louis XVI. ; but it must not be assumed that
these styles exactly synchronize with the reigns of

SrVLE HENRI IV. (1589).

the monarchs whose names they bear ; neither are
they so easily classified or differentiated as are our
British styles. The following designs, however,
are never found earlier than the periods whose
names and dates they bear.

The Henri IV. and Louis XIII. styles are
very similar, an oval shield surrounded by an
ornamental cartouche, either having angels or
mermaids, or garlands of flowers, worked into the

24 French Book-plates.

frame, both sides of which are alike, or only differ
in small details of light and shade, etc. Of the
two, the later style is the simpler and less
decorative.

The style Louis XIV. is but a development of
the above. It is grander, more pompous, more
ornate. The cartouche projects further from the

R^GENCE {I715).

edge of the shield, it terminates at the top in a
large shell, in which sometimes a female face is
shown, or it may be a canopy is suspended above
by festoops of flowers. The ornamentation is still
symmetrical, and the foliations of the frame are
precise and formal, every line having a definite
purpose in the design.

In what is called the style R^gence {some time

Identification and Classification. 25

after 1715) all this is changed, a light arabesque
design is found, quite d. la Watteau. graceful and
frivolous. Little urns on little brackets, tiny
heads springing up from nowhere, dainty festoons
trailing round and about without any definite aim
in life, and finials at top and bottom which finish
nothing because nothing has been commenced.

STYLE LOUIS XV. (r73o).

Pretty, but short-lived, the style Rdgence gave
way to what is known as the Louis XV. This has
been stigmatized as Rococo, but little we heed the
sneer; it has given us the loveliest of book-plates,
and fortunately this was the period when libraries
and book-plates were most in fashion in France.
Curiously enough our artistic neighbours claim
this style, with all its graceful convolutions and
irregularities, its scorn for anything approaching

26 French Book-plates.

regularity of form, as essentially French, whilst
we, with equal certainty, assign its invention to
Chippendale and name it after him. Without
stopping to discuss the question of precedence,
that name will suffice to indicate to any British
collector the style Louis XV. : a pear-shaped
shield in a framework ornamented with rockwork,
flowers, branches, and ribbons, a coronet, probably
very much on one side, not a straight line any-
where, and no two parts of the design similar, the
supporters being shown with the same disregard
for method or heraldic convention.

The reaction from this style to that of Louis
XVL is again clearly marked. Straight lines and
formal outlines reappear with solid square bases
to support the shields. Above the shields the
coronets are clearly and neatly shown, and from
them hang, in graceful curves, wreaths of flowers,
festoons of roses, palm branches, or laurel leaves.
On the bases, in some cases, the names of the
owners appear, in others geometrical ornaments,
Greek key patterns, or simple festoons. This
style, somewhat formal and severe, yet essentially
French, lasted until the Revolution.

Under the first Empire there was no style, or
what was worse, a bad style, stiff, formal, semi-
Greek, semi-Egyptian, and wholly false.

The Restoration brought little improvement —
a Gothic revival, here borrowing, there stealing,
from all the styles that had been in vogue, and
spoiling all in turn.

And so it lasted until the fall of the second
Empire, since when a revival has set in of

Identification and Classification, ttj

national life, of national art, and of art in book-
plates.

In attempting to identify anonymous and un-
dated French plates, the first point to be noticed
is, whether the tinctures and metals are clearly
defined in the conventional manner ; if they are,
the plate will not be earlier than about 1638 or

iiniiiiitiitiniiitiiiiMiiiiiiittltNiiliitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiMiit!iiti

i ftaiiiiiiiiiHiw

STYLE LOUIS XVL (1774).

1639, when this system was first generally
adopted.

The heraldic shield, thus emblazoned, with more
or less embellishment, allegorical and pictorial,
flourished, from 1639, for just 150 years. In 1789
almost all the old symbols of nobility and titles of
honour in France ceased abruptly ; crowns and
coronets were thought little of at that date, but —

28 French Book-plates.

and this was worse — a little later on they were
thought so much of as greatly to imperil the lives
of those who bore them. Indeed, the revolu-
tionary period affected book-plates very severely
from 1789 until the end of 1804, when Napoleon,
having obtained the dignity of emperor, wished to
restore some appearance of a court. He therefore
revived heraldry in a mcjdified form, and placed it
under certain clearly defined regulations.

But the new nobility of the Empire cared little
for heraldic insignia, and still less for books or
book-plates, consequently for the next ten years
the crop is small and comparatively uninteresting.
As a rule the plates of the Empire are easily iden-
tified ; if heraldic, by the simplicity and regularity
of the design, and by the peculiarly character-
istic cap, or toquCy designed by David, Napoleon's
favourite artist, which was used on most of them
in place of crest or coronet.

The non-heraldic plates of this period are also
very plain, often indeed being merely printed
labels, as in the case, for instance, of that of
Marshal Suchet.

On the Restoration of the Bourbon, Louis
XVIII., all the Napoleonic badges and devices
were swept away, and no satisfactory regulations
were devised to replace them. The old nobility,
or what remained of them, returned to France and
resumed their ancient titles and armorial bearings,
but the general public refused to treat them
seriously, and heraldic book-plates have been on
the wane ever since. Of late years nearly all men
celebrated in arts or letters have adopted either

Identification and Classification. 29

allegorical, pictorial, or humorous ex-libris, whilst
modern plates which contain the grandest coats-
of-arms frequently belong to those who are least
entitled to bear them.

BOOK-PI.ATE OF M.

The task of identifying unknown ex-libris of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, those
which bear a simple coat-of-arms without name of
owner, or of artist or engraver, requires some
patience, a collection of books of reference, and
a knowledge of at least the rudiments of heraldry.

30 French Book-plates.

The collector will soon learn to distinguish early
French woodcuts from German, one marked
difference being that nearly all German work was
cut in relief, whilst French artists worked in the
hollow, thus producing an engraving which feels
rough where the ink lies. The crests on German
plates are also very unlike those used in France ;
indeed, crests are comparatively rare on French
book-plates, whilst the Germans frequently intro-
duce several on one achievement; another very
distinctive feature being the two large proboscis,
or pipe-like horns, rising from the sides of the
helmet, the Chalumeatix, of such constant occur-
rence in German crest heraldry, but rarely, if ever,
found on a purely French ex-libris.

A typical example of this peculiar ornament
will be found on the ex-libris oi Hieronimus Ebner,
of Nuremberg, dated 15 16, which is attributed
to Albert Dtirer ; this is reproduced by M.
Henri Bouchot, page 25. Another example of
this ornament will be seen on the Alsatian plate
of Le R. Pere Ingold de THay.

The mode of engraving the armorial tinctures
and bearings will probably show, as we have seen,
whether the plate is earlier or later than 1639.
Should the plate carry the name of artist or
engraver, the date may be arrived at approximately
by reference to the list of Artists and Engravers.

Or, assuming that the plate has neither the
name of the owner nor that of the artist, it may
carry a motto, in which case several works may be
consulted for information. One of the most
modern is " Le Dictionnaire des Devises/* by

Identification and Classification. 31

Alphonse Chassant, which contains an enormous
number of war cries, mottoes, and devices, adopted
by distinguished families, not only in France, but
in other nations. For readiness of reference these
are arranged in alphabetical order, according to
the first word of the sentence.

Another useful reference book is ** Historic
Devices, Badges, and War Cries," by Mrs. Bury
Palliser (London : Sampson Low, Son, and
Marston, 1870). This contains not only war cries
and mottoes, but illustrations of some hundreds of
family badges and devices, which are of great
assistance in deciding the ownership of foreign
nameless plates.

Finally, assuming a French plate to have no
other distinctive mark than a shield with heraldic
bearings, the first work to consult should be the
heraldic dictionary of the engraver Paillot, ** La
vraye et parfaite science des armoiries ou Tindice
armorial de feu maistre Louvan Geliot, advocat,"
par Pierre Paillot; Paris, 1660. In this M.
Paillot has arranged in alphabetical order all the
terms used in heraldry, with cross references to
those in whose arms the various charges occur.
Thus, supposing an ex-libris has a shield on which
appears a lion rampant, by consulting his work
under the words "lion" and ** rampant," some refer-
ence will probably be found to the family in which
this ex-libris took its origin.

Although this work dates from the seventeenth
century, it may often be consulted with advantage
for modern arms, as in many good old families the
principal charges have not been altered very

• f

French Book-plates.

materially. Another advantage in Paillots
" Armorial " is the fact that he has not confined
his attention only to princes and the nobility, but
has, on the contrary, given the preference to the
gentry, the minor public officials, and middle-class
families.

There is a similar heraldic table, but on a limited
scale, in the ** Armorial du Bibliophile,'' by Joannis
Guigard. This work contains illustrations of many
hundreds of French coats-of-arms, copied from the
bindings of books, all of which are fully described.
There is also an index to the principal charges
borne on the shields of most of the great book
collectors of France, information which is fully as
useful to the collector of ex-libris as to the collector
of ancient bindings.

There are other works also, such as ** Les
Grands Officiers de la Couronne,'* by Pere Anselme,
and the " Armorial " of Chevillard, but they are
not so well adapted for book-plate collectors who
have only limited time, and probably but a rudi-
mentary knowledge of French heraldry.

On a few early plates the names of French
towns may be found latinized, thus :

Abbatis Villa for Abbeville.

Ambiani
Andegavum
Angolismum, or)

Engolismum j
Argentina, or ]

Argentinensis j
Atrebatum
Aurelia

>«

»»

Amiens.
Angers.

Angouleme.

Strasbourg.

Arras.
Orleans.

Identification and Classification. 33

Avenio fc
Bisuntia ,
Buscum Ducis ,

^r Avignon
Besan9on.
Bois-le-duc

Cadomum ,

Caen.

Carnututn

, Chartres.

Divione
Dola

Dijon.
, Dol.

Duacum
Ebroicum

Douay.
Evreux.

Ganabum and )
Aurelia j *

Orleans.

Gratianopolis ,
Landumum

Grenoble.
Laon.

Lugdunum, or

Lugd. J '
Lutetia Parisiorum ,

, Lyons.
Paris.

Massilia ,

, Marseilles.

Matisco ,

, Macon.

Milhusini ,

Mulhouse.

Nanceium
Nannetes

Nancy.
, Nantes.

Parisii

Paris.

Pictavium ,

Poitiers.

Rothomagum
Sylva Ducis ,

Rouen.
Bois-le-duc

Tholosa. ,

loulouse.

Turones ,

Tours.

Vesontio

Besanqon.

These are the towns most likely to be met with;
should others occur, not here enumerated, the
collector may consult A Topographical Gazetteer^
by the Rev. Henry Cotton, D.C.L.

34 French Book-plates.

Which is the best system of classification ?

This question has often been asked, and no
satisfactory reply to it has yet been given.

It must, indeed, remain to a large extent a
matter of individual taste, depending on the leisure
and pecuniary means of the collector, the extent
and value of his collection, and the special circum-
stances (if any) for which the collection has been
formed. There are three principal systems, each
of which has its advantages and its drawbacks.
I. The simple alphabetical. 2. The national,
with subdivisions. 3. The arrangement according
to the styles of the designs.

No doubt the purely alphabetical arrangement,
according to the family names of the plate owners,
is at once the easiest to plan out, and the simplest
for the purposes of reference. It also lends itself
well to the tracing of family history, and the
comparison of the modifications of heraldry in
successive generations.

In libraries, public institutions, and very large
private collections, this alphabetical method must
almost necessarily be adopted, each plate being
as readily accessible for reference as is a word in
a dictionary. But it involves a large number of
albums to allow sufficient room in each letter for
additions, and the plates are all mixed in one
heterogeneous mass, with little regard to age, style,
or beauty in design. In the department of en-
gravings in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris,
there are upwards of sixty large volumes full of
ex-libris, arranged alphabetically. This collection
was commenced about twenty years ago, and,

Identification and Classification. 35

under the energetic supervision of M. Georges
Duplessis, it has rapidly increased, and the alpha-
betical arrangement has been adopted to facilitate
easy reference and comparison.

But M. Henri Bouchot, who, being an official
in the print department there, speaks with
authority, remarks that enthusiastic collectors are
also students of history in their special branches,
and will (that is, if their leisure permit) be certain
to prefer some more regular and distinctive sys-
tem of classification than the simple alphabetical
arrangement.

He therefore recommends the second plan,
namely, the division by countries first, and next,
the arrangement in strict chronological order.
There are, however, many difficulties in the way
of this seemingly ideal plan. One may, it is true,
soon learn to distinguish, with a fair amount of
accuracy, between French, German, Italian, and
British book-plates ; but with other nations the
distinctions are less marked, and Spanish, Dutch,
Swiss, or Belgian plates can be easily confounded
with those of their immediate neighbours.

Again, in dealing with plates which have neither
name, artist's signature, nor date, the chrono-
logical subdivisions can only be decided by a
constant comparison of the styles in use at
various periods, and by well-known artists and
engravers.

This practice gives the collector a great insight
into the progress of art, and the development of
taste, yet it demands both time and patience to
carry it out. Finally, it is true, the collector will

*%.

36 French Book-plates.

have formed a continuous series of heraldic devices
illustrating family history more completely than
can be arrived at in any other manner. It is only
by this constant study and comparison that the
student of French ex-libris can hope to acquire a
knowledge of their details, so as to be able to
arrange his collection with a due attention to time,
place, and families.

The third system advocated, namely, the arrange-
ment according to the styles of the designs on the
plates, may be interesting from an artistic point of
view, but is certainly not very methodical.

A collector might divide his French plates under
the following heads :

1. Heraldic, Subdivided thus : Before 1639.
From 1639 to 1789. From 1789 to 1804. From
1804 ^^ the restoration of the Monarchy. Modern
plates. Plates having printed dates to be kept
apart from those not dated.

2. Pictorial. Subdivided thus : Woodcuts.
Copper plates. Etchings. Lithographs. And,
again, as library interiors, portraits, war trophies,
ladies plates, landscapes, punning plates, etc.

3. Artists. A collection of signed plates care-
fully arranged under the names of their artists
would, no doubt, be of great interest for comparison
and study, but rather more for the lover of en-
graving //^r et simple than for the lover of ex-libris,
or for the student of heraldry and family history.

The great difficulty of any system of classifica-
tion by the design is, that some plates might very
properly be placed under three or four categories,
so that, unless the collection be carefully indexed,

Identification and Classification. 37

the trouble is great in seeking hurriedly for any
particular plate. The labour involved in writing
an exhaustive index can only be appreciated by
those who have once made one, and many who
start zealously to work at the outset, let the new
additions fall in arrear, and the whole scheme is
then abandoned as being too troublesome.

In conclusion, I can only repeat that the choice
of the system of arrangement depends more upon
the tastes of the collector himself than upon any
other consideration ; but that, on the whole, the
balance of advantages appears to incline in favour
of the alphabetical classi^cation under surnames,
keeping each family as distinct as the information,
heraldic and other, on the plates will allow.

Plates of royalty and nobility should be kept
apart from the commoners, and arranged, first, in
order of rank, second, alphabetically by name.
The method most generally in use at present for
preserving the plates, when arranged, appears to
be what is known as the ex-libris case. If this
arrangement be adopted, then each plate must be
separately mounted on a card of the correct size.
These cases and cards can be purchased ready for
use from Mr. W. H. Batho, of 7, Gresham Street,
London, and the advantages of this arrangement
are that any plate or plates can be withdrawn
without injury, and additions can at any time be
made, whilst the backs of the cards may be utilized
for MS. information about either the plate or its for-
mer owner, and newspaper cuttings can be affixed.
If the plates are to be inserted in albums, the fol-
lowing regulations should be carefully observed :

French Book-plates.

Arrange the plates on one side only of each
leaf in the album, allowing ample room for addi-
tions in each division of the alphabet. On no
account fasten the plate down firmly on the paper,
fix it only at one or two corners with a hinge
made of gummed paper, or of the outside strip
which surrounds sheets of postage stamps.

This method allows of the easy removal of any
plate without damage, either to the plate or the
album, as often as may be desired. The con-
venience of this will be readily appreciated by
veteran collectors, who know how often one wants
to exchange one plate for another, and how many
good examples have been damaged in the attempt
to remove them when once they have been firmly
fixed down with gum or " stickphast" paste.

Albums are more convenient for large plates
than the cases. They are also better adapted for
showing off several varieties of a plate on one
page, whilst, for collections in large numbers, they
are certainly rather cheaper.

F, OF THE BIBLIOPHILE JACOB (PAUL LACROIX).

CHAPTER III.

A FEW NOTES ON FRENCH HERALDRY.

ILTHOUGH the nomenclature and
fundamental rules of heraldry in France
are somewhat similar to those in use in

Great Britain, yet in many Important

details the two systems differ materially.

To show, first of all, the close family resem-
blance in nomenclature, an amusing copy of verses
may be given from an old work (carefully pre-
serving the quaint orthography of the original), of
which the title was : " La Sience de la Noblesse
ou la Nouvelle Metode du Blason," par le P. C. F.
Menestrier. A Paris, chez Etiene Michallet, pre-
mier Imprimeur du Roi, rue S. Jaque, a I'lmage
S. Paul, MDCXCI.

ABREGE
DU Blason en vers.

" Le Blason compost de diferens emaux,

N'a que 4 couleurs, 2 panes, 1 meCaux.

Et les marques d'honeur qui suivent la naissance,

Distinguent la Noblesse, & font sa recompense.

40 French Book-plates.

Or, argent, sable, azur, gueules, sinople, vair,
Hermine, au naturel & la couleur de chair,
Chef, pal, bande, sautoir, face, barre, bordure.
Chevron, pairle, orle, & croix de diverse figure.
£t plusieurs autres corps nous peignent la valeur.
Sans metal. sur metal, ni couleur sur couleur. ^
Suports, ciraier, bourlet, cri de guerre, devise.
Colliers, manteaux, honeurs, & marques de TEglise,
Sont de Tart du Blason les pompeux ornemens,
Dont les corps sont tir^s de tous les Elemens,
Les astres, les rochers, fruits, fieurs, arbres & plantes,
Et tous les animaux de formes differentes,
Servent \ distinguer, les fiefs & les niaisons,
Et des Communaut^ composent les Blasons.
De leurs termes precis enoncez les figures,
Selon qu^elles auront de diverses postures.
Le Blason plein echoit en partage il Tain^,
Tout autre doit briser comme il est ordonn^."

The deux paries in the second line refers to furs
{pannes in modern heraldry). This book is illus-
trated, and in it the tinctures are correctly repre-
sented by lines and dots, and the remark is made
"Autrefois on marquoit les Emaux par des lettres,"
but the author does not allude to the invention of
the system of dots and lines attributed to Father
Silvestre Petra Sancta.

The introduction states that the author, the
Reverend Father Claude Francois Menestrier,
was born in Lyons in 1631, and had been for
many years a member of the Society of Jesus
(Jesuits). He wrote many other learned treatises
on heraldry.

For the tinctures the French use the same terms
as ourselves, except that for green they employ
sinople, because vert, properly pronounced, is not
easily to be distinguished from the fur vair. This

Notes on French Heraldry. 4 1

is a sensible distinction, as is also their expression,
contre hermine, to describe what British heralds
call ermines, in contradistinction to ermine, a
difference so little marked in our case as easily to
pass unnoticed and give rise to errors.

The conventional system above mentioned of
engraving the tinctures is also the same in France
as in Great Britain, and these devices may be easily
fixed on the mind of the merest novice by a short
study of Mr. J. Ashby-Sterry*s entertaining (pro-
posed) work on ** Heraldry made Easy:"

" If Argent^ my friend, you would wish to attain,
You'll do it by leaving your paper quite plain.
If metal more tempting you wish to seek for,
Deck paper with dots, it will represent Or.
Perpendicular lines, by armorial rules,
Convey to the herald the notion of Gules,
But lines horizontal and perfectly true
Mean Azure, best known to the vulgar as blue.
For Vert take your pencil, — I beg youMl attend, —
Draw parallel lines to the course of the bend.
The sinister bend you must follow, I'm sure,
To give to the eye the idea of Purpure.
Lines crossing each other and forming a plaid
Will simulate Sable, so sombre and sad.
For Tenne your pencil should cunningly blend
The lines of the fess and the sinister bend.
Lines crossing each other and forming a net.
Will signify Sanguine, you must not forget ! "

As most of the principal heraldic devices used
on British arms were adopted when Norman
French was our courtly language, and are de-
scribed in that tongue, it does not require much
study to enable anyone who can decipher a British
coat-of-arms to do the same with an ordinary

42 French Book-plates.

French shield, or even to understand the written
description of one.

Yet coming to more advanced heraldry, dealing
with such questions as descents, marriages, arms
of assumption, of succession, of concession, and the
proper marshalling of arms, the difficulties increase,
and many apparent contradictions arise.

Until the downfall of Louis XVL, the aristo-
cracy of France was not only the most ancient and
the proudest in Europe, but, speaking generally,
possessed higher hereditary privileges and greater
power than the nobility of any other civilized
nation in the world.

One of their most cherished rights was that of
bearing coat armour, but little by little a rich
middle class sprung up (the despised bourgeoisie),
which misappropriated coronets and coats-of-arms,
and shortly before the outbreak of the Revolution,
heraldry in France was in a most confused and
chaotic condition.

As to the origin of French heraldry, little is
known with any certainty. That tournaments
were first held in Germany about 938 is generally
admitted. At these the fundamental rules of all
heraldry must, no doubt, have been formulated,
whence they gradually passed into France, through
the north-eastern provinces. Then followed the
Crusades, which gave a great impetus to the
science of heraldry, as is shown by the vast number
of crosses in early arms ; the crescents and stars,
which were copied from the captured standards
of the Saracens ; and the fabulous monsters of the
East, which became the heraldic devices of many

Notes on French Heraldry. 43

noble families descended from ancient warriors
who fought in Palestine. Louis VII. (Louis le
Jeune), who superintended all the arrangements
for the coronation of his son, Philip Augustus, was
the first to employ the Fleur-de-Lys as the royal
badge of France, which he caused to be emblazoned
on all the ornaments and utensils employed in the
coronation ceremony. He was also the first king
who employed that badge on his seal.* This was
before 11 80.

Henceforward heraldry became generally popu-
lar, and many works were written to define the
rules of chivalry, each one more elaborate than
the preceding. King John of France devoted
much attention to heraldry, as did several of his
successors, and then the historians Froissart, Mon-
strelet, and Olivier de la Marche introduced it into
their chronicles. Indeed, there is scarcely one
early French romance which does not contain the
full blazon of the imaginary arms conferred upon
its fabulous personages.

When at length heraldry became fully recog-
nized, its signs and emblems were chosen as the
badges of hereditary nobility. In the course of
time this attracted the envy of vain and unscrupu-

^ **UArt Heraldique a comencd en France au terns de Louis
le Jeune, qui regla les fonxions, et les offices des Herauts pour
le sacre de Filipe Auguste, et fit semer de fleurdelis tous les
ornemens qui servirent k cette ceremonie. On trouve avant
lui des fleurdelis sur les Septres, sur les Couronnes, et sur
d'auires ornemens Roiaux : mais on n'en void pas en des
Ecussons. II est le premier qui en ait fait son contreseel." —
La Sience de la Noblesse. C. F. Menestrier. Paris, 1691.

44 French Bookplates.

lous people, who usurped the insignia of nobility
which they were not by law entitled to wear.

These malpr^ptices gave rise to great confusion,
and were not only severely reprehended by all
true lovers of heraldry, but were the subject of
many royal edicts, commanding that all offenders
should be heavily fined.

Before the year 1555 it had been a recognized
custom that a member of any one of the great
families of France might-ehange his name and his
arms without royal authority, a practice which was
particularly useful in certain marriages.

Thus, supposing the last inheritor of a famous
family name to have been a female, on marriage
her husband could assume her name and armo-
rial bearings, and thus perpetuate a line which
otherwise (as in Great Britain) would have become
extinct.

But, as may be easily imagined, this voluntary
substitution of name and arms gave rise to many
abuses and disputes. Accordingly, by an ordin-
ance of King Henry II., dated at Amboise,
March 26, 1555, it was forbidden to assume the
name, or the arms, of any family other than one's
own, without having first obtained letters patent,
and a fine of 1,000 livres was to be paid by any
person usurping the arms and insignia of nobility.

These regulations were renewed and made even
more stringent in subsequent reigns, notably by
Charles IX. in 1560, by Henry III. in 1579, by
Henry IV. in 1600, by Louis XIII. and Louis
XIV. at various dates ; whilst in 1696 there was
a general visitation, when a tax of 20 livres was

Notes on French Heraldry. 45

levied for the registration of every coat-of-arms.
Henceforward, and almost up to the outbreak of
the Revolution, edicts were issued with the object
of preventing the French people from usurping
arms and titles of nobility which had not been
duly sealed and confirmed by the authorities.

But all these regulations were to very littlie
purpose, and towards the close of the eighteenth
century the confusion in heraldry became extreme,
especially in the matter of coronets and supporters,
which, as the book-plates of the period show, were
assumed in a reckless manner by many who had
no right to carry them.

Then came the great upheaval of society, and
during the first period of the Revolution, when
even to be suspected of nobility was a crime,
haste was made to erase, or omit, all the signs of
noble descent which had hitherto been so readily
assumed, and in their places to insert caps of liberty
and Republican mottoes, such as Liberti, Egaliti,
Fraternitd, or La Liberti oti la Mort.

But in truth the revolutionary period was not
productive of much in the way of books or book-
plates. Society was too excited to devote its time
to such frivolities, and le rasoir national was more
busy than the printing press or the gravers tool.
Most of the literature of the period consisted of
polemical tracts or political pamphlets, and com-
paratively few libraries were formed.

As soon, however, as Napoleon reached the
summit of power, he set vigorously to work to
restore something like order in all branches of the
public services, which had been reduced to chaos

46 French Book-plates.

during the troubles. One of the topics to which
he early directed his attention, and his brilliant
talent for organization, was heraldry. Yet, al-
though he readily discarded republican simplicity
and equality, he dared not entirely revert to the
ancien regime, nor indeed could he have done so
had he desired.

Of the old nobility many had perished on the
scaffold, or on the battle-fields, others had fled to
foreign countries, and their castles and estates had
been confiscated by the State. Under the com-
paratively mild rule of Napoleon a few members
of the ancienne noblesse ventured to return to
France — indeed, several distinguished Royalists
were specially invited to do so, — yet the court of
the First Empire was composed, not of these, but
for the most part of the soldiers, statesmen, and
men of letters who had assisted to place him on
the throne, and on whom he, in return, conferred
titles as brilliant as any that had been formerly
held under the old Bourbon kings.

Marshal of France, prince, duke, marquis,
count, baron, all flourished once again. Very new
and very grand, but of origin most doubtful.
Coats-of-arms were granted, and Louis David,
Napoleon's favourite artist, was called upon to
design a new style of head-dress to denote the
ranks which had, in former days, been indicated
by various forms of coronets and helmets, as in
British heraldry.

The blazonry under the Empire, being military
in its origin, was conceived in the true spirit of
military uniformity, each grade being as distinc-

Notes on French Heraldry. 47

tively marked as the colonel, officers, and rank
and file would be in a regiment of infantry drawn
up for a general inspection.

The result of blending these three distinct
systems — the old style, the Napoleonic, and that
of the Restoration period — is somewhat confusing.
A few families adhere to the old style, some to the
Napoleonic, and the student of French heraldry
must make himself acquainted with all.

But reverting to the pre- Revolution period, it
appears that about 1 700, helmets, wreaths, and
mantling began to go out of use on ex-libris, and
were replaced by coronets, which at first indicated
with some certainty the rank of the owner. But
after a time individuals assumed coronets to which
they were not entitled, whilst members of the lower
ranks of nobility promoted themselves, without
ceremony, to the higher grades ; the baron became
a marquis, and the count assumed the coronet of a
duke. An ordinance of 1663, which forbade the
usurpation of the insignia of nobility under the
penalty of a fine of 1,500 livres, stopped these
abuses for a time. But the law soon became a
dead letter, and one might suppose, at the present
time, that no such regulation had ever existed, so
systematically was it evaded.

As, however, in early unnamed ex-libris the
coronets have a certain small value in assisting in
their identification, a brief description of the dis-
tinctive features of the principal coronets may be
useful to collectors.

The royal crown of France was a circle, sur-
rounded by eight Jletirs-de4is, of which only three

48 French Book-flates. *

• •

. ^

and two halves are visible in engravings ; these
were surmounted by the arches of a diadem, on
the summit of which was a double yZ?«r-^jfe-/^.

The Dauphin of France (eldest son of the king)
carried the same number oi ftturs-de^Us, but the
arches over them were formed of dfolphinsr The
eldest son of the King of France took his title
from the old province of Dauphin^, in the south-
east of France, and was usually spoken of as
Monsieur Le Dauphin. The first Dauphin was
created in 1349, and the last, Louis Antoine, Due
d'Angouleme, son of King Charles X., assumed
the title on his father's accession to the throne of
France on September i6th, 1824, but owing to the
Revolution of 1830, which dethroned Charles X.,
he did not succeed to the throne. The Due
d'Angoul^me died on June 3rd, 1844, when in all
probability this ancient title became extinct. The
Dauphin bore quarterly the arms of France and
Dauphin6.

The other princes of the blood royal carried a
coronet surmounted by the same number oifieurs-
de-liSy three and two halves, without any diadem.

Dukes carried a golden crown having eight
ornamented strawberry leaves (fleurons), of which,
in engravings, only three leaves and two halves
are visible.

Marquis : Four strawberry leaves, between each
of which is a trefoil formed of pearls. One and two
half leaves are visible, separated by two trefoils.

Counts : A coronet surmounted by sixteen large
pearls, held upon projecting points. Only nine
pearls are shown in engravings.

Ecu4£r^ SecreiairC' du- ^2- oy

BOOK-PLATE OF BENOlT MARSOLLIF.R, SQUIRE, SECRETARY TO
THE KING (WITH THE CORONET OF COUNT).

Notes on French Heraldry. 51

Viscounts : Four large pearls (three only show-
ing), with smaller pearls between.

Baron : A golden crown surrounded by strings
of pearls.

Chevalier-bannerets: They carried a ring of gold
ornamented with pearls.

Wreath : A roll of ribbons of the tinctures of the
shield, or of the favourite colours of the knight's
betrothed. This was placed over the helmet
simply as an ornament, and not as any indication
of the rank of the bearer.

The rank of Marshal of France was indicated
by two batons in saltire behind the shield. These
batons were azure, sem6e oi fleurs-de-lis y or. Under
the Bourbons, Marshals of France were numerous,
and this badge is frequently met with on book-
plates.

Officers of artillery usually decorated their plates
with cannons and cannon balls below the arms ;
cavalry officers placed trophies of flags behind
their shields. The Admiral of France (answering
to our old title Lord High Admiral) bore two
anchors in saltire behind his shield, whilst admirals
carried an anchor in pale behind their shields.
The Chancellor of France bore two maces in saltire
behind his shield.

In a similar manner, all the great Officers of
State, and the Court dignitaries, bore the badges
of their offices in addition to their family arms,
and numerous as were these functionaries, there
could be no confusion between their achievements,
so appropriate were their devices to their offices.

Such were the Court regulations, and so long as

52 French Book-plates.

Louis XIV. reigned they were, no doubt, strictly
enforced ; but later on, under the R^gence and
Louis XV., a general laxity prevailed, indicative
of the coming storm.

Mention is frequently found on old book-plates

i^vtuJrJn Ml/if lA- A-//^/;vt, ^iic Je Prm

BOOK-PLATE OF I

ADMIRAL OF FRANCE.

of various offices held under Parlenient. In
France, before the Revolution, there were twelve
Parlements, namely, those of Paris, Toulouse,
Grenoble, Bordeaux, Dijon, Rouen, Aix, Rennes,
Pau, Metz, Douay, and Besan^on, besides some
local councils for the colonies.

These Parlements were simply local Courts of

Notes on French Heraldry.

Justice, entitled to deal both with civil and criminal
cases, and their functions in no way resembled
those of the British Houses of Parliament.

The officers connected with these Courts were
very numerous, and those of the higher grades
were entitled to carry certain distinctive badges

BOOK-PLATE OF M. HURSON.

with their arms, and head-dresses denoting their
rank.

In ex-libris printed before the Revolution it is
not unusual to find the collars and insignia of the
several orders of French knighthood, the principal
of which were the order of Saint Denis, instituted
in 1267; of Saint Michel, instituted by Louis XI,
at the Chateau d'Amboise, August i, 1469; of

54 French Book-plates.

the Saint Esprit {Holy Ghost), instituted in 1 578 ;
of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel, instituted in
1607 ; and of Saint Louis, instituted in 1693. The
chevaliers de Saint Michel wore a collar from which
was pendent a medal, representing the archangel
overthrowing the dragon ; the collar of the Saint

BOOK-PLATE OF THE COMTE DE MONDESIR.

Esprit was formed of ^Xjtf^sxxi fleurs-de-lis and the
letter H interlaced, from which depended either
a dove or a cross, according to the rank of the
bearer.

The Knights of the Royal and Military order
of Saint Louis carried a star with eight points, on
which was the motto of the order ; Bellicae virtntis
praemium.

Notes on French Heraldry. 55

There was also a very ancient order, that of
St. Lazare de Jerusalem, which was united by
Henri IV. with that of Notre Dame du Mont
Carmel.

Although the order of the Toison d'Or (Golden
Fleece) was founded by a French prince, Philippe,
Duke of Burgundy, in 1429, it passed into the
hands of the House of Austria, and thence again
into the possession of the kings of Spain, who
became the sovereigns of the order.

Owing, no doubt, to the close family relations
existing between the royal houses of France and
Spain, the order of the Golden Fleece was con-
ferred upon many of the French nobles (by per-
mission of their king), and the collar, with the
well-known badge of the pendent lamb, is to be
found on many French achievements. The motto
of the order is Pretiu7n non vile ladorum.

Of all these orders the most important were the
Saint Michel, the Saint Esprit, and the Saint Louis,
which were specially distinguished as ** les Ordres
du Roi " (the Orders of the King), he being their
Chief and Grand Master. Chevaliers of the order
of the Saint Esprit were always first admitted into
the order of Saint Michel, so that the collars of
these two orders are generally found together.
The order of Saint Louis having been founded by
Louis XIV. exclusively for the reward of military
and naval services, is occasionally met with apart
from the two other orders of the king. There was
also an order, that of the Bee, intended for ladies
only, which was founded in 1 703.

Most of the above orders ceased to exist during

56 French Book-plates.

the Revolution. That of the Saint Esprit was
revived at the Restoration, but the last installation
took place under Charles X., at the Tuileries, on
May 3 1 , 1 830, and the latest surviving owner of the
Order was the late Due de Nemours ; whilst that
of Saint Louis, a distinctly Bourbon decoration, is
probably still kept alive by the few remaining
adherents of that luckless family.

In 1802 Napoleon, then First Consul, instituted
the famous order of the Legion of Honour, for the
reward of merit either in the army, navy, or in
civil life. The order was confirmed by Louis
XVI I L in 18 1 5, and its rules and constitution
were modified in 18 16 and in 1851. M. Ambroise
Thomas, on whom the Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour was recently bestowed, is one
of six civilians who at present hold that order.
Meissioner is the only artist who has ever held
this distinction. The number of Grand Crosses
is limited to eighty, but for a long time past the
number actually holding the decoration has varied
between forty and fifty. When the Legion of
Honour was created in 1802 by General Bonaparte,
the holders of the Grand Cordon (now Grand
Cross) were entitled to draw ;^8oo a year ; at the
Restoration this amount was reduced by one-half.
Nowadays the members of the Legion of Honour
receive the following annuities: Knights, £\o\
Officers, ^20 ; Commanders, £d^o\ Grand Officers,
;^"8o ; and Grand Crosses, £ 1 20. Decorations
conferred on civilians do not carry with them any
pension. Practically this is now the only order of
knighthood existing in France, yet the number of

Notes Oft French Heraldry. 57

men who are ddcori is remarkable. They can
scarcely be all chevaliers de la L6gion d'Honneur,
but the French have a passion for titles and orders,
a craving for le galon, which, though somewhat
incompatible with the republican form of govern-
ment they have adopted, must be gratified.

This desire to raise oneself a rung or two on
the social ladder, to which even sensible biblio-
philes appear to have succumbed, is no new thing.
It exists to-day, and has existed for centuries.
Penalties, however severe, seem to have been
unavailing, and even ridicule was found powerless
to check this silly vanity.

A lawyer of Dijon, named Bernard, was ordered
to erase from the tomb of his wife the girdle of
nobility he had had carved around her epitaph.
Others who carried the full-faced open helmets,
proper only for emperors, kings, and sovereign
princes, on their fantastic achievements, were com-
pelled to adopt the closed helmet in profile proper
for a simple gentleman.

Owners of assumed titles and of manufactured
coats-of-arms were greatly alarmed a few years ago
by the terribly sarcastic writings of an individual
who styled himself the ghost of an ancient herald,
Le Toison a' Or. '

^ Toison cPOr was anciently the title of one of the great
heraldic officials, of whom we find mention in " La Science de
la Noblesse," par le Pere C. F. Menestrier (1691), in these
terms : "Car j'ai su par Messirc Jehan de S. Remi, Chevalier,
du tems qu'il fut Rot d' Amies de la Toison d^Or, et Tun des
renommez en Toffice d'armes de son tems, que tous les Fils de
France doivent porter semd de Fleurdelis," etc.

58 French Book-'plates,

In a series of letters published in " Le Voltaire "
he exposed the faulty and ignorant system of
heraldry in vogue, and the deceptive assumptions
of titles, coronets, and armorial bearings in modern
French Society.

Indeed, he remarked, to judge by appearances,
one might imagine that the Revolution had de-
stroyed nothing, but that, on the contrary, it had
endeavoured to foster and encourage titles and
aristocracy, so rapidly had they increased of late
years.

Toison d'Or wished to alter all this, and the
salons were greatly disturbed as he went to work
chipping off titles and prefixes of nobility right
and left. But all to no purpose, except indeed to
cast doubts upon all French heraldry since the
downfall of the Bourbons.

A title in France costs nothing, and deceives no
one who has the slightest knowledge of family
history and genealogy.

The following letter appeared in " Notes and
Queries/' London, August 25, 1894:

"As there always appears to be a doubt in the
public mind as to whether there is any office in
France at all corresponding to our heralds' offices
in this country, I ventured to put out this query to
a well-known authority in Paris, together with the
queries as to whether there is any ground for the
statement that the archives of the French Heralds'
College were destroyed by fire by the Commune,
and also if there is any Heraldic or Genealogical
Society at all corresponding to the Government
Office ; and I received the following reply :

Notes on French Heraldry. 59

" * The old Government had the " G6n6alogistes
du Roi," for proofs of nobility, and the "Juges
d*Armes," such as d'Hozier and Cherieu. The
Monarchical Governments of this century had the
" Conseil du Sceau des Titres," now suppressed.
The archives of these officers are now dispersed,
part to the Bibliotheque Nationale (Cabinet des
Titres), part to the H6tel de Soubise (in the series
M. and MM.), part to the Ministere de la Justice
(for the period after 1789). In short, the equiva-
lent of the Heralds' College of England never
existed in France. However, the Conseil du
Sceau had some similarity to that body. There
is no Heraldic Society, yet some persons, without
legal authority, occupy themselves with questions
of nobility, but they necessarily cannot be re-
garded as altogether trustworthy. Not knowing
of a Heralds' College in France, I cannot accuse
the Commune of having burnt the archives. The
fires of 1 87 1 destroyed the parochial registers
(entries of birth, marriage, and death) preserved
at the H6tel de Ville, and in the Library of the
Louvre, which included some precious MSS.
containing some correspondence of the last two

centuries.' "

"Arthur Vicars, Ulster r

It will be seen that reference is made in the above
letter to a certain un-official Heraldic Society, but
shortly after the above correspondence was pub-
lished, even that body was dissolved.

In May, 1895, there was sold by auction in
the Hotel des Ventes, in Paris, the whole of the

6o French Book-plates.

archives accumulated by the French Heraldic
College. Although it is true the institution was
never anything but a private enterprise, it had had
an uninterrupted existence of more than half a
century, during which period a great store of
genealogical documents had been amassed relating
to the titled families of France. It was founded
in 1 84 1 by the Marquis de Magny, the compiler
of the well-known " Livre d*Or de la Noblesse de
France," but the present generation of Frenchmen
did not care sufficiently for rules of precedence
and genealogical trees to support the institution.
Hence the sale, consisting, it is computed, of
40,000 genealogical trees, and about 400,000
original family documents.

As to Frenchmen generally, they seem now to
attach little importance to heraldry, and few liter-
ary men place arms on their book-plates. In
fact, as M. Henri Bouchot observes : " Le blason
a fait son temps, il ne se rencontre plus guere
que dans les travaux des heraldistes et detonne
un peu en ce moment."

As a simple guide to French heraldic terms
maybe mentioned : "Traite Complet de la Science
du Blason," par Jouffroy D'Eschavannes. Edouard
Rouveyre, rue des Saints Peres, Paris, 1880.
This contains an excellent ** Dictionnaire des
Termes de Blason."

Heraldically interesting is the ex-libris of the
library of the Chiteau du Verdier de Vauprivas,
French King of Arms, with the old war-cry of the
Bourbons, Mont-Joye St, Denis ! and the owner s
motto, " Fear no Evil."

Notes on French Heraldry.

" Clisson assura sa Majesty du gain de la ba-
taille, le roi lui repondit : Connestable, Dieu le
veeulle, nous irons done avant au nom de Dieu
et de Sainct Denis." — Vulson de la Colombiire.

BB DU Ch" Dtl VCRDtEA
drViMlBftlVAS.
roi d'Armrs it Franrc

BOOK-PLATE OF DU VEKDIER, FRENCH KING OK /

CHAPTER IV.

EARLY EXAMPLES. FROM I574 TO 165O.

IROM 1574 to 1650 French book-plates
n were not numerous, and very few dated
examples are known, but the age of
I the plates can generally be approxi-
mately decided by their style.

The French shields of this first period are almost
invariably square in form, slightly curved at the
bottom. As a rule, on early plates the supporters
hold the shield upright on a base which rises on
each side, or occasionally on a mosaic platform, on
the squares of which are emblazoned the principal
charges of the shield. This latter decoration,
although exceedingly rich in appearance, seems to
have fallen rapidly into disuse after 1650. At first
the metals and colours are irregularly emblazoned,
next they are indicated by the initials of their
names, and finally (after 1638J are shown on the
present system, although, it must be admitted, that
on early plates the tinctures cannot invariably be
relied on. French engravers, having the love of

Early Examples. 63

beauty more strongly developed than the desire for
strict heraldic accuracy, often introduced shading
in such a manner as to make it difficult to dis-
criminate between heraldic and non-heraldic lines
in their work. Prior to 1638 it was not unusual
to " trick " the arms, by placing on them the
initials of their metals or colours, as **o." for or,
'* ar." for argent, ** g." for gueules, etc. ; whereas
soon after the publication of the ** Tesserae gen-
tilitise*' of Father Sylvestre Petra Sancta, it became
the custom to employ dots and lines in conven-
tional forms to indicate colours, metals, and furs in
heraldic engravings, in the simple but effective man-
ner which is still employed. Of the early pfiRi|s,
many are of large size, suitable for the folio volumes
which then formed the bulk of all libraries. The
ex-libris of Lyons are especially notable for their
magnitude, as, for example, that of Claude Ruffier.

As in many cases designers' or engravers'
signatures are found on plates which have no
owners* names, the use of the term anonymouSy
applied to such ex-libris, would have been am-
biguous or misleading. I have, therefore, spoken
of ownerless plates as nameless.

I have already alluded in the Introductory
Chapter to the three most interesting dated French
plates before 1650, namely: Caroli Albosii, 1574,
of which a facsimile is here ; Alexandre Bouchart,
161 1, reproduced by M. Bouchot ; and Melchior
de la ValUey 1613, which has been reproduced in
both the " Archives de la Soci6t6 Fran9aise " and
the "Ex-Libris Journal."

There is a fourth plate, dated 1644, yet to be

French Book-plates.

described, and a few additional notes about the
above will be given, as we reach them in their
order.

First, there can be no doubt as to the authen-
ticity of the label of Curoli Albosiiy or Charles
Ailleboust, Bishop of Autun, whose father had
been doctor to Francis I., and died at Fontaine-
bleau, in 1531.

Ex Bibliotheca
Caroli Albofi j,E.Eduenfis

Ex labore quies,
I J 7 4.

BOOK-PLATE OF THE BISHOP OF AUTUN.

Charles Ailleboust is described in the histories
of the time as having been a handsome man, of
courtly manners and. great learning. He was
educated for the Church, but he also obtained
several court appointments, through the interest
of his father's many friends, and was procureur-
general in the province of Lyons. He died in the
town of Autun, on December 29, 1585, and was
buried in the Church of Saint Jean-de-la-Grotte.

• Early Examples. 65

On his episcopal seal his arms are shown as a
chevron between three trefoils within a bordure.
No mention is made as to the extent or nature of
the library left by this Bishop of Autun, but his
ex-libris was found in a work printed in Lyons in
1566, entitled " Les secrets miracles de Nature."

One of the most curious points about this re-
markable label is that it exactly synchronizes
with the earliest known dated British book-plate,
namely, that of Nicholas Bacon, But for the
solace of our national vanity it may be said that
the latter is the more important of the two, being
a coloured armorial woodcut.

Amongst the finest examples of plates before
1650 may be named the series of three, in dif-
ferent sizes, engraved for Jean Bigot, Sieur de
Sommesnil (the head of a Norman family of
famous book-lovers).

All three plates are nameless; the arms are
irregularly emblazoned, whilst the helmet and sup-
porters are drawn in such an antique style as to
give the plates the appearance of even greater age
than they possess. Possibly they may have been
copied from some very old painting. Later on
this Bigot has another suite of armorial book-
plates engraved with his name, Joliannes Bigot.
In these the tinctures are indicated on the shield
by their initial letters. As a collector his son
Emeric was even more famous, and added greatly
to the library he inherited from his father. He
had three armorial ex-libris, one large, and two
small, on which the tinctures are correctly shown,
with the name, L. E. Bigot. These are all

66 French Book-plates.

signed with a monogram formed of B and D
entwined.

Emeric Bigot was born in 1626, so that it is
possible that his plates were engraved a little later
than 1650.

He was certainly the leading bibliophile of his
day, at once the most cultivated and the most
liberal in the acquisition of rare books. Contem-
porary writers mention his literary taste and his
fine library, which at the time of his death con-
tained about 40,000 volumes. These he left to a
member of his family, Robert Bigot (who also had
a book-plate), but eventually they were sold in
Paris in 1 706.

The following ex-libris have also been identified
as belonging to this period, either by the names,
the arms, the mottoes, or by the signatures of the
artists affixed to them :

Charles de Lorraine, Eveque de Verdun (1592-
1631). Fine armorial plate, without the owners
name.

Alexandre Bouchart, Sieur de Blosseville. En-
graved by Leonard Gaultier, dated 1 6 1 1 , and
already described on page 12.

Melchior de la Vallee, dated 1613, an armorial
plate of extreme rarity. The inscription reads thus :
** Melchior a Valle protonotarius Insignis Ecclae
Sancti Georgi Naceis Cantor et Canonicus Henr
IL D. Lotharin. et Barri eleemosinarius." On
account of its extreme rarity this ex-libris had long
been the subject of doubt and curiosity to collectors,
even Mons. Poulet-Malassis had not seen it, and
blundered in his notes upon it.

Early Examples. 67

At length Dr. Bouland gave a facsimile of it in
\!a!e. Archives de la SociH4 Franfaise for February,
1895-

The actual engraving measures exactly six
inches by four, and in the lower portion the date
(1613) is boldly engraved. Dr. Bouland, in his
notes upon it, says that this facsimile is taken
from the only original copy that is now known to
exist, in the possession of Mons. Lucien Wiener,
Curator of the Lorraine Museum in Nancy. One
other example was discovered some time since,
but was unfortunately destroyed in a fire. The
design (which it may be said is more curious than
beautiful) was at first attributed to Callot, but it is
now believed to have been the work of Jacques
Bellange, a painter and engraver, who was born in
Nancy in 1594, and died about 1638, consequently
he might well have produced work of this de-
scription in 1613. Melchior de la Valine was an
ecclesiastic, with a passion for collecting rare
books and curiosities ; unfortunately he incurred
the displeasure of Charles IV., Duke of Lorraine,
was accused of sorcery, and cruelly burnt alive in
1631.

Chanlecy. The nameless armorial plate of an
ecclesiastic belonging to this Burgundian family,
quartering the arms of Semur and Thiard.

Claude Sarrau. Armorial plate in two sizes ;
the larger one only is signed Briot, although it
is probable the same artist, Isaac Briot, engraved
both. The owner's name does not appear on either
plate. Claude Sarrau, councillor to the parliament
of Paris, died in 1 65 1 . H is correspondence with the

68 French Book-plates.

savants of the day was edited and published by
his son Isaac in 1654.

De Chaponay. Pr6v6t des Marchands de la
Ville de Lyon in 1627. Two handsome armorial
plates, quarto and octavo, without the owner s
name. The quarto plate has the arms of Chaponay
imposed upon those of family connections ; lions
support the shield, which rests on a platform
composed of a mosaic pattern of all the principal
charges found on the various shields. This is a
very fine decorative plate. Signed Joan Picart
incidit.

**Ex Libris Alexandri Petavii inFrancorum curia
consiliarii. Pauli filii/* This is the fine armorial
plate of Alexandre Petau, who inherited a splendid
library from his father, Paul Petau, conseiller au
parlement de Paris, born in 1568, died in 16 13.
On the death of Alexandre his manuscripts were
purchased by Christina of Sweden, who be-
queathed them to the Vatican. The printed
books were sold at the Hague in 1722, along with
those of Mansart, the famous architect. On the
plate the shield rests on a mosaic platform, com-
posed of the principal charges in alternate squares
correctly tinctured. Motto: " Moribus antiquis."
This plate is reproduced by Poulet-Malassis.

Louis Brasdefer. In two sizes, each having the
owner s name. Arms surrounded by two branches
of laurel ; the tinctures are indicated by their
initial letters.

Ex-libris of Guillaume Grangier. Guillelmus
Grangierius, Faict a Nancy par J. Valdor. An
armorial plate, with six lines of Latin verse. The

£jr Libris ^z-EX^JiHAi
JpETjiyii in. J^atuoram,
Curia ConjiUarij .^auUfily

BOOK-PLATE OF ALEXANDRE PETAU.

yo French Book-plates.

artist, Jean Valdor, a Liegeois, was residing in
Nancy in 1630, which approximately fixes the date
of this plate ; he afterwards went to Paris, where
he was living in 1642.

Auzoles, Sieur de la Peyre, of a family of
Auvergne, author of " La Sainte Chronologie "
(157 1- 1642). A quarto armorial plate without
owner s name, but signed Picart ft. The shield
hangs from the neck of a lion. Motto : ** Sub
zodiaco vales." This plate is reproduced by
Poulet-Malassis.

Brinon. Norman family. A nameless armorial
plate.

Pierre Sarragoz, of Besangon. Armorial plate,
without owner's name, signed P. Deloysi sc. The
plate contains a number of coats-of-arms, statues,
and a bust of the Emperor Rodolf II., to whom
the Sarragoz family, originally from Spain, owed
their nobility. Pierre Sarragoz died October 14,
1649, according to his epitaph in the church of St.
Maurice at Besan9on.

Of engravings by Pierre Deloysi, of Besan9on
(called le vieux), few examples are known. He
was a goldsmith, and engraved the coins issued in
his native town.

De Regnouart. Armorial plate. Motto : " Age.
Abstine. Sustine.*'

Charreton. Armorial plate, name below
shield.

Ex-libris of Roquelaire. Armorial plate, with-
out owner's name, signed L. Tiphaigne. The
arms are surrounded by the collars of the orders
of Saint Michael, and of the Holy Ghost.

Early Examples. 71

Chassebras. Armorial plate, with the name on
a ribbon.

Boussac, of Limousin. Armorial plate without
owner s name.

Antoine de Lamare, Seigneur de Chenevarin.
An armorial plate with the inscription " Ex-libris
Antonii de Lamare, D. de Cheneuarin." This
plate was found on the cover of a book having the
signature Antoine de Lamare, and the date of its
acquisition, 1629. A very interesting feature
about it is that above the shield is printed (typo-
graphically) the blazon of the arms of Lamare, and
of those of the families of Croisset and of Clercy,
with whom he was connected.

Ex-libris des freres Sainte-Marthe. Armorial
plate. Motto : ** Patriae fcelicia tempora nebunt."
Signed J. Picart sc.

Jean-Pierre de Montchal, Seigneur de la Grange.
Armorial, without owner's name. Motto : " Je
lay gaignee.*' The shield rests on mosaic work,
on which the charges are repeated. In his ** Trait6
des plus belles bibliotheques de TEurope" (1680),
Le Gallois mentions the library of De Montchal
amongst those recently sold or dispersed.

Nicolas-Thomas de Saint Andr^. A large plate
without owners name. Motto : " Pietate fulcior."

Scott, Marquis de la Mesangere, in Normandy.
Armorial plate without the owner's name.

Ex-libris de Garibal. Languedoc family. Name
below shield.

Ex-libris de Berulle. Name below shield.

Bovet. Nameless. Armorial. Family of
Dauphin^.

72 French Book-plates.

Bernard de Nogaret, due d'Epernon. Large
nameless armorial plate of handsome design.
The shield surrounded by the collars of the orders
of Saint Michael and of the Holy Ghost. A very
fine plate, probably the work of an Italian artist.

" Messire Francois de Varoquier. Chevallier de
Tordre du Roy son con" et maistre d^hostel ord"
Tresorier de France G"* des Finances et grand
voier en la generalite de Paris."

Motto : ** Recta ubique sic et cor."

Le Feron. Armorial plate without owner's
name. The principal charges are repeated on the
mosaic pavement which supports the shield.

Le Puy du Fou. Two sizes, both without
owners name. Armorial. Signed J. Picart. Poitou
family.

Joannes Bardin, presbyter. Motto : "Hie ure,
hie seca, modo parcas in aeternum." Two sizes,
armorial.

Lesquen. An armorial plate without owner's
name. Motto : " vin cen ti." Breton family.

Large nameless armorial. Signed Raigniauld,
Riomi, 1644. See reduced reproduction.

Raigniauld, Riomi, 1644. The late Lord de
Tabley, in his ** Guide," says: **This engraver
signs and dates a fine, but coarsely executed,
anonymous armorial plate. The shield is un-
tinctured and quarterly ; first, a star, on a chief,
three trefoils slipped ; second, a cross pattee ;
third, a wing ; fourth, two bars, in base a wheel ;
over all an escutcheon charged with a fesse. Fine
leaf-like, simple mantling to helmet. No crest. I
have no further knowledge of the artist. The

ARMOKIAL BOOK-PLATE BY RAIGMAUI.D, DATED 1644.

74 French Book-plates.

more modern French form of this surname is
Regnault. Riomi is an old-fashioned town in
Auvergne, just north of Clermont/' It is now
spelt Rioni.

This is the fourth dated plate (1574, 161 1, 16 13,
1644) before 1650, the next we meet with is that
of Andr6 Felibien, dated 1650.

Francois de Malherbe (1555-1628). The poet
had plates in two sizes, both armorial, and both
probably engraved early in the seventeenth cen-
tury, and with the tinctures incorrectly shown.
Neither bears the owner's name. Poulet-Malassis
reproduces the larger plate.

Amy Lamy. A curious and exceptional plate,
having the portrait of this unknown bibliophile,
with the motto : " Usque ad aras," and six lines of
complimentary Latin verse.

A large nameless armorial book-plate (un-
known), with the motto "In manus tuas Domine
sortes mea," signed J. de Courbes fecit, with
several other plates which cannot be identified,
complete the list of plates of this period mentioned
by Poulet-Malassis. In most cases he gives
details of the arms and crests which students
who desire to be conversant with French heraldry
may consult with advantage.

It will thus be seen that the proportion of book-
plates which can be positively assigned to a date
prior to 1650 is small. Omitting those which were
produced in the provinces on the German frontier,
or under the influence of foreign artists, it will be
remarked that all the plates produced within the
geographical limits of the France of that period

Early Examples. 75

were essentially heraldic in character, composed of
emblazoned shields, with helmets, crests, mantling,
and supporters, often surrounded by wreaths of
laurel or palm branches, and frequently resting on
handsome mosaic platforms, decorated with the
principal charges of the shield. And so generally
was the science of heraldry understood in those
days, that on only about one-half of the plates was
it deemed necessary to add the owner's name to
the shield displaying his arms.

In the reigns of Henri IV. and Louis XIII.
book-plates were probably very uncommon, and
the large size in which they were produced, for
the massive folios then in vogue, has militated
much against their preservation. They are, of all
book-plates, the most eagerly sought for by col-
lectors ; they are rare, they have great artistic
merit, and the heraldry is of the grandest and
purest style ever known in France. Pierre
d'Hozier compiled a list (which has never yet been
published) of the names, titles, and arms of one
hundred and twenty-five persons, who, living in
163 1, were known as collectors and lovers of works
on heraldry, history, and genealogy. This list
was accompanied by drawings of the armorial bear-
ings of each of the one hundred and twenty-five
collectors {engraved by Magneney and J. Picart),
the cream of the book- lovers of the day, la fine
Jleur des bibliophiles, all possessors of libraries,
and it may also reasonably be supposed, all pos-
sessed of ex-libris.

Yet of all these Poulet-Malassis asserts that he
has found but five whose plates are known at

French Book-plates.

present, namely, those of Le Puy du Fou, Mont-
chal, Auzoles de la Peyre, Jean Bigot, and the
brotiiers Sainte-Marthe. Of the remaining one
hundred and twenty no book-plates are known ;
that some amongst their number must have had
them is reasonably certain. But where shall we
find them, or shall we ever find them ?
Mais ok soni les neiges (fantan 9

NAMELESS ARMORIAL PLATE,

CHAPTER V.

EXAMPLES OF EX-LIBRIS. FROM
TO 1700.

1650

IHE plates of AndH Felibien, escuier,

\ sieur des Avaux, seigneur de lavercy,

Historiographe du Roy, are notable

I as being dated 1650 and as marking

the commencement of a transition period. The
heraldic style begins to show variations ; the
mantling becomes less sumptuous and decorative,
and the helmets are displaced by coronets, often
usurped by those who have no right to them,
either by birth, title, or estates. The shields
change from the old square French shape to oval,
surrounded by a framework, or a decorative car-
touche. The fashion of resting the shield and
supporters on a mosaic pavement, having a geo-
metrical heraldic design, disappears, to be replaced
by a small piece of landscape with grass and
flowers, or the shield and supporters stand firmly
on a square solid base resembling a flight of
steps, or an architectural plinth.

Of this transition period the most interesting

French Book-plates.

plates are those recording, in the one case a gift, in
the other a legacy, of valuable books to the College
of Jesuits, in Paris, in 1692.

These books had been collected by two of the

D PETRV5 DANIEL HyzTHJ.Ij

BOOK-PLATE OF HIEKKE DANIKL HUET.

most famous bibliophiles of the century, Pierre
Daniel Huet, Ev^que d'Avranches, and Gilles
Manage, Doyen de St. Pierre d'Angers. Bishop
Huet chose to present his books during his life-

Examples of Ex-Libris, 1650- 1700. 79

time (he survived the parting, and lived until
1721), and the gift was of great value, consisting
as it did, of 8,312 volumes, besides many rare
manuscripts.

FBLJBlBir'KffCUIElt SIEUR I
HIJTORIOORAJPHE DV ROy. \

t-PLATE OF ANDR^ FELIDIEN, I650.

The Jesuit fathers recorded their gratitude on
ex-libris (in four sizes) of an appropriately rich char-
acter, carrying the arms of Bishop Huet. They
went to less expense in showing their appreciation
of the legacy of Manage, perhaps because he was
dead (he died July 23rd, 1692), or perhaps because
he only left them about 2,000 volumes. Neither

8o French Book-plates.

Bishop Huet nor Dean Manage appears to have
used an ex-libris, but the bindings of their books
carried their arms stamped in gold on the covers.
An account of the libraries of these famous col-
lectors is given in **. L' Armorial du Bibliophile."

Between 1650 and 1700 the number of book-
plates is not large, nor are they of any exceptional
interest, beyond showing the gradual alteration in
style. It will sufiice to name a few of the finest
examples.

Nicolas Martigny de Marsal, by Sebastien Le
Clerc. Four sizes, two dated respectively 1655
and 1660. g :•> * ^

X Guillaume Tronson. Signed A. B. Flamen.

Hadriani de Valois, dom. de la Mare.

Jerdme Bignon, grand maitre de la Bibliotheque
du Roi. A fine armorial plate, probably engraved
by Francois Chauveau.

Leonor Le Francois Sr. de Rigawille. Motto :
** Meliora sequentr,'' dated 1673.

Charles Maurice Le Tellier, archevfique de
Reims. Signed J. Blocquet, 1672.

Louis F«an9oisdu Bouchet, Marquis de Souches.
Signed " Mavelot, graveur de Mademoiselle."

Mgr. Pellot, Premier President du Pari"*' de
Normandie. Signed J. T., probably Jean Toustain,
an engraver of Normandy.

This President Pellot possessed a valuable col-
lection of Spanish and Italian books.

Guyet de la Sordiere, a plate bearing the arms
of several family alliances of la Sordiere.

Charles, Marquis et Comte de Rostaing. Signed
P. Nolin. This fine heraldic plate does not bear

Examples of Ex-Libris, 1650-1700. 81

the name of its owner, but as it is exactly repro-
duced in the Armorial of Segoing, with the inscrip-
tion " Armes d'AlIiances de Messire Charles mar-
quis et comte de Rostaing, gravies par son tr6s
humble serviteur Pierre Nolin, 1650," we are

, M^iieLormx (
* Gen tjLuommeA

BOOK-PLATE C

SI£UK DE LORME.

enabled at once to identify the plate, and to fix its
date.

Simon Chauuel, chevalier, Seigneur de la Pigeon-
niere, Conseiller du Roy, etc. Signed P. Nolin.

This book - plate is also reproduced in the

82 French Book-plates.

Armorial of Segoing, which indeed contains about
sixty copies of ex-libris copied by Nolin, either
from his own works, or from other plates belong-
ing to his customers, or engravings by his brother
artists.

Denis Godefroy. Died in 1681. Ex-libris in
two sizes, both armorial.

Potier de Novion. A nameless ex-libris, iden-
tified by the arms, and signed by Trudon. The
only known book-plate signed by this artist, who
yet engraved all the plates to illustrate his work
entitled ** Nouveau traitd de lei science pratique du
blason," published in 1689.

Jules-Hardouin Mansart, superintendent of
buildings under Louis XIV. Signed Montulay
Len^e. Heraldic plate, no name.

Jean-Nicolas de Tralage, a nephew of La Reynie,
commandant of police. De Tralage presented his
valuable collections to the Abbey of Saint Victor
in 1698.

In many cases these plates have been identified
only by the arms they carry. Ex-libris had not
yet become truly fashionable amongst bibliophiles
of the first rank, arms and devices being still
generally stamped on the covers of their books,
and the names of the owners were seldom con-
sidered necessary in a society where every person
of any position was compelled to understand
heraldry, and to be acquainted with the armorial
bearings of the principal families.

The men of letters of the seventeenth century
were not apparently inclined to adopt ex-libris,
comparatively few have been found ; those of

Examples of Ex-Libris, 1 650- 1 700. 83

Malherbe (who was, however, a nobleman and a
courtier as well as an author), the historiographer,
Andr^ F61ibien ; Jer6me Bignon, who was chief
librarian in the Royal Library ; Denis Godefroy,
the historian, have been named, and the collectors,
Manage and Bishop Huet ; yet these latter scarcely
count, for the plates bearing their names and
arms were only engraved to place in the books
they had generously presented to the Jesuit
fathers.

'We seek in vain for the ex-libris of Corneille,
Moliere, or Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, La
Bruyere, for hitherto none have been discovered.
In 1684 Madame de Sevign6 wrote : ** J'approuve
fort de ne mettre autour de mon chiffre que
Madame de S&vigni. II n en faut pas davantage :
on ne me confondra point pendant ma vie et c*est
assez."

CHAPTER VI.

EXAMPLES OF EX-LIBRIS. FROM I7OO
TO 1789.

IHE rapid multiplication of books and
1 libraries during this period naturally
led to a corresponding increase in the
jse of ex-libris. About the same time
a new style of ex-libris comes in, more fanciful and
artistic than of yore, but it must be confessed of a
less practical character. These remain, for the
greater part, heraldic in design, in fact, more
pretentiously heraldic than ever. For, with
the progress of education and the advance of
philosophical speculation in France, people began
to realize the absurdity of purchasing heraldic
bearings, and, seeing what a sham the whole
thing had become, finished by assuming arms and
coronets to keep in the fashion. " Le blason,"
wrote the Sieur de Chevigni in 1723, " est devenu
un jardin public ou chacun s'accommode a sa
fantaisie pour les armoiries comme pour les
couronnes."

Helmet, wreath, and mantling disappear, whilst
the shield and coronet no longer face one boldly

The Eighteenth Century.

and squarely, but appear in fantastic perspective ;
the supporters assume attitudes never before con-
templated in heraldry — under or over the shield,
or playing at hide and seek behind the shield.

BOOK-PLATE OF N. R. FRIZO.V DE BLAMONT, 1704.

Cupids, angels, cherubim, and mythological deities
lend their aid, and a background of clouds, with
or without rainbows, completes the curious fashion
in vogue about 1 750, which lasted, with some modi-
fications, down to the time of the Revolution,
As time creeps slowly forward dated plates

French Book-plates.

become more fashionable, and the owners' names
are more generally inserted. Indeed, French
vanity begins to assert itself in lengthy inscriptions
setting forth the high-sounding titles, distinctions,

' 'n^^f^retnu -/ttffi)uncnsf
nuitctaluirtt^AtJicu

ciii'ui f^ttc-fiotJ^
capihiliiitn rvt^ftm.

BOOK-PLATE C

DELATOUKRtTTE, I719.

and offices held by the owners of these elaborate
armorial book-plates.

The plate of the Abb^ de Gricourt shows us
that he considered the terrestrial globe unworthy
to bear his coat-of-arms, which is therefore being

' The Eighteenth Century.

carried away to its home in paradise by a swarm
of little angels singing psalms in his praise, and
weaving garlands 6f flowers to crown his achieve-
ment. This ambitious plate is signed by A. T.

BOOK-PLATE

MICHKL, COMTL I>E FAULTRIERES, 1730.

Cys {Adrian Th^ry, a Cisoing), who was a brother
of the Abb6 de Gricourt.

The plates of this later period are, for the most
part, affected, pompous, and even ridiculous in
their assumptions. Shields in impossible atti-

French Book-piates.

tudes, either resting on nothing, or falling over the
supporters. These, in their turn, no longer per-
form their ancient duties seriously, but lounge
about,* lie asleep at their posts, or yawn with

BOOK-PLATE OF FRAN. MOUCHARD, ECUVER, 1731.

ennui at having to take a part in such a farce as
heraldry in France had now become. As for the
few plates of this period which preserve the ancient
regularity of form and correct heraldic drawing,
these usually belong to the families most entitled
to bear arms, yet they look archaic and formal
beside their more ornate brethren.

The Eighteenth Century. 89

The plates which have been reproduced to
illustrate this period, 1700 to 1789, have been
selected principally to show the varying styles in
- fashion in each decade, until we reach a date when
French society is rudely convulsed by political
events.

BOOi:- PLATE OF F. G. LECUYER.

Three scarce plates are those of Louis XV., of
Madame Victoire de France, and of the Bastille.
That of Louis XV. is a fine plate for folio size, de-
signed by A. Dieu and engrayed by L. Audran.
It has a monogram of double L on a shield, which
is surrounded by trophies, and surmounted by the
royal crown.

The plates for Madame Victoire de France

French Book-piates.

(daughter of Louis XV.) and for the Chateau de
la Bastille bear the French royal arms — azure,
three fleurs-de-lys or.

Apart from heraldry, we have now reached the
period when purely artistic and decorative ex-libris

BOOK-PLATE OF R. JEHANNOT DE BEAUMONT, 174?-

commence to show themselves, and when artists
such as Ferrand, Beaumont, F. Montulay, L.
Monnier, Nicole and Collin, both of Nancy, J.
Traiteur, de la Gardette, Berthault, L. Choffard,
Le Roy, Cochin, Gravelot, Marillier, Moreau le
jeune, Pierre St.-Aubin, and Gaucher, put some
of their best work into these little copper plates.

The Eighteenth Century. 91

Even Boucher condescended to engrave a few
plates, of which, however, but three are known,
and one only is signed.

i. OF DELALEU, I7;4.

With the multiplication of books in the eighteenth
century came a proportionate decrease in their in-
trinsic value. With the exception of an occasional
4dUion de luxe, or of books scarce only because
they ought never to have existed at all, lovers of

92 French Book-plates.

artistic bookbinding found their hobby almost

Why spend pounds to bind a book which cost
but a few shillings ? Why put costly clothing on a

Ej: Lihrta Pein ^intcmt
Canvcfs Laudamraii M'

BOOK-PLATE OF P. A. CONVER5, I762,

child having 999 brothers, all so exactly similar
that the father and mother, author and printer,
could not discriminate between th1;m ? As the
book was bought so it generally remained, or, as
an especial honour, it might perhaps be put into
half calf.

The Eighteenth Century.

Exit whole morocco, with arms elaboratdy em-
blazoned on the sides, and monograms in dainty
tooling on the back.

Enter modern book-plate.

Under the Bourbon Kings the government of
France was an absolute monarchy tempered by

t 77i

BOOK-PLATE OF THt CHEVA

t DE BELLEHACHE, I??!.

epigrams, and regulated chiefly by priests, soldiers,
and the ladi^ of the Court. The system was
vicious and corrupt, but very simple, and eminently
satisfactory to the privileged classes. It ruined
France, but, whilst it lasted, the kings and their

French Book-plates.

mistresses, the nobility, and the clergy, enjoyed
most of the pleasures, and all the vices, this life
could afford.

Of the military men who acquired power few ap-
pear to have indulged in literary tastes, or to have
formed libraries. Many handsome ex-libris exist,

BOOK-PLATE OF J.

BOSCHERON, 1 77?.

canying warlike trophies, — cannons, drums, tents,
and flags, — such, for instance, as that of Claude
Martin, but few indeed of these plates bear the
names of any of the more famous French com-
manders. Even the plate of Murat {of later date)
is doubtful, for what time had le beau sabreur for
books ?

T^ Eighteenth Century.

Of the famous Court beauties who held influence
over the kings, some possessed, and others affected,
a taste for books, and volumes from their collections
are eagerly sought for, partly for their association^. .
and partly on account of the elegance of theii*

/ iMUruni suphcwn . if:7jijCrr .

a inanJ.ihs Rvgicfvlfitifhitis .
Ttimumr Provinaalium Ct7iruiK,tee,
et in- jitf^renia Gailiantm au'ui .
JOia/or ad h^noreni . y//-.

BOOK-PLATE OF ^

1 DL NANTEUIL, I???.

bindings. To name three or four of the most
beautiful and most famous of these fair bibliophiles
will suffice. First comes Diane de Poitiers, whose
monogram, interlaced with that of her royal lover,
Henri II., is to be found (along with the crescent
of the chaste goddess Diana) on many books ex-
quisitely bound by Le Faucheux.

French Book-plates.

The Marquise de Maintenon, widow of the
deformed jester Scarron, who became the wife, if
not the queen, of Louis XIV., was a woman of
great tact and intelligence. She formed a valuable

BOOK-PLATE OF JEAN FHANC^OIS-GILLET,

library; her books were handsomely bound, and
stamped with her arms, — a lion rampant between
two palm leaves.

The Marquise de Pompadour, whose books
(principally dedicated to the mentis plaisirs du Roi,
like their owner) were bound by Biziaux, Derome,

. The Eighteenth (^entury. 97

or Padeloup, and decorated with her arms, — azure,
three towers argent. Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson
was born the daughter of a butcher in 1722, but
was created the Marquise de Pompadour, and,
what is more singular, a "dame du palais de la
Reine'' by Louis XV. But she was beautiful
exceedingly, and clever, and even Voltaire himself
could not resist flattering her :

" Pompadour, ton crayon divin
Devait dessiner ton visage,
Jamais une plus belle main
N*e(it fait un plus bel ouvrage."

Was it her death from small-pox that suggested
to Zola that awful closing chapter in ** Nana " ?

A book-plate was engraved for her, anonymous,
but having the above-named arms ; it does not
appear, however, to have been fixed in her books.
La Pompadour died in 1 764, and her books were
sold in Paris in the following year.

" But where is the Pompadour now ?
This was the Pompadour's fan ! "

Next comes the plate of Madame Jeanne-Gomart
de Vaubernier, Comtesse Du Barry (born at
Vaucouleurs in 1743), the last favourite of Louis
XV., who, less fortunate than her rival, la Pompa-
dour, survived her royal protector, nay, even
royalty itself, and died on the scaffold in Decem-
ber, 1793. Ignorant as she was, she formed a
small but valuable collection, her books being
bound in red morocco, all richly gilt, and orna-
mented on the sides with her arms, and her motto,
Boutez en avant. Redan was one of her binders.

French Book-plates.

Louis XV. remarked, " La Pompadour had more
books than the countess, but they were neither so
well chosen nor so well bound, we therefore create
her Bibliotliicaire de Versailles."

Poor Du Barry! She could scarcely read, and

liOOK-PLATE OF DUCH£, 1779-

could not spell ; her books were selected to dispel
the ennui and divert the mind of the debauched ■
old king in the last few years of his shameful life.
Yet is she worthy of mention here, if for one
thing only, she possessed a book-plate engraved
by Le Grand, of which, however, she made but
little use.

The Eighteenth Century. 99

But Louis le Bien-aim6 died of small-pox in
1774, and henceforward the Du Barry fades from
sight for nearly twenty years, until we see her
once again, on the way to the guillotine, where,
unlike most of the aristocrats who preceded her,
she lost courage, and vainly shrieked for mercy
from those who knew not what it was.

E^^^^'^

^^r^^slb-

>^^

■b. ^i ialp*ra'fflWlfW

tf^ Hfeg

BAV^^^^If^raf

"w^l

1^^^^^

BOOK-PLATE OF IHE LOMTKbSK DU BARKY.

" Unclean, yet unmalignant, not unpitiable thing !
Vhat a course was thine : from that first truckle-
^1 where thy mother bore thee, with tears, to an
named father : forward, through lowest subter-
lean depths, and over highest sunlit heights, of
tr^otdom and Rascaldom— to the guillotine-axe,
ich shears away thy vainly whimpering head ! "
lus does Carlyle epitomize her career.
Louis XV. was known as le Biat-aime, but years
Tore his death his name had lost all the influence
lad ever possessed, and

lOO French Book-plates.

" Le Bien-aim^ de TAlmanac,
N'est pas le Bien-aim^ de France,
II fait tout ab hoc^ et ah hac^
Le Bien-aim^ de TAlmanac.
II met tout dans le m^me sac,
£t la Justice et la Finance :
Le Bien-aim^ de TAlmanac,
N'est pas le Bien-aim^ de France."

It was computed that during his reign 150,000
men had been imprisoned in the Bastille, whose
crimes, real or imaginary, had never been investi-
gated in any court of justice.

They were torn without warning from liberty
and friends to languish for years in dark loath-
some dungeons, without even knowing of what
offences they were accused, nor for what period
they would be imprisoned.

A simple Lettre de Cachet was all that was
required, which it was by no means difficult for a
king's mistress, minister, or favourite to obtain.

Lettre de Cachet.

Monsieur le Gouverneur, envoyant en mon
chiteau de la Bastille le sieur N — , je vous fais
cette lettre pour vous dire que mon intention est
que vous ayez a Ty recevoir et retenir en toute
seflretd, jusques k nouvel ordre de moy. Et la
prdsente n'estant pour autre fin, je prie Dieu qu'il
vous ait, Monsieur le Gouverneur, en sa sainte
garde.

Ecrit k le de Tan .

Signature du Roi.

The Eighteenth Century. loi

Once issued, this condemned a man to perpetual
imprisonment, unless by some happy chance some
one could prevail on the king to sign the follow-
ing Ordre de 7ntse en LiberU : ** Monsieur le
Gouverneur, ayant bien voulu accorder la liberty

au sieur JV detenu par mes ordres en mon

chiteau de la Bastille, je vous fais cette lettre pour
vous dire que mon intention est qu'aussitdt qu'
elle vous aura ete remise, vous aiez a faire mettre

le dit sieur JV en pleine et entiere liberty. Et

la prdsente n'estant pour autre fin, je prie Dieu
qu'il vous ait. Monsieur le Gouverneur, en sa
sainte garde.

Ecrit a le de Tan .

Signature dti Roi

Many prisoners became lunatics, others died
there whose friends never knew their fate, for a
man's name and individuality were lost when once
he passed the gates.

Those who regained their liberty were sworn to
secrecy concerning all that they had seen or heard
in the Bastille : " Etant en liberty, je promets,
conformement aux ordres du Roi, de ne parler k
qui que ce soit, d'aucune maniere que ce puisse
etre, des prisonniers ni autre chose concernant le
chiteau de la Bastille, qui auraient pu parvenir k

ma connaissance."

As a rule this oath was observed, the dread of
another incarceration being sufficient to inculcate
the wisdom of silence, the well-known memoirs of
Linguet being an exception.

Under Louis XVI., committals were less numer-

102 French Book-plates.

ous, and when the Marquis de Launay surrendered
the Bastille to the Parisian revolutionaries in July,
1 789, only seven prisoners were found in it, although
it must be remembered that the governor, recog-
nizing the possibility of an attack, had sent away

BOOK-PLATE OF CI^UDE MAKTIN.

some of the most important prisoners to Vincennes.
If he had had the forethought at the same time to
have caused the Bastille to be well supplied with
provisions he, with his small garrison of 114 men,
might have held out for an almost indefinite period
against the attacks of the half-armed, undisciplined
Parisian mob.

The Eighteenth Century. 103

« As it was, the Marquis behaved during a trying
time as a brave soldier and a humane gentleman.

JIOOK-PLATE OK THE COLONKL DE CUZIEL'.

At length, but only when his scanty provisions
were exhausted, he yielded up the castle on con-
dition that the Hves of the garrison should be
spared. But the inrushing crowd cared nothing

I04 French Book-plates.

for conditions, nor for the rules of civilized warfare,
and in a few minutes nearly every man was killed.
De Launay himself was aimlessly dragged about
for some time, then killed, and his head paraded
on a pike round the streets of Paris.

The Bastille itself was demolished by the people,

BOOK-PLATE OK THE CHAtEAU KOYAI, DE \A BASTILLE.

the place where it stood alone preserves its name,
and the stones which once formed its melancholy
wails are now trodden under foot by the countless
myriads who pass over the Pont de la Concorde.

Most of the books found in the prison were
destroyed, but a few escaped, and these contained
the ex-libris of the ChAteau Royal de la Bastille,

TIte Eighteenth Century. 105

certainly one of the scarcest and most interesting
in the world.

The accession of Louis XVI. gave rise to great
hopes for the regeneration of France, retrenchment
in her finances, and reformation in the morals of
her court.

The king was young, married to a beautiful and
virtuous princess, and was himself credited with
the domestic virtues of chastity and sobriety.
Indeed, as a master locksmith he might no doubt
have earned a comfortable livelihood, for in that
occupation, if in no other, he displayed considerable
skill and dexterity.

The French have always had a knack of affixing
very humorous and catching nicknames to their
kings and public men ; they might appropriately
have christened their new king Louis Trop-tard.
He was always Lewis the Too-Late ; he was born
too late, he resisted the wishes of his people till it
was too late ; he made concessions when they were
too late to conciliate anyone ; he practised economy ^
when it only brought him into ridicule ; too late hb/*
fled from Paris ; drank Burgundy, and ate bread
and cheese at Varennes until it was too late to
escape across the frontier, and finally he died when
his death was too late to save his good name, his
family, or the monarchy.

He lacked decision of character, and clearness of
purpose or perception. He was incapable of read-
ing the signs of the times, or of reforming the
vicious system of government he had inherited
from his forefathers. So he, who was in many
respects the best of the later Bourbons, had to

V .

io6

French Book-plates.

pay the penalty for the crimes, the cruelty ,"and the
follies of his ancestors.

in the best period of French heraldry, supporters
were less frequently found than in British heraldry.

BOOK-PLATE OK PASQUIEK DE MESSANGE, 1792.

and it was a rule, or a tradition, that, as marking
the divine right of kings, only members of the
royal family of France should carry angels as sup-
porters. They were, however, assumed by the
illegitimate descendants of the kings, who carried
the royal arms with the usual differences.

THE ACHIEVEMENT OF LOUIS XVI.

CHAPTER VII.

THE FIRST REPUBLIC.

BN Great Britain political changes have
1 had comparatively little effect upon the
development of art, whereas in France
I the great events of her history have
left their impress deeply on her arts, and during
the last hundred years especially, nearly every
political convulsion (and there have been many)
has been rapidly followed by some great change
in the fashion of her book-plates. It therefore
becomes absolutely necessary to refer to some of
the leading features in French history in order
properly to appreciate the ex-libris of the various
periods.

For the antiquary, the prints produced in
France before the Revolution must ever possess
the greatest interest, indicating as they do so
clearly the tastes, the vanity, the luxury of that
beau monde which was the France of those days
when the lower orders counted for nothing, being
but the hewers of wood, the drawers of water, and

no French Book-plates.

the chair-d'Canon with which her kings and mar-
shals won glory.

No attempt was made to hide the corruption
and immorality which prevailed at Court — the
amours of the kings were openly acknowledged,
the highest titles were bestowed upon their mis-
tresses, and the royal arms of France were borne
by their almost innumerable offspring.

Although some of these women were of the
humblest origin they affected a taste for literature
and art, and the names of Diane de Poitiers,
duchesse de Valentinois ; Gabrielle d'Estr^es;
Marie Touchet ; la Duchesse de la Valliere ; la
Marquise de Maintenon ; Madame de Montespan ;
la Marquise de Pompadour; la Comtesse du Barry,
with many others of lesser note, remind us that
they formed extensive libraries. Books bearing
their arms and ciphers on the bindings, or their
book-plates, are still those most eagerly sought for
by collectors of to-day. But what a bagatelle was
all this as compared with the vast sums these
courtesans drained from the nation, and the
degradation they inflicted upon the aristocracy
into whose ranks they and their children were
elevated. Whilst on the other hand, the arro-
gance of the old nobility, their selfishness, their
cruelty to their dependants, and their refusal to
forego any of their pay or privileges in the black
days of famine and national bankruptcy towards
the close of the eighteenth century, hastened their
fall and that of the monarchy.

Sir Walter Scott states that at the outbreak of
the Revolution there were about eighty thousand

The First Republic. 1 1 1

families enjoying all the rights and privileges of
nobility ; and the order was divided into different
classes, which looked on each other with mutual
jealousy and contempt.

On this point let us quote the reports of two
acknowledged authorities. M. de Saint- Allais, in
his book ** L'Ancienne France/' observes : " Nos
historiens les plus accr^dites ont remarqu^ qu'il
existait en France, avant la R&uoltition, environ
soixante dix mille fiefs, ou arriere-fiefs dont a peu
pres 3,ocHD ^taient ^rig^s en duch^s, marquisats,
comt^s, vicomt^s et baronies, et qu'ils comptaient
aussi en ce royaume environ 4,0x30 families d anci-
enne noblesse, c'est-a-dire de noblesse chevaler-
esque et imm^moriale, et environ 90,cxD0 families
qui avaient acquis la noblesse par Texercice de
charges de magistrature et de finances ou par le
service militaire ou par des anoblissements quel-
conques." Whilst in his " Nobles et Vilains,'' M.
Chassant states : ** II y avait en France, en 1788,
au moins 8,ocx) marquis, comtes, et barons, dont
2.000 au plus letaient l^gitimement, 4,000 bien
dignes de letre, mais qui ne Tetaient que par
tolerance abusive."

From these statements it is evident that the
number of nobles, or soi-disant nobles, was enor-
mous ; that their privileges (many of them grossly
immoral) caused them to be extremely unpopular ;
that to keep up some kind of state and show made
them exacting as landlords, whilst the etiquette of
their rank prevented them from embarking in any
kind of trade or business, so that employments in
the Court, the Church, the Army, Law and the

112 French Book-plates.

Civil Service, were almost entirely monopolized
by this class. These offices, though highly paid,
were, of course, totally unproductive, and created
still further burdens to fall on the shoulders of the
overtaxed lower orders.

Nor were the nobles themselves altogether to
be envied — many of them were miserably poor,
and were yet compelled to support the dignity of
their rank, and to appear in state at a court, at
once the most splendid and most improvident in
the world.

They had not the resources possessed by the
poorer scions of the British nobility, who are free
now to act as directors of public companies, stock-
brokers, wine merchants, or railway managers ;
who may own collieries, or hansom cabs, or breed
cattle without loss of caste or privilege.

As to the king, Louis XVI., he was a man of no
decision of character, incapable of reading the
signs of the times, or of realizing that the future
of the monarchy, of France itself, depended on the
reforms required in the State. So little did he
appreciate the serious position that when, in 1 788,
his ministers were discussing where the Etats
Generaux (nobles, clergy, and tiers etats) should
assemble in the following May, Louis suddenly
cut short all their arguments by exclaiming that
they could only meet at Versailles because of the
hunting (a cause des chasses).

*' C'etait bien de chasser qu*alors il s'agissait."

At length the storm, which had long been fore-
seen, bunst over their heads, and in less than two

The First Republic. 113

years a decree was proposed (on June 20th, 1790)
by Lameth, that the titles of duke, count, marquis,
viscount, baron, and chevalier should be sup-
pressed. This was carried by a large majority in
the French Assembly, and all armorial bearings
were abolished at the same time.

When all around was in a state of turmoil
and revolution, armorial book-plates became dan-
gerous to their owners. Many were torn out and
destroyed, others were altered and adapted to the
feelings of the time by changing high-sounding
titles into the simple style of a French citizen.

The ex-libris of the Citizen Boyveau-Lafifecteur
may be cited as an example. Before the Revolu-
tion he used an allegorical plate on which was
shown a young calf drinking at a fountain (Boy-
veau) ; on his shield he carried a stork, as an
emblem of prudence and wisdom, and the whole
was surmounted by the handsome coronet of a
count. Now, Monsieur Boyveau-Laffecteur was
a doctor of medicine, and the inventor of useful
medical receipts, but whether he ever was a count,
or entitled to carry the coronet of one, is more
than doubtful. These are minor details, however,
for when the Doctor found that coronets, and the
heads that wore them, were going strangely out
of fashion, he effaced the obnoxious emblem of
nobility, placing in its stead an enormous and
aggressively prominent cap of liberty. This
altered plate is found less frequently than the
former; it may be that on the restoration of the
monarchy he replaced the coronet, and re-elected
himself a count.

1 14 French Book-plates.

Another altered plate is rather less striking in
its political inconsistency : " De la Biblioth^que
de Nic. Franc. Jos. Richard, avocat en Parlement,
President Ji St. Diez." Simple and inoffensive

BOOK-PL-ATE OF THE VICOMTE DE BOURBON BUSSET, I788.

as was this label, the owner thought it safer during
the Revolution to cover it with another, thus :
" De la Bibliotheque de Nicholas Francois- Joseph
Richard, Citoyen de St. Did.'*

The First Republic.

But a far more interesting souvenir of the Reign
of Terror is the second book-plate of the Vicomte
de Bourbon Busset.

The first, which is signed "Fme. Jourdan sculp.,

BOOK-PLATE OK \., A. P. BOURBON BUSSET, 1 793.

1 788,*' shows his armorial bearings surmounted by
his coronet, whilst beneath are enumerated his
titles and offices.

Over this plate is generally found pasted a much

1 16 French Book-plates.

simpler design, showing how that the grand noble
of 1 788 under the monarchy had, in 1 793, become
plain Bourbon Busset, a French citizen.

Now the Vicomte de Bourbon Busset was an
aristocrat (even if an illegitimate one), for on his
first book-plate he bore the royal arms of France,
(debruised by a baton), with the cros§ of Jerusalem
in chief, and his two supporters the angels hitherto
carried only by members of the royal family. Yet
he managed to escape the horrors of the revo-
lutionary period, and survived the Reign of Terror,
probably by studying the signs of the times, and by
casting his lot in with the sans-culoites. In any
case, he lived in Paris until the 9th of February,
1802. The bindings on his books were stamped
/► - . with the arms, as on his book-plate, but without

the supporters.
*** His library was sold in Paris; the catalogue
was headed, ** Catalogue des livres de la biblio-
theque de feu le citoyen Bourbon Busset, 20,
nivose an XI.'*

Another curious souvenir of the reverses sus-
tained during the revolutionary period exists in the
plate of ** Andre Gaspard Parfait, Comte de Bize-
mont-Prunel6/' Dessin^ et grave par Ch. Gaucher,
de r Acad, des Arts de Londres, 1 78 1 .

In the same year the Comte de Bizemont-
Prunel6 etched an ex-libris for his wife, Marie
Catherine d*H allot, with a design of a somewhat
remarkable nature considering the period. He
represented himself amongst some ruins carving
their arms on a pedestal. Thirteen years later we
find this nobleman, a refugee in England, earning

The First Republic. 1 17

his living as a drawing master. His business
card, of ornamental design, bears the words :
" M. Bizemont, Drawing Master, No. 19 Norton
Street, near Portland Street. Bizemont Sc.
London, 1794."
Alexis Foissey, of Dunkirk, removed the coronet

PLATE OK THOMAS PAPILLON, ESQ,

from his ex-libris to make way for "Equality";
P. M. Gillet, deputy from Morblhan, adopted the
cap of liberty, with the motto, " Libert^, Egalit^";
and J. B. Michaud. on his plate, dated 1791, also
has the Phrygian cap, with a ribbon inscribed, " La
Libert^ ou la Mort."

Above is the book-plate of Thomas Papillon,
Esq., evidently engraved in England within the
last century, bearing on the first and fourth

1 1 8 French Book-plates.

quarters the canting arms of the old French family
of Papillon (Butterfly).

The last Papillon of whom we read in French
history was one Denis-Pierre-Jean Papillon de
la Fert^, intendant des Menus-plaisirs du Roi,
who was born in 1727, and guillotined on the
7th of July, 1794, by the Republicans. Probably
Thomas Papillon was a relative who managed to
escape, or one of his descendants, as the arms are
very similar, being thus blazoned by Guigard :
UazuTy au chevron d' argent accompagni en chef de
2 Papillons d'or^ et en pointe d'un cog hardi du
mime. The last charge being the only dissimilarity.

A short time since, a collector in Paris purchased
a cover on which was a small mean-looking, printed
book-label, under which showed the edges of
another. On putting the cover to soak no less
than three plates were found, the lowest one being
as follows ; an armorial plate, below the shield
" Bibliotheque de Mr. de Villiers du Terrage, Pr.
Commis des Finances." This plate, signed Branche,
had been covered during the revolutionary period
by a simple typographical label, reading ** Biblio-
theque du Citoyen Marc-Etienne Villiers," omitting
all titles, and heraldic decorations, substituting the
word ** citoyen " in their place, and the whole sur-
rounded by plain border lines.

Later on the book passed into other hands, and
a still more humble plate was placed upon it, a
small label having only the words " Bibliotheque
Le Cauchoix Ferraud." This democratic indi-
vidual, who suppressed even the word ** citoyen "
on his label, does not live in history, nor would he

The First Republic. 1 1 9

have been mentioned here but that his poor little
ticket probably saved two interesting plates from
destruction.

** Ex libris Rihan de la Forest '' with arms and
coronet ; then over that was a plain label with the
simple inscription, ** Ex libris la Forest " ; that
again covered by a lugubrious-looking plate, ** Ex
libris la Forest," surmounted by a cap of liberty, on
a pike, and ** La liberty ou la mort " printed
around it.

To these many others may be added, such as
the ex-libris of ** Le Prince de Beaufond," which
was altered to *' Charles- Louis Le-prince," and the
elaborate heraldic book-plate of the Marquis de
Fortia, which was covered by a simple printed
label : ** Ce livre fait partie de la bibliotheque de
M. de Fortia d' Urban, demeurant a Paris, rue de
la Rochefoucaud {sic). No. 21, division du Mont
Blanc."

M. Pigou covered his arms and coronet of a
Marquis with a plain label in which the name
Pigou was surrounded by a garland of roses.

But in those troubled times most men of any
position had far more serious topics to occupy
their minds than the planning of ex-libris for
their books, and indeed the poor heraldic engravers
found their business coming to an end, and one
of them, M. Crussaire, finding himself without
work, advertised that he would gladly execute
" tout espece de sujets s^rieux ou agr^ables relatifs
aux diverses circonstances de la Revolution, pour
boites, bon-bonnieres, boutons, medaillons.*'

One of the last ex-libris belonging to the period

120 JFrench Book-plates. ' \%9>

of the First Republic, and carrying republican en| g h
blems, is that bearing the name of Adjudaio'J<|
G6n6ral Villatte, who was promoted to that ran a^*
on February 5, 1799. His plate bears the Roma-gtl;!
fasces surmounted by the cap of liberty, * anc ^ ^ |
odaly enough for a military man, a shepherd &|^ 3- g
crook and hat, whilst two doves, ox pigeons, con S.f 3
plete this incongruous design. ^aw

From 1789 to the coronation of Napoleon i. a gj^ S
Emperor in 1804, the use of book-plates was con ^ %^
siderably restricted. . SfS-

Pauline Burghese, a sister of Napoleon, ros^^ * |.
superior to heraldic or titular pretensions. Sh© ^'^
was a sister of Napoleon, that was enough, anu
her gift book-plate, dated 1825, is but a plain little
label :

Ex Legato

Sororis Napoleonis

Paullince Burghesice

A.D. MDCCCXXV.

Charles Ambroise Caffarelli, whose plate is in
what has been called le style panach6 de l'E7npire,
was Canon of Toul in 1 789, but took the oath to
the Constitution on the outbreak of the Revolution.
He suffered imprisonment in 1 793, gained favour
under Napoleon, who created him a pr^fet. He
afterwards devoted himself to the study of political
economy, and died in 1826 (after seeing many
changes of government), under the rule of the
Bourbons, his first patrons.

Jean Baptiste Jourdan, who was one of the
most famous marshals of Napoleon's army, began

The First Republic.* : ' 121

life as a private soldier ; under the Fh-^t Republic .
he obtained promotion, and swore that his sword
should ahvays b« drawn in defence of the rights of

HOOK-PLATE OF CH. AMH. CAFFARELLI.

the people, and against all kings. Yet he after-
wards accepted titles and honours from Napoleon,
whom he deserted to serve under Louis XVIII.,
and issued a manifesto to his soldiers asking their
fidelity to the restored Bourbons. For this he was

122 French Book-plates.

rewarded by being created a Chevalier of the
Royal and Military Order of St. Louis. When
Napoleon returned to Paris from Elba the
Mar^chal Jourdan was again ready to do him
service, and his fidelity was rewarded by an

BOOK-PLATE OF THE MARSHAL JOURDAN.

imperial decree dated 4 June, 1815, creating him
a Count and Peer of France. Jourdan was born at
Limoges in 1762 ; he died in 1833.

The Baron de Marbot was one of the sol-
diers ennobled by Napoleon L He left some
memoirs which have points of resemblance to

The First Empire. 1 23

those written by the more celebrated Baron
Mtlnchausen.

THE FIRST EMPIRE.
The short and troubled reign of the Emperor
Napoleon left little lasting impression upon the

BiBLlOTHEQUE

Du B"." DE Marbot.

BOOK-PLATE OF THE BARON DE MARBOT.

heraldry of France. It is true he introduced some
system, and a few innovations, but at the Restora-
tion his innovations were rescinded, and with the
Bourbons in power it need hardly be said that no
kind of useful system could long exist.

For the heraldry of the First Empire a student

124 French Book-plates.

cannot do better than consult the fine folios en-
titled "Armorial G6ndral de TEmpire Fran^ais.
Contftnant les Armes de sa Majesty TEmpereur
et Roi, des Princes de sa famille, des Grands
Dignitaires, Princes, Dues, Comtes, Barons, Che-
valiers, et celles des Villes de i "* 2"' et 3"* Classe,
avec les planches des Ornemens exterieurs, des
Signes int^rieurs et Texplication des Couleurs et
des Figures du Blason, pour faciliter TEtude de
cette Science. Pr^sentd a sa Majeste TEmpereur
et Roi par Henry Simon, Graveur du Cabinet de sa
Majesty TEmpereur et Roi, et du Conseil du Sceau
des Titres. Chez TAuteur, Palais Royal, No. 29 k
Paris. MDCCCXii." The title-page is quoted in full ;
it is a curiosity in its way, the whole being beautifully
engraved on a plate measuring 11^ inches by Z\
inches; all the other plates are of the same size
and many hundreds of armorial bearings are ac-
curately engraved and described. The work is a
monument of patience and skill, and serves as a
record of many princes, nobles, marshals, and
generals, whose names and deeds were, during
the Napoleonic period, as familiar as household
words, but the majority of whom are now almost
forgotten.

Napoleon decreed that order should exist in
heraldry, as in every other branch of the State.
His favourite artist, David, was called in to assist
in devising new decorations, head-dresses, etc.
The curious head-dress, invented by David to
replace coronets, is called in French heraldry " une
toque;" this somewhat resembles a flat Tam
O'Shanter cap, slightly elevated in front, and.

The First Empire. 1 25

though no longer used, its varieties must be de-
scribed, as it often occurs on book-plates of the
period. ^

Princes carried a toque of black velvet, with a
band around the brim of vair. In front a golden
aigrette supported seven ostrich feathers.

Dukes wore the same, simply replacing the
band vair by a band ermine.

Counts carried a toque of black velvet, with a
band ermine. An aigrette, gold and silver, sup-
ported five feathers.

Barons wore the toque with a band counter
vair. A silver aigrette supported three feathers.

These were further subdivided and distinguished,
so as to show whether the rank was senatorial,
military, ecclesiastical, or civil.

Chevaliers carried a black velvet toque with a
green band. A silver aigrette with one upright
leather.

Further, there were grants of arms for Pr6fets,
Sous-Pr^fets, and Maires of towns, whilst the
towns themselves were divided into classes, each
class having on a chief, or a canton, a distinctive
badge.

Thus, cities of the first order, such as Amsterdam,
Antwerp, Bordeaux, Brussels, Ghent, Geneva,
Hamburg, Lyons, Lille, Liege, Montauban, and
Paris, bore three golden bees (the Napoleonic
badge) on a chief gules, in addition to the arms of
the cities here cited, whose names recall the extent
of territory over which at one time Napoleon held
sway.

Second class towns bore a golden N on a dexter

1 26 French Book-plates.

canton azure ; and third class towns had a sinister
canton gules, on which was a silver N.

Quite recently the French Government conferred
the Cross of the Legion of Honour on the town of
Belfort, and on Rambervillers, a small place in the
Vosges Mountains, as a recognition of the gallant
resistance they offered to the Germans in 1870 and
1 87 1 . Belfort surrendered only under orders from
the French Government, the peace armistice
having been concluded. Its garrison left with the
honours of war, and, although part of Alsace, it
was left to France on account of the indomitable
courage of Colonel Denfert-Rochereau (a Protestant
* of Rochelle), of the garrison, and also of the towns-
people, who allowed their houses to be battered to
pieces without once speaking of capitulation. The
town of Ch&teaudun was "decorated" with the
Legion of Honour by Gambetta, having signalized
itself by its resistance to the invader, followed by
reprisals. Two or three other towns were deco-
rated with the National Order of Knighthood by
Napoleon L in 18 15 for heroic resistance to the
Allies in 18 14. Altogether nine towns in France
have the Cross of the Legion of Honour on their
coats-of-arms.

Another feature in Napoleonic heraldry was the
revival of an ancient ordinary, entitled cliampagney
occupying a third of the shield in base; it fre-
quently occurs in arms granted under the Empire,
but is now obsolete. In fact, on the restoration of
Louis XVIII., an ordinance was issued abolishing
all the innovations introduced by Napoleon, some
of which deserved a better fate.

The First Empire. 127

One of the most delightful traits in the character
of the French people is their readiness to laugh
at their own little national failings, their vanity,
their volatility, and their political instability.

This power to see and appreciate the humorous
side of events was never better shown than in a
work entitled " Dictionnaire des Girouettes ou nos
contemporains peints d'apres eux-m^mes,'* pub-
lished in Paris, anonymously, but ascribed to the
Comte de Proisy d'Eppe.

This little book is at once one of the most
comical and one of the saddest ever written, being
a kind of biographical dictionary of the political
turncoats of the period embraced between the years
1790 and 181 5. It contains notices of all the
leading Frenchmen of the day, with extracts from
their political writings and speeches, more especially
those containing allusions, complimentary or the
reverse, to the heads of the Government. Now,
when we consider that during that quarter of a
century France experienced a number of sudden
and violent changes in her political constitution,
going from the extreme of absolute Monarchy to
the utmost licence of Republican liberty, it will
easily be recognized that this book contains
instances of the most astounding weakness of char-
acter and political vacillation ever chronicled.

Starting from 1 790, when the Government was
Royalist, indeed an absolute Monarchy, in 1792 it
became Republican, under the Convention, and
later, in 1795, under le Directoire.

1799. The Consulate. Napoleon First Consul.

1804. Imperial. Napoleon Emperor.

128 French Book-plates.

1 8 1 4. Royalist again. Restoration of the Bour-

bon dynasty, Louis XVIII.

181 5. The Hundred Days. Flight of the

Bourbons, restoration of Napoleon.

1 8 1 5, ) Deposition of Napoleon ; return of Louis

July.} XVIII.

Each of these changes, as it occurred, was hailed
with rapturous applause, and with that form of
gratitude which consists in a lively sense of favours
to come.

Now, as this dictionary contains the names of
nearly all the eminent Frenchmen of the period,
it follows that there are many in it whose book-
plates are of interest, concerning whom a few
extracts may be given, taken from the second
and enlarged edition, published in Paris in 181 5.
No month is named, but evidently it appeared
soon after the final downfall of Napoleon, as it
mentions the marriage of the Turncoat Fouch6,
Minister of Police, in July, 181 5, and that the
king (Louis XVI 1 1.) signed the marriage con-
tract.

The two plates here introduced (they belonged
to Turncoats) show the stiff and formal heraldry of
the Empire, and the characteristic toque.

The De Portalis family were rich bankers at
Neufchatel in the time of the first Napoleon.
This particular member of the family married a
Dame d'konnetcr of the Empress Josephine, and
was created a count of the Empire, and an officer
of the Legion d'Honneur, as is shown by the title
and star on his book-plate.

He was associated with the Casimir-Periers in

Tlte First Empire.

129

founding the Bank of France, and died enormously
wealthy.

His name occurs in the Dicliojinaire des Girou-
eties, but without any special circumstances; he
simply accepted favours and titles from whatever

Ex libm
ConutU

bibliothecae.

J. M. PORTAUS

BOOK-PLATE OF COUNT J. M. PORTAUS.

hand they came, royal or imperial, with equal con-
descension.

Now the plate of Ch. Amb. Caffarelli. given on
page 121, is a little puzzling; it is evidently of the
First Empire period, and bears the toque of a
Baron ; whilst the second quarter on the shield

130 French Book-piates.

shows the arms assigned in Napoleonic heraldry
to a Pr^fet, namely: " De gueules- a la muraille
cr^neMe d'argent, surmont^e d'une branche de
ch^ne du m^me." Armorial Gindral de F Empire
Franfais, 181 2.

HOOK-JTJVTE OF M. UUliVISSON, 1805.

In the Dictionnairc des Girouctles mention is
made of a Cafifarelli (no Christian name) who was
created a Count of thie Empire, and Grand Eagle
of the Legion d'Honneur by Napoleon. The
king afterwards created him Chevalier of the

The First Empire. 131

Order of St Louis, and Commandant at Rennes ;
whilst in 1815 he again reverted to the service of
the Emperor. There was also a Baron Caffarelli
who bore similar arms, but he was Bishop of Saint
Brieux, whilst on this plate no ecclesiastical emblems
are shown. He, too, was a member of the Legion
d'Honneur.

To which of these two this plate belonged I
cannot decide, nor is the matter of the first im-
portance.

One plate may be named which forms an ex-
ception to the monotonous regularity of the heraldic
style underthe First Empire ; it is that of Antoine-
Pierre- August! n de Piis, a dramatist. His mono-
g^m hangs on a palm tree, each branch of which
bears the name of some well-known singer, —
Panard, Favart, Coll^, etc., whilst beneath are the
titles of the vaudevilles he had himself written.
Another artistic little plate of this period is that
of M. Dubuisson, dated 1805, on page 130.

132 French Book-plates.

Lucien Bonaparte, Prince of Canine, younger-
brother of Napoleon, resided some time in Eng-

I.niRlS IMAIiiNAiKE ItV- NAi'tJI.toN 1.

land, but died at Viterbo in 1840. His son,
Charles, Prince of Canino, distinguished as a
naturalist, died in 1857, and it is not easy to decide

The First Empire. 133

-to which of the two this quiet, unpretentious little
Canino plate belonged.

The books of the first Napoleon were sump-
tuously bound, but he used no book-plate. Mon-
sieur L. Joly, in his Ex-Libris Imaginaires,
furnishes one such as might well have been used
by the great soldier and law-maker. An imperial
eagle casts a thunder-bolt, which illuminates the
peaks of the Alps ; below are seen the emblems of
war, the owl, symbolic of wisdom, the Cross of the
Legion d'Honneur. and the books of the Code
NapoUon.

MURAT

IIOOK-I'IjVTE ok JOACHIM MUBAT.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE RESTORATION, AND LOUIS PHILIPPE.

flN the abdication of Napoleon, Louis
1 XVIII. was placed on the throne of
his ancestors, and reigned over France
_ I by the Grace of God and the Holy

Alliance.

He had learnt nothing and forgotten nothing
during his exile, and notwithstanding the strong
advice of the Powers who had set him up in
business as a monarch, he encouraged a steady
reaction against the improvements that had been
so liberally encouraged in the State by Napoleon
and his ministers.

The French nation had but little loyalty or
affection for this gouty, gluttonous, fat old man, but
they ridiculed him, and bore with him, till his
death in 1824.

His brother, the Comte d'Artois. who succeeded
him as Charles X., a narrow-minded, obstinate, and
priest-ridden man, persevered in the same course
as Louis XVIII., and was even more unpopular.

Under these two Bourbons, who strove hard to

The Restoration, and Louis Philippe. 135

undo all the reforms that the Revolution had
effected, those of the old nobility who had survived
the Terror and the Wars were encouraged to
return to France, and once again the refrain was :

" Chapeau bas, chapeau bas !
(jloire au Marquis de Carabas."

They resumed their ancient titles, estates, and
family arms, but the bulk of the French nation de-
clined to consider them, or their claims, seriously.
Both Louis XVIII. and Charles X. created new
nobles from amongst their personal and political
adherents, but few men of worth or importance
were willing thus to be ennobled.

The rules of heraldry devised by Napoleon were
annulled, and the old system revived. But though
the wealth of the nation had greatly increased
during the few years of peace, whilst the taste for
literature and the formation of large collections of
books had once again come into fashion, the
book-plates of this period show no improvement
in taste, and no originality in design. They are
either overladen with meretricious ornamenta-
tion, or simple name labels possessing no artistic
interest whatever.

One of the v^ry few plates of the time worth
naming is that of the Duchesse de Berry for her
library at Resny, on which we find the lilies of the
French royal family. The Duchess also used a
simpler plate similar to a book-binding stamp.

Probably Berryer the famous advocate, had
his plate engraved about this time ; it is in the
Louis XVI. style. (See page 149.)

136 French Book-plates.

The pretentious plate of Victor, Due de Saint
Simon Vermandois, Pair de France, Grand
d'Espagne, is an example of the want of taste of
the Restoration, as is also that of the Bibliothique
de La Motte which is destitute of grace or finish.

BOOK-PLATE OF THE DUCHESSE DE BF.RRV,

At length, in July, 1830, the French, weary of
the reactionary rule of Charles X. and of his
breaches of faith, drove him from the throne, and
he sought refuge in England.

His cousin Louis Philippe was elected king of
the French, and for eighteen years the country
enjoyed comparative peace, and great commercial
prosperity.

The Restoration, and Louis Philippe. \2n

Then at last was France released from the
nightmare pressure of the ancien regime, and free
to choose a constitutional government suited to
her requirements and the progress of modern
civilization.

During his reign Louis Philippe created a
number of new nobles, the chosen men being for
the most part politicians who supported the
government in parliament, rich tradesmen, office
holders, and a few literary men.

Two of the greatest men of the day, Thiers
and Guizot, bluntly refused to be ennobled, as later
on did Mons. Rouher. The assumption of false
titles still continued, whilst the prefix de which had
formerly indicated gentle birth or landed estates,
came to be so commonly employed as to carry no
signification whatever. Book-plates of this period
have little to distinguish them from those of the
Restoration, except that the seal pattern, or the
plain shield within a belt or garter became more
common, whilst some artists affected a revival of
a kind of Gothic ornamentation, with the inscrip-
tion in archaic phraseology.

Of this latter style a beautiful example is the
plate designed for himself by the late Mons. Claude
E. Thiery, of Max^ville.

It represents the interior of a mediaeval library,
the walls of which are decorated with the arms of
Lorraine. A reader is seated in front of two open
folios, and above the design the inscription is :

"Cestuy livre est a moy Claude Thiery ymaigier
de moult haust et puissant Seigneur Mon seigneur
Fran^oy Joseph empereur," etc.

138 French Book-plates.

It is unnecessary to quote the whole of the some-
what lengthy inscription, as prints from the original
plate were issued with the " Archives de la Soci6t6
Fran9aisedesCollectionneursd'Ex Libris," January
1895, together with a somewhat indignant letter
from its owner pointing out several inaccuracies
which had been made in an article describing the
plate in ** Ex Libris Ana/* page 73.

The description was certainly curiously inexact,
but that these laborious imitations of the crabbed
handwriting, the archaic phraseology, and the
miniature painting to be found on ancient manu-
scripts are lacking in originality, and out of place
on modern book-plates, as says the writer in ** Ex
Libris Ana" (and herein lay the sting of his
remarks), is a conclusion in which many collectors
will certainly agree.

Other well-known plates of this period are those
of Aime Leroy, A. Mercier, Viollet Le-Duc,
Gabriel Peignot, Milsan, Ambroise Firmin-Didot,
Desbarreaux Bernard, Pixerecourt, and Bazot,
Notaire a Amiens. Yet even these present few
points of interest, literary or artistic.

Aim6 Leroy had a Gothic window, through which
a student is seen reading. Motto: Mes livres sont
ma Joie. The plate of Gabriel Peignot was also
what we should style a library interior, as was
appropriate to its owner who had been for years
connected with the libraries of V^soul and Dijon,
and had made bibliography the study of his life
which extended to the good old age of eighty-two.
He died in 1849.

Bazot, Notaire Amiens, had an imitation of the

The Restoration, and Louis Philippe. 139

old style of armorial plate, with a ribbon on which
the dates 1548 and 1848 appear. There is no
explanation known of the first date, 1548.

Milsan attempts a weak pun on his name, bank
notes for 1 ,000 and 1 00 francs represent the words
Mille cent. This is the kind of joke that even a
virtuous man. might make in the seclusion of his
own family circle, but that any sane man should
engrave, revise it, print it, and finally paste it in
all his books is something which almost destroys
our faith in human nature.

A member of the famous publishing house,
Mons. Ambroise Firmin-Didot (author of a
" History of Wood-Engraving") had an original and
very appropriate design printed in gold on red
morocco. In allusion to the date of the foundation
of his firm, and their ancient sign, it bore the device :
a la bible d'or 1698, and the inscription Bibliotheca
Ambrosii Firmini Didoti, whilst in the centre was
an open bible. This is just one of the few plates
of this period, interesting for its owner s sake, and
for its originality, which collectors would wish to
have, but it is rather difficult to obtain.

R. C G. de Pix^recourt is found on the book-
plate of the prolific dramatic author whose real
appellations were Rene Charles Guilbert. As he
was born at Pixerecourt he ennobled himself by
calling himself de Pixerecourt, a piece of vanity
which probably deceived no one. If the State were
to tax all these assumptions of nobility, a good
addition would be made to the French revenue.
In other respects his ex-libris was modest enough ;
he did not steal a coat-of-arms, but had the simple

I40 French Book-plates.

Cross of the Legion of Honour with two branches
of oak, and for motto the last line of the following
charming sonnet by Desbarreaux Bernard.

SONNET.

Mes livres sont ma joie ! aussi sur eux je veille
Comme veille Tavare aupres de son trdsor ;
Et mon esprit charm^, qui rarement sonimeille,
Les prend, les lit, les quitte et les reprend encor.

Ne m^nageant pour eux, ni prix, ni soins, ni veille,
Toujours prompt, toujours pret k prendre mon essor ;
Aux timides conseils fermant surtout Toreille,
Nouveau Jason, je cours, ravir ma toison d'or !

Tout nous trompe ici-bas, les hommes et les choses.
La vipere et le taon s*abritent sous les roses,
Le peuple i la vertu ne crois plus desormais,

Le trompeur, le tromp^, conspirent k portes closes,
Du sexe on sait la ruse et les metamorphoses,
Un livre est un ami qui ne trompe jamais.

THE SECOND EMPIRE.

Owing to a variety of circumstances Louis
Philippe became unpopular, and at length in 1848
there were serious disturbances in Paris. It is
probable that a man of strong will might have put
these down with some little bloodshed, but Louis
Philippe was a kindly, peace-loving man, and rather
than face the horrors of a civil war he abdicated,
and the second Republic was proclaimed, to be
quickly changed into the Second Empire, under
Napoleon IIL

Par le temps renverse, quand cet empire immense,
Chef-d'ceuvre de g^nie autant que de puissance.
Un jour n'offrira plus aux si^cles k venir
Que de grandes lemons et qu'un grand souvenir.

The Second Empire.

141

These lines were written about the First Empire,
but are still more appropriate to the Second, which
is now, indeed, nothing more than a name con-
nected with the saddest of souvenirs.

Under the Second Empire book-plates began to

BOOK-PLATE OP MONSIKUR BISTON.

Enyra\c(l by D. Collin.

have a distinctly personal character, more origin-
ality in conception, together with much greater
freedom and abandon in execution. Humorous
designs also occasionally appear, where all had
hitherto been formal, cold, pompous, or severe.
The simple heraldic plate falls into disfavour
amongst those who are entitled to bear arms,

142 French Book-piates.

though curiously enough ihe assumption ttf falsfe
arms and titles goes on exactly as before.

In 1857 the Minister of Justice addressed a
report on this topic to . the eipperoc, asserting
" que jamais peut-Stre l3 teotiance .it sbrtir de

EX LIBRIS

VlCOMTE BeUCNOT

BOOK-PLATE OF THE VlCOMTE

sa position et ^ se parer de tltres auxquels on n'a
pas droit ne s'est manifest^ d'une mani^re plus
regrettable que depuis ces dernieres ann^es."

But the evil had existed, still exists, and will
continue so long as the vanity of human nature
prompts men to lay claim to ancient descent, and
to assume arms and titles either stolen, ready

TIte Second Empire. 1 43

made, or purchased at d»e Bureaux deGfn/alogistts
which aBound in Paris as in London.

It is no new crime, this snobbism — Moli^re
jested at it two centuries ago :

" Je sais m paTuo qu'on an>elaii Gros-Pierre,

Qui n'*yant pour tout bien qu'un seul quaitier de terre,

V fit todt ^ I'entour Caire un foss^ bourbeux,

Et dc Monsieur de lisle en pril le nom pompeux."

BOOK-PLATE OF M. LE COMTE LANJUINAIS.

As for the real heraldry of the Second Empire,
such as there was of it, the fashion of the First
Empire was revived by Napoleon 1 1 1., whose
constant endeavour it was to make the French
people recognize in him the nephew of his uncle,
whilst they, on the other hand, would not seriously
believe that he was even the son of his reputed
father. " Vous n'avez rien du grand Emp^reur
Napoleon," said his cousin Plon-plon to him one
day. "You are mistaken, I have all his poor

144 French Book-plates.

relations," replied the easy, good-natured Louis
Napoleon, who was in addition hampered by the
descendants of the courtiers of the 6rst Napoleon.
The emperor did not possess a book-plate, but
books with the imperial arms stamped on their

BOOK-PLATE OF Tllli MARQUIS DE I'ASTORET.

bindings occasionally occur in French sales.
More rare, and consequently more sought after,
are the volumes which are stamped either with
his monogram, or with the elegant little device of
the Empress Eugenie.

Severely simple as is the monogram of Napoleon
III., it is ingenious, and not without a certain air

The Second Empire.

145

of grandeur, whilst the badge of the empress,
though still preserving an imperial character, is
more graceful and ornamental, as was appropriate
to its owner, who was considered one of the most
beautiful women of her time.

These two stamps were principally used on the
bindings of books which were either presented
or dedicated to the emperor and empress, and
the volumes on which they are found certainly
belonged to their private library.

A characteristic example of the formal heraldic
book-plate in vogue during the Second Empire is

146 French Book-plates.

that of Am^d^e David, Marquis de Pastoret, a
politician and litterateur, who was bom in 1791,
and died on May 19, 1857. His war cry, "France!
France ! " recalls the fact, little to his credit, that
he was one of the first to applaud the Coup d'Etai
of Napoleon III. and to profit by it. (See p. 144.)

NDENfJS OK THK KMPRIiSS EUGENIE.

He was the son of M. Pastoret, a senator and
member of the Institute of France, created a Count
of the Empire by the first Napoleon, with a grant
of arms thus described in the Armorial G£tUral de
V Empire Frangais : " D'or a la bande de gueules
charg(5e d'un berger paissant un mouton d'argent."

This Count of the First Empire became a Peer
of France under the Restoration, and figures as a

The Second Empire. 1 47

brilliant instance of a successful turncoat in the
Dutionnaire des Girouettes.

On page 143 is the modern armorial of the
Comte Lanjuinais, probably that of the son of the
first Comte Lanjuinais, who started in politics as

BOOlt-PLATE OF

DE GRANCEY.

a member of the National Convention, swore
fidelity to the Republic and death to the King.
This did not prevent him from accepting the title
of Count of the Empire from Napoleon, who also
named him a knight commander in the Legion
d'Honneur. On the return of Louis XVIII, he

148

French Book-plates.

was named a Peer of France, but he again espoused
the cause of Napoleon on his escape from Elba,
whilst on the downfall of the Empire for the

BlBLIOTHEQUE
DE AVOUCH Y

ARMOIRE \ TABLETTE

liOOK-PLATE OF THE DUG DE MOUCHV.

second time he obtained another appointment by
the grace of the king. His name and fame are
immortalized in the " Dictionary of Turncoats."

The Comte de Beugnot was a Councillor of
State, and Officer of the Legion d'Honneur under

The Second Empire.

149

Napoleon I., and he also served under Louis
XVIII. The Vicomte, his son, on his modem
book-plate (see p. 142) carries quarterly first and
fourth, the Beugnot arms, " argent, au chevron d'or,
accompagne de trois grappes de raisin de gueules."
Monsieur Pierre Antoine Berryer was the most

a^^-^i//c^..uJ:^,^: i^c^

KOOK-PLATE OF MONSIEUR BERRYER.

famous advocate at the French bar during the
Empire, his defence of the Count Montalembert
in 1858 created some sensation at the time. He
was elected a member of the Acad^mie Fran^aise
in 1855, and of the Corps Legislatif in 1863.

His book-plate is distinctly in the Louis XVI.
style, but this is not so incongruous as it appears
at first sight, for M. Berryer was born in 1 790,

1 50 French Book-plates.

and was first elected a deputy in 1830 when
France was still under the Bourbons.

On page 148 is a reproduction of the plate of
the Due de Mouchy, another supporter of the
Third Empire, bearing the Cross of the Legion of
Honour. He and the duchess for some time
resided in Paris in a house which belonged to the
empress, but after the downfall of the Empire,

BOOK-i'LATE OK CENEKAI. \>Y. L.^NCEV.

this house was bought by the late Baron Hirsch,
who also bought Beauregard, near St. Cloud,
which had formerly belonged to Mrs. Howard, a
mistress of Napoleon.

What a curious comic opera court it was, this
of the Second Empire, with the emperor's life-
long friend Persigny at the head of it, and he the
son of a pastrycook.

Persigny married the daughter of Marshal Ney,
a rich, vulgar, violent woman. When Persigny

The Second Empire.

151

was appointed Ambassador to the Court of St.
James, he unfortunately brought his wife with him.
At a bal masqu^, attended by the Queen and
Prince Albert, the wife of Persigny suddenly
slapped a lady in the face because she had copied
her costume ; consequently "urgent private affairs"
required the immediate return to Paris of Mons.
de Persigny. The emperor, to console him,
shortly afterwards created him a duke.

Then there were De Maupas, the Count
Walewski (an illegitimate son of the first Napo-
leon), the Baron Haussmann, Pr^fet de la Seine,
who rebuilt Paris, and enriched all his friends, De
Lesseps, and crowds of political adventurers,
feather-bed soldiers, and financial schemers, who
thrived in this hot-bed of corruption, and amassed
fabulous fortunes at the expense of France.

The festivities came to an end none too soon
for the nation, but the bill was a terrible one to
pay.

CIlAPlJiR I\.
THE FRONTIER PROVINCES.

N June, 1881, M. Auguste
wrote some articles on Alsati
plates which were publishec
I "Express de Mulhouse." In
to the persuasion of his friends he re-j
these notes in a pamphlet entitled "Petii
d'Ex-Libris Alsaciens, par Auguste Stoe
un facsimile de I'Ex-Libris de C. Wolfl
Lycosthenes, de Rouffach." Mulhoust
Bader et Cie, 1881. M. Stoeber died a f
later, and his little pamphlet is now very j
We have already seen that r 5 74 is th<
the earliest known dated French ex-lil
Stoeber claims for Alsace a more ancient ■
which is not dated, but from its history mi
been engraved before 1561. It belonged t(
Wolf hardt, who pedantically translated h

The Frontier Provinces.

153

graved on some soft metal, either lead or pewter ;
there is no attempt to show the tinctures on the
shield, which is surmounted by a death's head and
hour-glass. The design is surrounded by Latin
mottoes, and beneath is the inscription " Symbolum
Conradi Lycosthenis Rubeaquensis."

BOOK-PI.ATE OF J

, BENOIT, 1846.

M. Auguste Stoeber describes a large number
of ex-libris of Alsace, formerly the frontier province
of France, but now, owing to the terrible fortune
of war, incorporated with Germany. The greater
portion of these book-plates bear names of dis-
tinctly German origin, and their style is totally
dissimilar to that of French art. Take, for
example, the modern plate (it is dated 1846) de-

154

French Book-plates.

signed by Mons. Arthur Benoit, of Berthelming,
to be used by himself and his brother Louis, for
their Saargovian collection, in which the artist
has represented an Alsatian peasant woman, in
the ancient costume of the province, wearing the

BOOK-PLATE Of MONSIEUR BENOET, 1S94.

quaint head-dress called the VVinterkappe, which
was made of black silk for the Protestants, white
silk for the Catholics. The spire of the church of
Berthelming rises in the background, and the
tout ensemble has a far more German than French
character. The brothers Benoit had two other

The Frontier Provinces. 1 55

book-plates, different in design, but not more
French in appearance.

The plates of Albert Metzger, of Mulhouse (by
Ch. DelStre), and of Jacques Flach, of Strasbourg
(by Groskost, of Strasbourg), are equally German

)

e» I. bws Albert; netz^er

BOOK-PLATE OF ALBERT METZGER, OF MULHOUSE.

in style, although the pretty motto on the latter is
essentially French in thought and word. A repro-
duction of it will be found in Chapter XIV.

Coming to the adjoining frontier province, we
find that the plates engraved in Lorraine are
rather less influenced by German art and the
ponderous German heraldry. Many beautiful

IS6

French Book-plates.

ex-libris bear on their faces the name of the
city oi Nancy as their birthplace, and well-known
artists for their fathers.

A few of the leading engravers of ex-libris
who sign themselves as of Nancy are J. Valdor
(G. Grangier's plate); C. Charles, 1739; Nicole
on a large number of dated plates, from 1743

^^P

P^^S

to 1767; Colin, and two named Collin, whose
signatures appear on a number of fine plates.
Tne D. Collin, who produced the interesting plate
oi"R. Willemet, Apothicaire a Nancy," describes
himself as " Graveur du feu Roy de Pologne."
Further particulars concerning these artists will
be found in the chapter on artists and engravers.

The Duchy of Lorraine (formerly known as
Lotharingia) was at one time an appanage of the
House of Austria, but after several dynastic

The Frontier Provinces. 157

changes it was conferred, for life only, upon
Stanislaus I., the dethroned king of Poland.

Stanislaus held the titles " Due de Lorraine et
de Bar," and on the large book-plate for the public
library of the city of Nancy, the inscription reads
" Fondle par le Roy de Pologne, due de Lorraine,

BOOK-PLATt OF L^N GERMAIN OK NANCV.

en MDCCL," whilst the supporters of the central
shield are two eagles, each carrying an escutcheon,
the dexter eagle bears the arms of Lorraine {or,
on a bend gules, three allerions argent), the sinister
eagle carries the arms of Bar. On the death of
Stanislaus, in February, 1766, the Duchy was
united to the crown of France.

158 French Book-plates.

The city of Nancy was the capital of Lorraine.
Here Stanislaus resided: he did much to embel-
lish the city, where his memory is stiil highly
respected, his portrait is preserved in the library,

bOOK-l'I.ATE BY NICOLE OF

and a public square is named after him, whilst, as
we have seen, D, Collin mentioned on his works
that he had been " engraver to the late King of
Poland," a statement which, at 6rst sight, appears
to have little relevance to French book-plates.
The handsome plate which has been re-engraved

The Frontier Provinces.

159

for this work, and forms the frontispiece, belonged
to the Prince de Marsan, of the house of Lorraine.
It is a grand specimen of the Louis Seize style, but
unfortunately it is neither signed nor dated.

BOOK-PLATE OF PETER DOBREE.

The inscription reads " Ex Libris Serenissimi
Principis De Marsan a Lotharingia."

The eight quarterings on the shield are the
arms of — i. Hungary; 2. Anjou-Sicile ; 3. Jeru-
salem ; 4. Aragon ; 5. Anjou (modern) ; 6.

French Book-plates.

160

Gueldres; 7. Brabant; 8. Bar. On the dexter
inescutcheon are the pure arms of Lorraine as
borne by the Dukes of Lorraine. The whole
within a bordure.

liftt, celt it USnaAn d^peureir kimJit pbiUt .

BOOK-PLATK OF FREDERICK LE ME5URIER.

The collars around the arms are those of the
French Ordres du Roi, namely the orders of Saint
Michel and the Saint Esprit.

As the Channel Islands have long belonged to
Great Britain it is obviously incorrect to class them

The Frontier Provinces.

i6i

under the Frontier provinces of France. And yet
some mention must be made of them, for many
book-plates used there have a distinctly French
character, whilst a list of the names of some of
the leading families (of French origin), will show

'//tM ^'

'atU/2^ric^

BOOK-PLATE OF PETER UK HA VI 1. LAND.

that a collector might easily be led to mistake
their plates for French :

Alles, Le Patourel, Metivier, Mauger, Le Dieu,
Bichard, Andros, Bonamy, Brock, Blondel, Beauvoir
or De Beauvoir, Carey, Gary, or Careye, De
Carteret, Effard, de Jersey, de Havilland or
Haviland, Gosselin, Dobree, Perchard, Le Mesu-

1 62 French Book-plates.

rier, Mesny, MiUais, Milais, Milet, Priaulx, De
Sausmarez or Saumarez, Fautret, De Vie, Lihou,
Guille, Le Marchant, Le Febvre, Le Roy, Le
Pelley, Tupper, Le Gros, Lempriere, De Lisle,
Falla, De Putron, Renouf, Le Gallienne, Naftel.

I give reproductions of three such plates, one a
fine specimen of engraving, of Peter Dobree, a
family long settled in Guernsey, the other a more
modern plate of the Le Mesurier family, to which
the fleur-de-lys and the motto give a French
appearance. The motto is the same as that used
on his book-plate by David Garrick, who was
himself of Huguenot descent. The third is a plate
of Peter de Havilland, a member of a very old
Guernsey family, now represented by General de
Havilland. There is a plate of this family by
Skinner, of Bath, dated 1742. (See pp. 159, 160,
161.)

There are several instances of ancient French
titles being held by residents in Great Britain, or
our Colonies, which titles are also recognized by
our heraldic authorities. As their book-plates
would undoubtedly pass for French, a few ex-
planatory notes about them may be given.

The Barony du Bois de Ferrieres may be
instanced. The Du Bois was a Walloon family,
whilst the De Ferrieres branch was of Huguenot
descent, which removed from France to Holland
at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The
family motto was Tout par et pour Dieu,

The Marquis de Lapasture was created a
French nobleman in 1768 ; his descendants settled
in England.

The Frontier Provinces.

163

The Baron de Teissier, created by French
patent in 1819, was also permitted by royal
authority to use that title in Great Britain.

&f. Sei. Sc<.

BOOK-PLATE OF THE DE VISME FAMILY.

Another descendant of an ancient noble French
family identified with this country was the Marquis
Ruault de Longueville de Bucy, who was educated
at Eton and Cambridge, and served in the
Bechuanaland Expedition with Methuen's Horse.

164 French Book-plates.

This marquis (the nth in descent) belongs to
a family whose history is full of curious and
romantic vicissitudes. The first Marquis de
Bucy et Merval was created in 1602, he beings the
direct descendant of the ancient feudal Lords of
Bucy, successive holders of the Marquisate were
Lords-in-Waitinjj to Louis XIII. and Louis XV.
Charles Marc, the 8th marquis, was a Captain
in the French King's Musqueteers, a court post of
considerable importance under the ancien r^einte.
During the Reign of Terror he escaped to England,
but his wife, Marie Ruault, Marquise de Gamaches,
in her own right, was captured and guillotined
with Marie Antoinette.

The 9th Marquis, son of the above, was
invited by Napoleon I. to return to France, which
he did, served as Major in the celebrated Cuiras-*
siers de la Garde, and died a soldier's death at*
Waterloo. He was the grandfather of the present
holder of the title.

The motto of the family is singularly appro-
priate to its history : Pour le roi souvent—pour la
patrie toitjours.

The next family to mention in this connection
is one which, though thoroughly identified with this
country, carries arms proclaiming their French
origin to even the most casual observer. Indeed
the Counts de Vismes (or de Visme) asserted their
descent from royalty itself, as evidenced by the
first quarter, (Tazur senile de flair-de-lys or, for
France ancient, whilst the motto Mont Joie SL
Denis, and the supporters, two angels, also indicate
French royalty. (See page 163.)

The Frontier Provinces.

I6S

The family of De Visme is descended from the
sovereign Counts of Ponthieu (dating since the
eighth century) of the Blood Royal of France, and

BOOK-PLATE OF G. UE

the head of the family has, by usage on the con-
tinent, borne the title of prince. The title of
Count de Visme has also been recognized by the
successive governments of France, although the
family has long been resident in England, and

French Book-plates.

i66

has furnished many distinguished officers to our
army.

Here is another plate of a Frenchman settled in
England, and rather more English than the majority
of Englishmen themselves.

BOOK-PLftTE OF THE CHEVALIKR DE CHATELAIN.

The Chevalier de Chatelain was a prolific author :
poems, essays, and letters without number, flowed
from his pen ; he translated some of Shakespeare's
plays into French, and endeavoured to explain
'ictor Hugo's works to our countrymen. Finally
he wrote poems in praise of his deceased wife,
Madame Clara de Chatelain, n6e Clara de Pontigny.

i 1

"0^ 01 "i^l

fii V
w3]

MEJ5IRE PIERR£ COLOJAA fiAKO>

BOOK-PJ^TE OF THE BARON DE MC

'A Specimen of Flemish Heraldry of the seventeenth century.)

i68.

French Book-plates.

Probably few people have read the praises of this
good lady, but she appears to have been a remark-
able person, an accomplished musician, a clever
linguist, and, what is more to the point she was for
thirty-three years the loving wife of the chevalier,
who was enabled, through her amiability, to claim
and obtain the Dunmow Flitch in 1855 for their
marital felicity.

As for the chevalier himself, he appears to have
been a kindly, fussy, well-read old gentleman,
seriously afflicted with the caco'ethes scribendi.

CHAPTER X.

ECCLESIASTICAL EX-LIBRIS.

E O long as the government of France
was monarchical, It was largely in-
fluenced by the priests, and her most
famous statesmen were such princes of
the Church as Richelieu, Mazarin, De Retz, Rohan-
Soubize, La Rochefoucauld, and Talleyrand-
P^rigord. Whether their power was always
exercised solely for the good of France is not a
question to be discussed here, but, speaking gener-
ally, it is certain that they did much to encourage
the progress of an, science, and literature.

Some of the finest libraries in old France were
formed by cardinals and bishops ; Richelieu and
Mazarin founded free libraries open to the general
public, and many of the wealthy religious houses
and monastic institutions had collections of the
rarest illuminated MSS., such as Livres d'Heures
and early Liturgies, of which, alas ! most were
wantonly destroyed, or dispersed, during the mad
period of the Revolution.

lyo French Book-plates.

It must be admitted that humility was a virtue
not much studied by the cardinals or their satel-
lites, their books were sumptuously bound, with
their arms ostentatiously emblazoned on the covers,
and their book-plates were also of the most
pompous description.

When ex-libris became fashionable theirs were
the largest and the most elaborate, the insignia of
the Church being added to their family arms, and
nothing was omitted which could show how vastly
superior these men were to their predecessors,
the poor fishermen of Judea,

First among the Church dignitaries, who were
also statesmen, comes the name of the powerful
Cardinal Richelieu, who formed a valuable library,
partly by purchase, but principally by robbery or
intimidation. To do him justice, however, he
dedicated in his will his books to the use of the
public, and his grand-nephew saw that his wishes
were obeyed. The first idea of creating a free
public library in France was due to J. A. de Thou,
who, dying in 1617, left all his valuable collections
ad usum publicum : but his will was ignored, and
his books were dispersed.

Richelieu followed his example, and later on
the Cardinal Mazarin, his successor, realized the
idea by leaving his magnificent library, with funds
to maintain it, for the free use of the public.

Mazarin, that " Laquais parvenu au Cardinal,*'
the councillor and the minister, if not the husband,
of Anne of Austria, the man who, with all the cares
of an unruly state on his shoulders, still found
time to accumulate two enormous libraries. Of

Ecclesiastical Ex-Libris. 171

these the first was compulsorily sold in 1652, but
the second remains, and now forms the nucleus of
the Bibliotheque Mazarine in Paris. It was of
this collection that Loret wrote :

" Mais, surtout, la bibliotheque
Contenant maint oeuvre k la grdque,
Et des rangs de livres nombreux
Persans, latins, chinois, h^breux,
Turcs, anglois, allemans, cosaques,
Hurous, iroquois, siriaques,
Brcfs tant de volumes divers
D'auteurs tant en proze qu*en vers,
Qu*on peut, sans passer pour profane,
AUeguer que la Vaticane
N'a point tant de livres de prix,
N'y tant de rares manuscrits."

Mazarin confided his books only to the most
expert binders ; Le Gascon, Saulnier, and Petit
were employed by him, whilst he kept a number
of clever binders constantly at work in his library
under his own supervision. His favourite style
was red morocco, stamped on the sides with his
arms, surmounted by the cardinal's hat, and in the
angles a monogram, either C. J. M. (Cardinal
Jules Mazarin), or simply J. M.

'* Livres tant rares que vulgaires
Dont chascun jusqu'aux plus coquins
Revestu d'un beau marroquin,
D'une ravissante manifere."

Thus bound, emblazoned, and identified, the
books of Cardinal Mazarin certainly needed no
ex-libris, nor does it appear that he used one.

Bishop Huet, who gave his books to the Jesuits,

172 French Book-plates.

has already been mentioned as the cause of several
fine ex-libris.

The arms which Gilles Manage had stamped

BOOK-PLATR FOR THE LEGACY OK GILl.ES MENACE.

on his bookbindings {d'argent, au sautoir d'azur
chargi d'un soleil du premier) were also placed on
the ex-libris prepared by the Jesuits, to be pteced
in the books left to them by Manage. The plate
is less elaborate than that of Bishop Huet, but is

y^tWf^ .7//ii.<-/ri.r.ri/iiii.f i

ccUriisJ'rutupj

BOOK-PLATE FOR THE DONATION (

174 French Book-plates,

equally interesting. Manage was born on August
15, 1613, and displayed an intense love of books
from his earliest youth, and what was somewhat
remarkable, he inserted the date on which he
acquired each book on the title page. Although a
great scholar, he possessed little originality; his
own most important work was his DicHonnaire

BOOK-J'LATE OF BISHOP QUIQUERAN

Etymologique, whilst that which has best preserved
his memory amongst general readers is the curious
collection entitled, " Menagiana : ou les Bons Mots
et Remarques Critiques, Historiques, Morales et
d'Erudition, de M. Menage, Recueillies par ses
Amis." This is indeed a mine of information ;
it contains much valuable ore in the shape of
epigrams, parodies, and anecdotes, but great labour
is required to separate the gold from the quartz.
Here is the poem " Le Fameux La Galisse," which

Ecclesiastical Ex-Ltbris. 1 75

Goldsmith imitated, and here, too, is the famous
saying of Manage, " La premiere chose qu'on doit
faire," so often quoted on book-plates. Manage
died July 23, 1692, which year is given on the
Jesuits' book-plate.

To assist in identifying ecclesiastical ex-libris,
it must here be mentioned that they carry the

BOOK-PLATE OF BISHOP CAUMARTIN.

head-dresses peculiar to the hierarchy of the
Catholic Church, which are to be distinguished
as follows :

Cardinal. — A red hat having a wide, flat brim,
with a cord on each side, from which hang five
rows of red tassels.

AftAdiskop. — A hat similar in shape to that of

176

French Book-plates.

a cardinal, but green in colour, with a cord on each
side, from which hang four rows of green tassels.

Bisliop. — The same hat as an archbishop, but
with only three rows of green tassels.

Abb4. — A black hat, with a cord on each side,
from which hang two rows of black tassels.

Divioncnais ei SequanidA-

ItOOK-PLATE OF H. CHABEUK, OF DIJON.

As a matter of fact, the distinction between the
hats of archbishops and of bishops appears not to
have been generally observed, as we find on the
book-plates of most of the bishops that they
carried four rows of tassels, that is, ten tassels on
each side of their shields. Menestrier admits that
the number of tassels is immaterial, but he lays
stress on the colour : " Les chapeaux sont rouges

Ecclesiastical Ex~Libris.

177

pour les Cardinaux, verts pour les Archev^ques et
Evdques, noirs pour les Protonotaires, et autres
dignitezau dessoux des Evfiques." These colours
are shown in the usual heraldic manner.

Here are a few examples of clerical plates.

BOOK-PLATE OF L. B. BABBIER.

Caumartin, a bishop, after whom they have named
a street in Paris ; Chabeuf, a modern bishop of
Dijon ; Barbier, an abbot ; and J. F. Seguret, a
canon of the cathedral church of Alais. The last
is an old plate, and is remarkable because it con-
tains no ecclesiastical emblems, the arms and sup-
porters being purely heraldic. The same remarks

178 : French Book-plates.

apply to the plate of the Abb^ Quarr^ de Monay,
Canon of Autun, which is dated 1776, and is a
characteristic specimen of the plate of the peratd.
Observe the large coronet, the oval shield in a
cartouche, the heavy pendent festoons, and the
solid square base, all distinctive features of the
style Louis XVI. (See reproduction, page reS.)

HOOK-PLATE OF CANON SEGURET.

The plate of Dominique- Barnab^ Turgot de
Saint Clair, bishop of Seez, dated 1716, is a good
example of the ecclesiastical plate of the period, in
which the mundane coronet is as conspicuous as
the bishop's hat. Bishop Turgot died on Decem-
ber i8th, 1727, leaving a valuable library, which
was sold in Paris in 1730.

The ex-libris of the library of the college of Eu,
founded by the Due de Maine in 1729, may be in-

Ecclesiastical Ex-Libris. 1 79

serted here, 'as belonging to an educational estab-
lishment. It must be confessed that the plate has
a very warlike appearance, for it carries the arms
of the founder of the college, Louis Auguste de
Bourbon, Due de Maine, who was Captain-General

BOOK-PLATE OF UISHOP BARNABAS TURCOT.

of the Artillery, hence the warlike devices which
surround the pedestal. Being a Bourbon, his arms
were France, debruised by a baton.

The plate is an interesting example of the
artistic regularity which marks the early period
of Louis XV. (See next page.)

The armorial plate of the Abb^ de Bourbon-
Rothelin shows by its inescutcheon, and its sup-

i8o

French Book-plates.

porters, that the owner was a descendant of the
royal house of Bourbon. Charles d'Orl^ans, Abbi
de Rothelin, a son of Henri d'Orleans. Marquis de

xMiiUtof^ Call .\jftuf:^miiat0ris iwi iXTA^

Rothelin, was born August 5, 1691, and died July
1 7, 1 744. He was an ardent collector of medals,
books, and manuscripts, and was esteemed one of
the most learned men of his day. At his death,

Ecclesiastical Ex-Libris.

i8i

his library, which was especially rich in early
theological works, was sold and dispersed, but his

BOOK-PIJVTE OF M, I,E CUR£ DUBUT.

collection of medals was acquired entire for the
museum of the Escurial. (See reproduction, page

J87.)

I82

French Book-plates.

The arms, stamped on the sides of the books
bound for him resembled those on his ex-Hbris,
but without the columns in the background.

A very large ecclesiastical plate is that of Fran-

BOOK-PLATE OF THE ABb£ DE GRICOUHT, I750.

ciscus Tristanus de Cambon : Episcopus Mirapis-
censis. This plate is in the best style of the early
period of Louis XVI., and is signedy. Mercadier.
Inv. ei sculp. The shield is surmounted by the
coronet of a count, over which is the bishop's hat.
The plate of Archambault is a handsome speci-
men of the work of Sergent, signed " Sergent scul.

BOOK-PLATE OF INARCH AM BAULT.

184 French Book-plates,

Carnuti." The date is very faint, but appears to
be 1773-

" Affaires du Clerg6 " on the open book, the
tables with the commandments, the mitre and
crozier, sufficiently indicate that the owner of the
plate was connected with the Church.

Des Livres de M. Dubut is the title of the pre-

BOOK-PLATES OF J. A. LE MERCIER.

teittious book-plate of the Cur^ de Viroflay, signed
Le Roy. and dated 1782.

Here we have the arms of this pious son of the
Church going straight to Paradise on a thunder-
cloud, under the protection of two rather mundane-
looking ladies. The world, the flesh, and — but
no — the cross of St. Louis In the background pre-
vents the completion of the trio. (See page 181.)

In a somewhat similar style of thunder-cloud

Ecclesiastical Ex-Libris,

i8s

decoration is the dated plate of the Abb^ de
Gricourt, already referred to.

The plates of J. A. Le Mercier show that at
first over his arms he bore the coronet of a count,
but that later on, probably during the revolutionary
period, he had that erased to make way for a

BOOK-PLATE OF THE REV. FATHER INGOLD.

meaningless finial ornament, on the lower half of
which the back part of the coronet can still be
seen.

A modern addition to the French literature on
book-plates is a sixteen-page pamphlet, entitled,
Les Ex-Libris Oratoriens, published in 1892 by
Charles Poussielgue, in the Rue Cassette, Paris.

This is a brief sketch of some ecclesiastical ex-

l86

French Book-piates.

libris, written by a priest, the Rev. Father Ingold,
of L'Hay, near Paris. The pamphlet contains
some facsimile illustrations, of which three are

reproductions of exquisite plates designed by M.
Claude Thiery, of Nancy. These are the plates
of the library of the Oratory of Tours, of the
library of the Massillon School, and lastly that of

Ecclesiastical Ex-L ibris. 1 87

the author, Father Ingold, said to be copied from
an original miniature, dated 1466. The Ingold
family was of Alsatian origin, and the plate is

BOOK-PLATE OF l.'AlUffi DE IIOUKBON-KOTHELIN, 1691-1744.

essentially German in its -design, the helmet being
surmounted by the characteristic proboscis.

This artist, Claude Thiery, who died in 1895,
excelled in small delicate hand-work, full of minute
detail, in the manner of Callot ; his own ex-libris

t88

French Book-plates,

is an admirable specimen of his style. A facsimile
of it is given as a frontispiece to Henri Bouchot's
' Les Ex-Libris. It represents a fifteenth-century
student at work amongst his books, with the in-
scription : " Cestuy livre est k moy Claude Thiery,

^*%i

^^^

Oh CalvttJ/

i:m^ (liiarr

de Manav CAinoui^ 1 M

4 !'f^Aj, f,Ar.irJIr jj^n n:t | Q

BOOK-PLATE C

ymaigier du moult hault et puissant seigneur
Monseigneur Francois Joseph Empereur."

By permission of Father Ingold a few of his
illustrations of clerical ex-libris are inserted
here, namely, those of Quiqueran de Beaujeu, of
Joan de Montmeau, of Francois Jannart, and the

Ecclesiastical Ex-Libris.

189

simple little stamp illustrated below, which was
used by the priests for marking the books in their
own collection in the College of Lyons.

Father Ingold complains, however, that in most
of the ancient abbeys and monasteries in France
the officials who had charge of the books were
content simply to inscribe the name of the estab-
lishment in MS. on the title-pages, and did not
use book-plates. He gives a long list of these
inscriptions (all in Latin), some of which con-
tain allusions to interesting historical and biblio-

graphical facts ; but as all these entries are written
in, they cannot be considered ex-libris in the sense
that we attach to the expression.

A work of the greatest utility to those interested
in the study of ecclesiastical book-plates is the
"Catalogue des Incunables de la Bibliotheque
Publique de Besan^on," par Auguste Castan.
This was a posthumous book, published in 1893,
by J. Dodivers, Grande Rue, Besan^on.

The author was Conservateur de la Bibliotheque
de Besan9on, a position which gave him ample
opportunities for the pursuit of bibliographical
studies, to which he devoted his life. The library of

I go French Book-plates.

Besan^on is particularly rich in unique early printed
books, and in MSS. It contains no less than 985
volumes or pamphlets, printed during the fifteenth
century, amongst which are examples of the rarest
works from the early printing offices of Germany,
Italy, France, and Switzerland,

BOOK-PLATE OF J. F. JANNART.

These are all fully described by Mons. Castan,
who gives biographical accounts of their printers,
the watermarks on their paper, their bindings, notes
concerning their former owners, and, what is more
to our purpose, descriptions of the ex-libris found
in them.

Ecclesiastical Ex-Libris.

191

Of these there appear to be about 500. all being
carefully indexed, but the confusing French practice
is adopted of including manuscript entries of owner-
ship amongst what we term book-plates.

Several fine old armorials are reproduced, such
as those of the " Bibliotheques des Grands-Carmes
de Besan9on, Claud Boisot Canon Cantoris Maj.

BOOK-PLATE OF JOAN DE MONTMKAU.

Bisuntini Prioris Commen De Calce 1749." (Two
varieties.) Nameless armorial of Laurent Chiflet,
and a few typographical "Ex Bibliotheca" and
book-stamps. The plate inscribed " Bibliotheque
des Grands-Carmes de Besan^on" is one of the
reproductions; it was found in a folio, printed in
Venice, dated 1481, in which was also a written
inscriptioi^ " fr. B. Bouchier, Conventus Vallencey-
narum 1522" — by which was meant the Convent of
the Carmelites at Valenciennes. (See next page.)

192 French Book-plates.

Those who have been ^ucated in France will
remember the solemn annual distribution of prizes.
The preparations that were made for weeks before-

K^^d^

HOOK-PLATE OF *IHK CARMEI.ITtS C

hand ; the erection of the grand stand in the court-
yard of the college for the authorities and visitors ;
the excitement of the day itself ; the arrivals of the
proud mothers and sisters ; the stately procession

Ecclesiastical Ex-Libris.

193

of the principal, the. under principals, the pro-
fessors, and last of all.'the poor, wretched, badgered
^ions (resident class masters) up to the entrance
to receive the Pr^fet of the Department and his
staff, resplendent in court dresses stiff with gold
embroidery ; the prosy speeches, full of platitudes

Dc lo'hih'iwtliequt d^-^TI/'
Franfots Rtrbeit^ Seeatuscf ,
PrAStre Docteur en Thealoaie
de la^facuite (ie Paris. de. la.
matjon et Jecute'df Jlttvarrt^
etCure'd£ I'SoUseParroissiaJe
de S'Eustache, a Parij

It-PLATE OP DR. FRAN90IS

and truisms, addressed to the four or five hundred
youngsters simmering in the August sun in closely
buttoned-up military uniforms ; the report of the
principal that the conduct of all had been most
exemplary, with other stereotyped phrases equally
stale and devoid of truth ; and then the solemn
march up of the successful prize-winners, and

194 French Book-plates.

their return laden with books (destined never to
be read), gorgeously bound in purple and gold,

aoosaooeosoottooeMoaewMHHMioea

I paroifsf jSaint - Rorlj.

ooooooooooooooo94woooeaoo<Kioo0

or blue and silver. In each book was carefully
inserted a book-plate, giving the name of the

UNIVERSITY DB FRANCS.

JLtaifimit lir Carn.

COLLEGE DB DIEPPE.

Meeme b IS Ao<U 1858,
4 Pri»M V"'!^^^ a<.t^ -i

PRIZE LABEL OF DIEPPE COLLEGE.

196

French Book-plates.

fycSe, or collie, the date, name of prize-winner,
and nature of the examination.

The custom is so universal, and has been so
long established, both in lay and clerical seminaries,
that no class of book-plates is so common in
France as these.

BOOK-PLATE OF ALEXANDER LA MILLIERB.

CHAPTER XI.

THE HUGUENOTS.

Members of the Reformed Church in
France had to submit to persecutions
similar to those endured by their co-

religionists in other European countries.

It is as well to remember that living as we do
in a Protestant country, our historians have been
strongly biassed in their favour, and that whilst the
horrors of St. Bartholomew's Day are always de-
picted in the most lurid manner, little or nothing is
said about the bloodshed and cruelties inflicted by
the Calvinists on the Catholics in those parts of the
country where they happened to be numerous and
powerful. The two factions hated one another for
the love of God ; it was a cruel period, and, as
Baron Rothschild remarks in his "Characteristics
from French History," "There was nothing to
choose between Protestants and Catholics in their
savage hatred of each other. The Protestants
butchered the Catholics whenever they had an
opportunity, and all that happened at St. Bartho-
lomew was that the Catholics made a good score."

198 French Book-plates.

And this view naturally presents itself to any
unprejudiced reader of the history of the period.

After frightful massacres and civil wars, the
accession of Henry IV. (himself a Calvinist) to
the throne of France in 1589, gave promise of a
more tolerant spirit, and in April, 1598, he pro-
mulgated the famous Edict of Nantes giving the
Protestants a certain amount of religious freedom.
This wise measure was confirmed by his successors
Louis XIII. in 1610, and Louis XIV. in 1652.
But later on, Louis XIV., under the influence of
Madame de Montespan and the Romish Church,
saw fit to revoke the Edict of Nantes in October,
1658, an act which was in its consequences one of
the most disastrous for the commerce and pro-
sperity of France.

It was the aim of Louis, and his ministers, to
compel the members of the Reformed Church to
abjure their heresies, and return to the Catholic
Church, and in some remote country districts, or
places where the Huguenots were few and isolated,
the plan succeeded. But in the main it failed, as
all forced religious conversions ever have failed,
a lesson which kings and priests have always
before them, and yet never seem to learn.

The forced exile of the Huguenot Ministers,
after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, was the
signal for flight to thousands of French Protestants
of both sexes, and of all classes and ages, and in
spite of the penalties proclaimed against emigra-
tion, and the punishments inflicted upon those who
were arrested in the attempt to leave their country,
an enormous number of persons did effect their

•;":> '' J The Huguenots. 199

escape to the varipus Protestant States in Europe,
and even to the then newly-settled American
colonies, but principally to our shores.

PRESENTED BY

nH'Idt)rrnjitbrlf[in',annliFpDnt>otFlrrniIiir[ilirtBt.

BOOK-PIj^TE of the FRENCH PROTESTANT HOSPITAL.

They brought with them the art of manufacturing
silk, and founded a prosperous colony in Spital-
fields, where their descendants yet remain. Glass
making, jewellery, and other trades in which taste
and skill are required, were also understood by
them ; they rapidly became naturalized, and useful

200 French Book-plates.

citizens, and the names and histories of many of
our wealthy families attest their Huguenot descent.

The term Huguenot seems first to have been
applied to the Calvinists about 1560, on the
occasion of the Alboise conspiracy ; some say the
word was derived from the German Eidgenossen^
signifying a sworn confederacy, whilst others say
it was founded on the name of H ugues, a Genevese
Calvinist.

That the sobriquet Huguenot was well known
and understood as early as 1622, is shown by the
existence of a rare tract entitled " La Trompette
de salut aux Huguenots de ce temps, 1622,"
written in verse in the following vein :

Huguenots, TEglise Romaine
Vous purgera tous du venin
De la doctrine de Calvin
Et vous otera de peine.

In glancing over a collection of British book-
plates we shall be struck with the French appear-
ance of many names, such as the following: Arabin,
Barr6, Boileau, Dampier, Ferrier, Martineau,
Maturin, Labouchere, Delarue, Harcourt, Vig-
noles, Curtois, Poignand, Lempriere, Drinquebier,
Drucquer, Duhamel, Lemercier, La Malliere,
Leschallas, Monteuuis, Laprimaudaye.

David Garrick, we know, was of Huguenot
descent, and carried a French motto on his book-
plate.

The name of Le Keux occurs as an interesting
one in this connection, as representatives of the
family still exist, whilst its pedigree has been

The Huguenots. 201

traced back to one John Le Keux, who married
Antoinette Le Quien in the French church at
Canterbury as far back as 25 December, 1645.

In this pedigree it is curious to note how fre-
quently members of the Le Keux family allied them-
selves in marriage with the descendants of other
French refugees : thus we meet with the names
Didier, Mariscaux, Mariette, De Ribeaucour,
Paillet, and Debonnaire. In 1783 was bom John
Le Keux, and in 1787 Henry Le Keux; both
became eminent engravers : John died in 1846, and
was buried in Bunhill Fields Cemetery. He was
the father of the late John Henry Le Keux, who
was born in 1 8 1 2, and died quite recently (February
4th, 1896), in Durham. His fame as an engraver
exceeded that of either his father or his uncle, and
although he did not produce many book-plates,
those he did were indeed works of art. ^

As will be seen from the pedigree published in
the Miscellaftea Genealogica et Heraldica the Le
Keux family had for generations resided in, or ^^-^

near Spitalfields, but in 1863 Mr. J. H. Le Keux
married a Durham lady, and henceforward resided ^
in that city till his death.

In the north-east of London there exists an in-
stitution which, in a quiet and unostentatious
manner, does good work amongst a very deserving
class of the community. This institution, known
as the French Protestant Hospital, i$ in reality a
home for a certain number of elderly^ people, all of
whom are descendants of French Protestants who
have at various times sought refuge in England.
In 1708 Monsieur de Gastigny, a French Protes-

DD * "

202 French Book-plates.

tant refugee in the service of the Prince of Orange,
bequeathed ;^i,ooo for the purpose of founding a
hospital. Many other refugees also contributed,
so that within a few years the scheme for a
Huguenot Asylum took definite shape, and in
1 718 the founders commenced the building, and
obtained a charter of incorporation under the title
of " The Hospital for poor French Protestants and
their Descendants residing in Great Britain/'

Amongst the inmates the asylum was more
lovingly known as ** La Providence," a title it still
deserves, owing to the beauty of the building and
its grounds, and the kind and generous treatment
of its inmates by the Governor and the Court of
Directors.

Although the book-plate in use in the library of
"La Providence" is an English production, it
belongs to an essentially French religious com-
munity, and so is entitled to a place here {see
page 199), especially as it bears the well-known
and oft-quoted motto from Menagiana. Of a
somewhat similar nature is the ex-libris, dated
1868, of the library of the Society of the History
of Protestantism in France, founded in 1852.

There is also the well-known Huguenot Society
of London, a powerful body which aims at preserv-
ing the old religious and national spirit amongst the
descendants of the refugee families, and has done
much service in preserving the ancient history and
traditions of the Huguenots.

A glance at its roll-call suffices to recall the fact
that many names held by families long since
thoroughly anglicised, are of French origin.

• The Hu^enots. 203

Indeed an amusing chapter might be written
on the curious modifications of certain old French
names, by which they have gradually acquired an

^^^

BOOK-PLATE OF THE SOOiT^ DE L'HISTOIRE DIj
PROTESTANTISM E FRANpAlS, 1852.

anglicised appearance in print, whilst still pre*
serving some little similarity to their original
pronunciation, Cottew (C6teaux), Cusaaris (De
Cusance), Dampier (Dampierre), Dobree (D'Au-

204

French Book-plates.

braye), Ducane (Du Quesne), Mai^ry (De Mar-
guerie), Perowne (Piron), Rainier (Regnier),

R?_

ll» cnc hwouenos*!!

l^^^^^^^-V-

ts,

Pv^^J^^y

l^^*^^^S

^^^^^^s

lioa Don,

Prcsi'ntfd bg

BOOK-PLATE C

Shoppee (Chapuis), Woollett (Viollet), and many
others might be cited.

The Secretary of the Huguenot Society of
London is Mr. G. H. Overend, F.S.A.

The Huguenots. 205

There is also a German Huguenot Society, a
Huguenot Society of America, and another for
South Carolina, besides La Soci6t6 de THistoire
du Protestantisme Fran9ais, all of which tend to
preserve the traditions of the Huguenots, and
to encourage the study of their history and
genealogy.

In the United States there are also numerous
families claiming Huguenot descent ; take Gabriel
Duvall as an instance, born in Maryland, 1752,
Member of Congress, Comptroller of Currency,
1802, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court,
181 1* Died 1844. He had a book-plate dated

1778.
A more modern example is the book-plate of

the late Mr. Daniel Ravenel, curious on account of

its heraldic bearings, which its owner in simple

good faith, and in ignorance of all the laws of

heraldry, thought himself entitled to assume, as he

would have done a trade- mark. In the innocence

of his heart the good gentleman accompanied each

copy of his book-plate with the following curious

explanation :

THE DANIEL RAVENEL BOOK-PLATE.

*' My coat of arms (according to d'Hozier and
other celebrated authors on Heraldry) consists of
a field gules,^ with six crescents of gold, each sur-

* Gules — a red shield denoting courage, hardihood, etc.

** De Gueules, \ six croissans d'or pos^s deux, deux, et deux
sunnount^s chacun d'une Etoile de mdme ; et une Etoile aussi
d'or ^ la pointe de Tecu." — (THozier,

2o6 French Book-plates.

mounted by a star of the same placed two and two,
with a gold star at the base of the shield.

''This shield rests on a larger shield, showing,
first, the fleurs-de-lis of France : second, a cross,
denoting persecution : third, an open Bible, denot-
ing the cause : fourth, a palmetto tree, showing
where freedom was found.

" On one side of this large shield is a spray of
marigold, the Hugifenot emblem, and on the other
side, a spray of wall-flower, the French name for
which is Ravenelley

Mr. Ravenel died in September, 1894; he was
a direct descendant of Ren6 Ravenel, a Huguenot
emigri from Bretagne, who settled in South Caro-
lina in 1685.

Another of Mr. Ravenel's ancestors was the
fir^t pastor of the little French Protestant church
in Charleston, S.C., of which Mr. Ravenel was
one of the elders at the time of his death. Indeed,
everything connected with Huguenot history had
a charm for him, as was shown by his zeal in
collecting books, maps, manuscripts and coins
dealing with it. He was almost as keen in
searching for records concerning his native state
of South Carolina, in addition to which he pos-
sessed one of the most interesting and valuable
collections of book-plates then known in the
United States.

l:Zia'/M^ c^at^^i^

ROOK-PLATE OF DANIEL RAVENEL, 1

CHAPTER XII.

BOOK-PLATES OF MEDICAL MEN.

Honour a physician with the honour
T due unto him for the uses which ye may
have of him" says the old book, and
J having considered the plates of those
whose duty it is to attend to the cure of souls, we
may now briefly consider the ex-libris belonging
to the kindred profession whose aim it is to cure
the body of all the ills that flesh is heir to.

In many early plates we find doctors are content
to describe themselves simply as Doct. Med., but
later they displayed ghastly views of dead bodies
in dissecting-rooms surrounded by curious students ;
or sick patients in bed with skeletons beckoning
them away.

Such plates may be interesting in a collection,
but designs so lugubrious are totally unfit to per-
form the duties of book-plates even in a library
devoted entirely to medical works. What, for
instance, can be more incongruous than the plate

Book-plates of Medical Men. %oi^

ai Matthew Turner, with its handsome coat-of-arms
in a Chippendale frame and the quotation from
Cicero: " Salutem hominibus dando^ as compared

BOOK-PLATE OF DUMONT DE VALDAJOU.

with its accessories, a grinning skeleton in a cup-
board on the left of the shield, whilst below it are
several naked little urchins dragging a dead body
on to a dissecting-board, a dissecting-saw lies in the
foreground, close to the serpent-twined rod sacred
to i^sculapius.

210 French Book-plates.

Even more curious is the design (wretchedly
engraved) on the plate, inscribed J, B. Swett. The
owner was Dr. J. Barnard Swett of New Buryport,

BOOK-PLATE OF JOS. PHILIP GRUMET, SI.D.

Mass. ; and no doubt the plate was engraved in
America about 1 20 years ago, or even earlier.

Here indeed the ludicrous element comes in, for
though the dead body is present, the whole design

Book-plates of Medical Men. 2 1 1

is so quaintly bad that it is impossible to criticise
it with any severity. All the usual emblems of
medical -science are present in this plate, which

BOOK-PLATE OF JOS. MAR, AMA. CORREARD, M.D

was reproduced on p. 289 of Mr. C. D, Allen's
"American Book-plates." ^

J. C. Harrer, M.D., also had a skeleton, accom-

212 French Book-plates.

panied by books, pots of ointment, etc., whilst
Daniel Chodowiecki, the celebrated engraver,
signed a plate, dated 1792, for one C. S. Schinz,
Med, Dr., in which the design is of a sensational
character, meant to proclaim the healing powers
of the owner. " In the foreground (I quote Lord de
Tabley, not having the plate myself) j^sculapius
is pushing out a skeleton draped in a long white

OF ALPHEI CAZENAVE, M.Lf.

sheet, with a scythe across its shoulder. The god
is sturdily applying his serpent-twined staff to the
somewhat too solid back of this terrible phantom.
Behind, and beneath a kind of pavilion, lies a sick
person in bed, his hands upraised in silent thank-
fulness."

This Schinz was probably a German, although
he might have belonged to the north-east frontier of
France, but we will now turn our attention to plates

Book-plates of Medical Men. 2 1 3

which undoubtedly belonged to French medical
men.

Dumont de Valdajou Chirurgien carries arms,
perhaps specially granted, for he boldly proclaims
below his shield " Brevdtd du Roy," but even that
would not excuse him in the eyes of a strict king

cs^TC. &fd^iatine a*A'Si^.

BOOK-PLATE OF MONS. R. WILLBMET.

of arms for assuming as supporters two angels, a
distinction officially reserved for the French Royal
family alone.

Another armorial plate is that of Jos. Philip :
Grumet; above the shield shows the badge of
^sculapius, an attribute common lo many medical
book-plates.

But why Dr. Correard should have appropriated

2i4

French Book-piates.

not only the general design, but also the actual
arms on this shield, is a mystery ; indeed, it is not
easy to decide which of these two plates is the
actual original.

Colin, graveur de feu Roy de Pologne, as he
proudly describes himself, engraved a pretty and
appropriate little vignette for a chemist of Nancy,

M hauHacic'iO
A NANCY

BOOK-PLATE OK MONS- SOYER-WILLKMET.

Mons. R. Willemet; a reduced copy of this was
done for Mons. Soyer-Willemet.

Another plate by the same engraver was done
for. D. Laflize, also of Nancy. This melancholy
design is one of those to which exception has
already been taken.

Amongst modem medical plates, that done by
Mons. Henry Andr6 for the Doctor F. BargalI6
of Paris is probably the most striking in its origin-
ality, and the most pleasing in its execution.

Book-plates of Medical Men. 2 1 5

First of all are the owner's initials, F. B. : in the B.
the whole name will be found ; the accent over the
" o " is intentional, and indicates the Spanish origin

..Jfia^ atC^irurjii.

BOOK-PLATE OF D. LAFLIZE, OF NANCY.

of the name. The professional attributes are the
cup and the serpent, whilst the poppy points also
to the study of botany, an all-important branch of
medical education.

2l6

French Book-plates.

The lighter studies and amusements are indi-
cated in the books, the music, and the portfolio
of engravings. The dainty little female figure
emerging from the album gives some indication of
the date by the style of her costume. There is a
strong relation between the motto and the attributes
on the design. Thus the wicked books that corrupt
youth may be likened to the serpent ; silly books
that bore one resemble in their effect the sleep-
producing power of the poppy ; whilst the good
books that console and amuse us have an affinity
to the powers of a health-giving draught of re-
storative medicine. Thus, then, we have the
venenum, the somnuSy the solamen^ of the motto.
Such is the explanation politely sent me by the
owner, which I give, as nearly as a translation can
render, in his own words.

t-PLATB OF DR. F. BABGALLO.

CHAPTER XIII.

CANTING ARMS AND PUNNING PLATES.

i ANY of these quaint devices on British
i I coats-of-arms are distinctly of French
origin.

Thus the Montagues bear in their
arms three fusils in fesse, the sharply serrated
points of which suggest mountain peaks— the
original name of the family having been Mont-
acute. The French word for hedgehog is hirisson,
therefore the hedgehog is the charge of the family
of Harrison ; the swallow is in French the hirondeile,
hence the swallow is placed on the shield of the
Arundels :

bird hight Arundelle,

I his shield of arms emblazoned

" More swift tha
That gave him name, and

well,
He rides amid the aimed troop.'

Instances might be almost indefinitely multi-
plied; these are amongst the best because the
most obvious, others, which are so recondite as

Canting Anns and Punning Plates. 219

to require lengthy descriptions, defeat their own
purpose.

The French expression les armes parlantes is
more musical than ours, and examples of canting
arms are perhaps as common in French as in

r C. J. U COQUEREAU,

English heraldry, whilst punning book-plates are
numerous amongst modern specimens, especially
those belonging to men of arts and letters.

The Gallic cock is naturally a favourite charge,
and may be found frequently in conjunction with
such names as Lecoq, or Coquebert, or Coque-
reau, yet it by no means follows that these can be

220 French Book-plates.

strictly termed canting arms, for, as Salverte re-
marks in his ** Essai sur les Noms," " Le mfeme
usage k hxk alternativement cause et effet," so that
whilst numerous armorial ensigns were borrowed
from the bearers names, so also, in many cases, sur-
names were borrowed from the arms. He, there-
fore, who bore a cock on his shield may well have
become known in the course of time as Jean Le Coq.

One of the funniest bits of canting heraldry
ever printed occurred in the "Daily News"
(London) of 5th April, 1892. The Paris corre-
spondent, writing of Ravachol, the murderer, said :
" His family have a place in the * Armorial de
Forez,' the peerage and gentry book of Saint-
Chamond, where Ravachol was born. His ances-
tors are set down in that volume as dating from
1600. Their shield bears argent with a/ess azure,
three roses or, and a head of cabbage or, with a
radish argent. On the maternal side the motto is
a canting one, being * Rave-k-chou,' which is
doubtless the origin of the curiously striking name
of Ravachol."

It would be amusing to see how the writer
would ** trick " the shield he has vainly endea-
voured to describe ; besides, as was proved at the
trial, the murderer s name was not Ravachol, nor
was he even a Frenchman by birth.

In 1768 Monier designed a very handsome
plate for Louis Vacher, in which not only does a
cow appear on the shield, but both the sup-
porters are also cows, in allusion to the owner's
name.

A plate recently found in an old French book

Canting Arms and Punning Plates. 221

bore the inscription :
avocat au Parlement."

' Deslivres de M. Fauveau,
The arms were, Party per

„-*t!jWt,. '_.;Se

mwl^

<^ \m.

if 4

-' Kg:

--'^^

l^g

^^M

M0Cii(luvici)

BOOK-PLATE OF LOUIS VACHER,

fess azure and or, in chief three scythes {faux)
argent, and in base a calf s head {veau) gules.
There is no term of opprobrium more offensive

322 French Book-plates..

to a Frenchman than that of cochon, although
ignorant English tourists occasionally apply it by

X:^ 3LXSJEI.XS

p. COCHON^D.M. M,

BOOK-PLATE OF F

mistake to a cabdriver. But here we have a
gentleman of the old school who rejoiced in the
name, and put a little pig in his 6eld in order that

Canting Arms and Punning Plates. 222

there might be no mistake about it. The moon
and stars are thrown into the bargain, as being of
secondary importance.

This plate of Jacob Houblon, Esq., is unmistak-
ably the work of R. Mountaine, and we may
therefore fix its date as 1750, or thereabouts.

BOOK-PLATE OF JACOB \

Although the workmanship of the plate is English,
the armes parlantes it bears are obviously of
French origin, the hop vine signifying Houblon.

Samuel Pepys in his diary mentions that the
five brothers Houblon came to supper at his house
on May 15, 1666. They were rich merchants,
one of them later on coming to be Lord Mayor of
London, and the first Governor of the Bank of
England.

224 French Book-plates.

According to an epitaph in the church of St
Mary Woolnoth, in London, their ancestor was
one Peter Houblon, who came over from Flanders.

The late Lord Palmerston was descended from
a Sir John Houblon, who was Lord Mayor of
London in 1695.

BOOK-PLATE OF JOHN VIGMOLES.

As recently as 1894 the death of a descendant
of the family was announced, that of Mr. Richard
Archer Houblon, J.P., of Cambridgeshire, aged
eighty-five years, whose estate was valued at over
^50,000, whilst but a short time sjfice a Colonel

Canting Arms and Punning Plates. 225

Archer Houblon was in command of a battalion of
the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

Of somewhat similar origin, but from the grape-
vine, coftie the arms of the Vignoles family, a

BOOK-PLATE OF J. L. ROBILLARD.

branch of which, long settled in England, produced
the well-known civil engineer.

On a shield borne by Robillard sx^ two billiard
cues in saltire between four billiard balls.

For M. Champfleury, the artist, Aglatis Bou-
venne has drawn a flowery field {a champ fieurie),
and for the Q»mtesse de N06 a Noah's ark, whilst

226 French Book-plates.

Paul Cordier plays on his own name in a charming
little vignette representing a rope-maker {cordier)
at work in his rope-walk.

A plate composed and engraved by Evart Van
Mayders for Mons. F. Raisin, has a fox vainly
climbing over a book to reach some grapes
{raisins), and exclaiming, in disgust, " They are
too green."

BOOK-PLATE OF

Although the late M. Eugene Rimmel lived
many years in England, and wrote a charming
" History of Perfumes " in our language, he was a
thoroughly patriotic Frenchman. His countrymen
ever found a friend in him, and his exertions on be-
half of their sick and wounded during the terrible
war of 1870-71 should keep his memory for ever
fresh. His book-plate is a quaint little medley of
the useful And the ornamental ; the distilling appa-

Canting Arms and Punning Plates. 227

ratus, and a fountain of perfume, surmounted by a
crest of rose-buds, suffice to indicate the scent,
but not the descent, of Eugene Rimmel.

M. Milsand, of Dijon, used a book-plate con-
taining an imitation of a bank-note, having on it
the figures 1000 and 100 {mille ce?U), whilst

^ ^ tlBHis ■^

■i'^a m$^.

BOOK-PLATE OF EUGENE RIMMEL.

Charles Monselet has a pretty little sketch, by
Devambez, of a comer of his library with some
books heaped up {Livres amoncelSs). The plate
of M. Wolf explains itself better in English than
in French. " Quisrens quern devoret " (see page
229).

M. AglaUs Bouvenne represents a dog balancing
the monogram of Alexis Martin (page *58), whilst

French Book-plates.

228

Mons. L. Delatre confides a book, in sumptuous
binding, to the mouth of another, with the motto,
" Honneur a qui rapporte." A pretty idea, but
surely not a very practical one (see page 240).

It is his whim ! Cest sa toqnade, as M. Cousin
remarks on his plate (see pag^u 231).

IC-PLATE OF CHARLES MONSELET.

In their treatment of his dread Satanic Majesty
the French display delightful grace and delicacy.

Indeed, Le Diable Boiteux of Le Sage is very
much of a gentleman ; Mephistopheles in Gounod's
opera is a far more interesting personality than his
pupil Faust ; whilst in " Orphde aux Enfers "

Canting Arms tmd Punning Plates. 229

Offenbach certainly contrived to enlist our sym-
pathies on behalf of Pluto.

Many a French shop is dedicated to the Evil
One, but in every case the inscription is respectful,
as, for instance, Au Bon' Viable. It is almost a
term of endearment, the expression " un mauvais
petit Diable," whilst no proper English word can

BOOK-PLATE OF MONS. WOLF.

convey the sense of rollicking fun contained in
Diablerie.

As in literature, sb in art, the Devil of the
French, may be grotesque, bizarre, comic, ter-
rible, yet in all he is a superior being, in short a
Gentleman in Black, never the hideous, repulsive
individual we are accustomed to see portrayed
(with two horns and a tail) in English comic art.

Nothing could more eloquently convey the

230 French Book-plates.

French conception of the character than Sir Henry
Irving's inimitable representation of Mephis-
topheles at the Lyceum a short time since. Does
not this book-plate recall his appearance in the
part?

BOOK-PLATE OF MONS. A. CLERICEAU.

BOOK-PLATE OF MONS. B. COUSIN.

CHAPTER XIV.

PHRASES OF POSSESSION.

"Gentilz Ouvriers, qui d'un soing ci
Allez cherchant es plus vieilles reliques
Venez icy, et aux proffitz publiques
Itnitez en les plus laborieux ..."

J. BULLAKT,

(From the ex-libris of H. Deitailleur.)
(jEREIN an attempt has been made to
gather in such French phrases of book
possession, and inscriptions on book-

plates, as may be deemed interesting,

quaint, or humorous, avoiding in this instance all
mottoes or war cries which are obviously of heraldic

ngin.
Little

Little Victor Dupuis is very like Master
Tommy Smith in the habit he has of scribbling
nonsense verses in his school books ; one very
popular quatrain in the good old days of the
French monarchy was :

" Ce livre est k moi

Comme Paris est au roi.

Qui veut savoir mon nom

R^fuxts dam ce rond."

t •

Phrases of Possession. 233

Or, /jhe would threaten borrowers with dire
penalties :

"Ne mefk^nds pas *
(Du on te pendras."

Becoming more ambitious, he would launch out
into a Macaronic verse :

" Aspice Pierrot pendu
Quia ce livre n*a pas rendu.
Si librum reddidisset
Pierrot pendu non fuisset."

Or, another way, as the cookery books say :

" Aspice Pierrot pendu
Quod librum n*a pas rendu.
Pierrot pendu non fuisset,
Si librum reddidisset."

Or, in Alsatian German :

" Dieses Biichlein ist mir lieb,
Wer mir's nimmt, der ist ein Dieb,
Wer mir's aber wieder bringt,
Der ist ein Gotteskind."

Or, he would descend into trivial details, thus :

" Je mets ici mon nom

Ce n'est pas sans raison

C'est pour plaire aux curieux

Et non pas aux envieux

De ce Livre tant beau

Qui eclaire comme un flambeau

Tout homme savant

Aussi bien que Tignorant

Michel Dupray
son livre

achet^ le 26 de Juillet

I77S
chez Wagsti^ , ' ' 'H Sols."

HH* '

234 French Book-plates.

Finally, arrived at a mature age, he would order
a book-plate, inscribing on it an expression of his
love for literature in some such manner as did M.
Leonis Schiick, upon his ex-libris designed by
Hirsch :

"C'est par Tamour des lettres qu'il faut ^tre conduit k
Tamour des livres.

" O mes chers livres ! Je les ai tous choisis un k un, et je
les aime tant ! "

Others have expressed their sentiments in
moral platitudes :

" C*est la meilleure munition que j'aye trouv^ k cet huniain
voyage." — Montaigne. (Bibliotheque de M. le Baron de
T .)

" Le plaisir de Tesprit passe celui des yeux." (De la Biblio-
theque de M. de Cailly.)

" Un livre est un ami qui ne change jamais." — On the plate
of Guilbert de Pix^r^court, and others.

" Les lettres nourissent Tame." — Lemoine.

"S'occuper c'est savoir jouir." — A. E. Tscharner, and others.

" Amis vieux sont bons en tous lieux."

But one of the most useful axioms is that bor-
rowed from ** Menagiana" vol. iv. : ** La premiere
chose qu'on doit faire quand on k emprunt^ un
livre, c*est de le lire afin de pouvoir le rendre
plutot." Hugo de Bassville employed this, with the
addition of ** Rendez le livre s'il vous plait,*' whilst
such ardent book-lovers as David Garrick and
George Augustus Sala have placed it on their
book-plates ; it figures also with perfect proprietj'
on the fine ex-libris of the " Bibliotheque de la

Phrases of Possession. 235

Providence" (the French Protestant Hospital at
Victoria Park), and on those of Frederick Le
Mesurier, and John Meybohm.

Following these come a long list of verses
directed against book borrowers in general, com-
mencing with the verse attributed to Guilbert de
Pixdr^court, although he does not use it on his
book-plate :

" Tel est le triste sort
De tout livre pret^
Souvent il est perdu,
Toujours il est gate."

(On the book-plate of Louis Mohr, 1879. See page 237.)

The two epigrams below were written by
Guillaume Colletet, and have been quoted on
several ex-libris, though curiously enough their
author did not use one, but was content to sign
his name in his books, which were numerous :

"A MES LlVRES.

Chores delices de mon dme
Gardez vous bien de me quitter
Quoi qu'on vienne vous emprunter.
Chacnn de vous m'est une femme
Qui peut se laisser voir sans blime
Et ne se doit jamais prdster."

(Book-plate of Ch. Mehl, designed by Gustave Jundt, of
Strasbourg.)

"Aux Emprunteurs de Livres qui ne les rendent

POINT.

Emprunteurs, pour vous parler net,

Ma bibliothbque connue

Est un meuble de cabinet
Qu'on ne crolte point dans la rue.**

236 French Book-plates,

Both these verses were first published in the
" Epigrammes du Sieur Guillaume CoUetet." Paris,

1653-

" Un livre pret^ comme la vieille Garde, ne se rend pas.'*

Charles Frdddric Hommeau, whose ex-libris
represents the interior of his library, gives notice
to borrowers that they must return his book in
fourteen days and in good condition. In order
that there may be no mistake as to his meaning,
he has the rule engraved at the foot of his plate :

"Lex Bibliothecae.

Intra quatuor decim dies, commodatum ni redderis, neque
belle custodieris, alio tempore dominus : Non habeo dicet."

Indeed he loved not borrowers, for he adds, " Ite
ad vendentes, et emite vobis ! "

M. Auguste Stoeber, author of the " Petite
Revue d'Ex-Libris Alsaciens," used the following
lines for the German books in his library :

"Leih ich dich hinaus,
Bleib nicht zu lang aus ;
Komm zuriick nach Haus :
Nicht mit Flecken oder Ohren,
Wie sie machen nur die Thoren,
Und geh ja mir nicht verloren ! " *

The late Rev. Mr. Carson possessed a hand-
some book-plate designed for M. Abel Lemercier,
which is one of the largest modern French plates,
measuring, as it does, %\ inches by 5^ inches.

' " If I lend you out, stop not too long away, but come back
home, free from the spots or dogsears that only fools make.
Do not get lost."

Phrases of Possession.

237

It is especially remarkable on account of the
number of mottoes it contains, commencing at the
top with " Le gaing de nostre science, c'est en

estre devenu meilleur et plus sage," followed by
four or five other maxims, which have been al-
ready quoted.

This plate is not dated, but it is signed M.

238

French Book-plates,

Potemont inv., R. Martial sc. It combines some
of the characteristics of a " library interior " with
those of a " book-pile," and is altogether a sump-
tuous and imposing, though somewhat cumbersome
design.

On a singular old library interior plate, headed
" Du Cabinet Littdraire de P. Cellier, Libraire,

ti X L le ft I •

To/* tcidtnQftc* tots gjeriprt I

BOOK-PLATE OF VALENTIN MOURIE.

quai St. Antoine, ci Lyon," were found the following
instructions to book borrowers :

" Les livres qui auront souffert quelques dom mages, comme
d^chir^s, tach^s, et sur lesquels on aura ecrit dans les marges
et sur les gardes avec la plume ou le crayon, seront pay^ a
leur valeur, c'est-a-dire, tout Touvrage entier ; un seul volume
perdu ou mutil^, emporte tout Touvrage.

" S'il s'^are quelques uns de ces livres ainsi marques, on prie
ceuxy entre les mains de quiilt seront, de les faire rendre k
I'adresse ci-dessus."

A Frenchman resident in this country, early in
the century, had a roughly printed label, in which

Phrases of Possession. 239

the inscription was surrounded by a sthall woodcut
border. The inscription is curious for its errors ;
it runs thus: "J. Admans, son livre, mil huit sens
seize. Rue de Palais. Cantorbery."

M. Gouache, whose plate informs us that he
resided at number 13 in the Boulevard de la
Madeleine, quotes the following :

" Stance.

Le paresseux s'endort dans les bras de la faim,
Le laboureur conduit sa fertile charrue,
Le savant pense et lit, le guerrier frappe et tue,
Le mendiant s'assied sur le bord du chemin :
OU vont-ils cependant ? lis vont oil va la feuille
Que chasse devant lui le souffle des hivers !
Ainsi vont se fl^trir, dans leurs travaux divers,
Ces generations que le temps s^me et cueille.

Lamartine, Meditations,

Gouache, Boulevard de la Madeleine, 13."

The French are not particularly rich in mottoes
in praise of books. Adolphe Borgnet, of Liege,
quotes Montaigne, thus :

** Les Historiens sont le vray gibbier de mon estude."

On a nameless pictorial plate (signed F. Gros-
kost, Strasbourg) occur some lines attributed to
M. Jacques Flach (see page 243) :

"A MES LiVRES.

Plaisants, je vous aime

S^rieuj^ aussi,
Frivoles de meme

Pedants — raerci ! "

" Un livre est un ami qui ne trompe jamais " (on page 240)

240 French Book-plates.

says a nameless moralist, who probably had not
read Lord Macaulay's account of William HI.,
whilst

" Je rapporte fidfelcment ce que je d&ouvre,"

says the historian Chevillard.

BOOK-PLATE OF L. DELATRE,

On the plate of M. Jules, Baron de St. Genois,
s the motto :

" Bon livre d'ennui delivre."

The following cynical epigram,

" L'hoRitne a dit ; ' Faisons Dieu, qu'il soit k notre image.'
Dieu fut ! ei I'ouvrier adora son image,"

Phrases of Possession. 24 1

was placed on his book-plate by the philosophical
atheist Sylvain Mar^chal, who wrote a work
entitled " Fragmens d'un poeme moral sur Dieu,"
dated 1781.

David Koning remarks :

" UArt c'est la vie.

La Nature c'est la mort."

Whilst Patrice Salin fairly gives himself away :

" Tel que je suis, prends moi."

Others have used mottoes which come under no
special category, such as that on an engraved label
bearing the namey, G. Lafont:

"Des plaisirs sans apprets, des amis peu nombreux
Les livres, les beaux arts, et la philosophie
Voila le vrai bonheur, il suffit a mes voeux."

** Tots besoingners tots escripre."

Vaientin Mourie, (See page 238.)

" Point de Roses sans ^pignes."

Edward S. Potter,

" Honneur \ qui rapporte."

L. Delatre, (See page 240.)

"La mort n'y mord."

Ex-Libris Fr. Serrier, (See page 242.)

"Vivela Joie."

On the plate of M. Joy,

In 1791 Monsieur J. B. Michaud cried aloud on
his book-plate for ** La LiberU ou la Mort,'' and
many others adopted the phrase, at a time when
Death was certainly more en ivide7tce than Liberty.

I I

242 French Book-plates.

Poor L^on Gambetta, probably the most daring
and original of modern French politicians, had his
book-plate inscribed "VotUoir c'esi Pouvoir," an

---^^iS^:^^

EX LIBRIS FR. SERRIER

BOOK-PLATE OF FR. SERRIER.

axiom which he, the son of a poor provincial
grocer, had proved correct up to a certain point

There is no article in the " Dictionnaire des
Girouettes" more laughable than that devoted to
Monsieur Nicholas Francois de Neufchateau, who,
not content with being a political turncoat of the

Phrases of Possession.

243

first order, celebrated each of his changes of faith
by songs in honour of his new ideal of government.
These poems, here side by side in the dictionary,
proclaim the man at once a venal weathercock and
a conceited prig.

IIOOK-PLATE OF JACQUES

He was born in 1752 ; before the outbreak of
the Revolution he was a lawyer in Paris ; afterwards
he became President of the National Assembly,
when he called King Louis XVI. a traitor, yet
this did not prevent his being sent to prison by
Barrere in 1793. On his release he wrote a poem
in honour of Barrere ; later on he joined with the
senate in advising Napoleon to create himself
emperor. The emperor could do no less in return

244 French Book-plates.

than create Neufchateau a Count of the Empire.
What became of him on the Restoration does not
appear, except that in 1815 he obtained permission
to dedicate a volume of his fables to the king.

To the end of time the ex-libris of Monsieur N-
Frangois de Neufchateau will not only pompously
proclaim all the titles given to him by Napoleon I.,
but describe in verse the blazon of his arms, in
which, as he says, the useful and the ornamental
are curiously blended, the whole being surmounted
by one of David's toques, with the five waving
ostrich feathers denoting senatorial rank.

Yet this was the man who had previously
written :

" Ces rubans, ces cordons, et ces chaines dories :
Des esclaves des rois ces pompeuses livr^es,
Ne sont que des hochets dont la vaine splendeur
Deguise le ndant d'une folle grandeur."

M. de Neufchateau was a busy man and a
versatile, writing on politics, social economy, his-
tory, and agriculture in turns, but it is as a poet
that he will be known to posterity through his
book-plate, which collectors will ever prize as a
monument of egregious vanity.

M. Francois de Neufchateau died in 1828.

There is a chapter in ** Ex-Libris Ana" (Paris,
L. Joly) devoted to manuscript inscriptions of
ownership in books ; one is given, as having been
commonly written in his books, by an author
named Colle :

"A Coll^ ce livre apartint
Auparavant qu'il te parvint."

Dans un sifecle ou Tor seul fui un objel d'envie,

De Tor je ne fus point 6pris.
J'aimai le bien public, j'y d^vouai ma vie,

J'en ai re^u le digne prix :
Du plus grand des H^ros I'estime peu commune

M'a dot^ de cet ^cusson ;
Honneur bien pr^f^rable aux dons de la fortune

II m'offre une double le^on.
L'agr^able est ici figur6 par le Cygne,

Et I'utile par les Epis :
Trop heureuK, en effet, qui serait jug6 digne

De ces emblfimes r^unis !
O mes livres ch^ris ! conservez cette image,

Seul ir^sor que je laisserai ;
Et, long temps aprts moi, rendez encore hommage

A la main qui m'a decor^ !

Ce lirre fait partie de la bibliolhique du Senateur Comte

de i' Empire,

N. FRANgOIS DE NEUFCHATEAU,
Le premier des Prhidens du Senat Comervateur,
Grand Offieier de la Legion d' Honneur, Tilulaire
de la Senatorerie de Bruxellts, L'un des guarante
de la Classe de PImtiiul qui suceide (i I Aeadimie
Fraiifaise, Prisident de la Socikte d'Agrieulturt
de Paris pour la sixiime fois en i&ii, ete.

BOOK-PLATE OF N, FRANgOIS DE NEUFCHATEAy.

246

French Book-plates.

Contrasting with this schoolboy rhyme is the
sad farewell to her children, written by Marie
Antoinette in her prayer-book only a few hours
before she went to the scaffold :

" Ce 16 Octobre, k 4 h. ^ du matin. Mon Dieu ! ayez piti^
de moi ! mes yeux n'ont plus de larmes pour prier pour vous,
mes pauvres enfants. Adieu, adieu !

"Marie Antoinette."

Scarcely does the world contain a more pathetic
document.

E ;ilure k ms Aen MaltreOe

Poor moi dl ua fort bien chamanti
Et plus fidele cju'iin Anunt ,
rai'plui dc dtoit i 1« undrdTei

Lit de ffla Mdireflie avec iel»
f 'ume moB £trc id qull eft j
Si jamais die me pcidoit ,
Je perdroU encore pliit qu'cll*>

Peidn, fi rontiBfl nuoiiTio »
Menes-noi vert ceQcqn i'atnw^
Si I'oii m'avok donoi de* pled* »
JV ntouTocniU de inoi-in«Mk

VondroU^je itre i d'anireif olifioal
Da peur d'ua nouTct erdavagen
Je vcuz que toujouri fon Noni
Brillc All mi piemicie. page.

BOOK-PLATE OF &

H- JOSEPH WE [GEL.

CHAPTER XV.

BOOK-PLATES OF SOME FAMOUS MEN.

IHE name of Fran9ois Rabelais, priest,

\ doctor, wit, satirist, and philanthropist,

eclipses all other eariy French writers.

1 In " Les Portraits de Rabelais" (1880),

M. Georges d'Albenas asserted that a certain Pro-
fessor C. Cavalier possessed an Aldine Plato in
which was a piquant ex-libris of the illustrious
Rabelais, of undoubted authenticity.

It is singular that such an assertion, made so
long ago, should have received so little attention.
Could it have been verified, the plate would cer-
tainly be one of the most precious relics in the
world, not only as a personal souvenir of the creator
of Gargantua and Pantagruel, but as the very
earliest known French ex-libris.

As Rabelais died in 155^ his book-plate would
necessarily be at least twenty years earlier than
that of Alboise of Autun, which is dated 1574,
and probably even some years older than that.

But in the earlier edition of this treatise, I
remarked that it was scarcely credible that such a

Book-plates of some Famous Men. 249

treasure as this could exist without having become
generally known to collectors of literary curios,
who would, long ere now, have fully described the
book-plate of Francois Rabelais.

This paragraph was noted by several French
collectors, and more particularly by Doctor L.
Bouland, President of the French Society, who at
once put himself in communication with M. Georges
d'Albenas.

His reply showed that this was only another
instance of the confusion that arises from the French
custom of styling the written inscription of an
owner's name in a book, an ex-libris. Technically
,the term may be correct, but it would be advisable
in the interest of collectors to describe the one as
the " owner's autograph " to distinguish it from the
engraved or printed ex-libris fastened on the inside
of a book.

M. d'Albenas wrote thus : " L'Ex-libris de
Rabelais dont il est question, en note, dans Les
portraits de Rabelais, est ecrit de la main de
I'illustre auteur de Gargantua, sur le titre d'un
exemplaire de la premiere Edition des ' CEuvres de
Platon,' publi^e par les soins r^unis de Marc
Manuce et d'Alde Manuce 15 13.

M. le professeur Cavalier ayant Ugu6 sa riche
bibliotheque et ses pr^cieuses collections k Mont-
pellier, sa ville natale, elles ont ^te r^unies selon
ses dispositions testamentaires dans une salle
sp^ciale, portant son nom, par les soins de son ami
et ex^cuteur testamentaire, votre serviteur."

Here.then, is a facsimileof this famous inscription,
partly in Latin, partly in Greek, which is said to

K K

250

French Bdok-piates..*

signify " Belonging to Fran9ois Rabelais, a zealous
doctor, and to his Christian friends."

.JXOi

AUTOGRAPH INSCRIPTION BY FRAM;01S RABELAO^ .

Plainly an anticipation of the "lo: Grolierii et
amicorum."

Another signature of Rabelais exists in a book
which was presented to the school of medicine of
Montpellier in 1776 by a lawyer, one Mons. J.
Grosley. This resembles generally the one already
described.

The name of Jean GroHer is one of the earliest
and most famous in the history of French Bib-
liolatry and Bibliopegy. Jean Grolier, Vicomte
d'Aguisy, was born in 1479 in Lyons, and died in
Paris on October 22nd, 1565. He was treasurer
of France, and collected a library of about 3,000
volumes {an enormous number in those early days
of printing), all of which he had sumptuously
bound, and generally with the Grolier arms richly
emblazoned on the sides. His books had also
various mottoes on them, sometimes written in
his own hand on blank pages or on the title,
sometimes printed in letters of gold around the
edges of the binding.

Book-^ates df soVne Famous Men. 251

The most usual of these mottoes is one that is
constantly referred to, and has been often bor-
rowed by other book-lovers and collectors :

" lo GroUierii et amiconim."

Others that occur are :

" Mei Grollierii Lugdunens, et amicorum."

" Portio mea, Domine, sit in terra viventium."

" Tanquam ventus est vita mea."

"CArtodit Dominus omnes diligentes se, et omnes impios
disperdet." **

" iEque difficulter."

lo : Grollierii et amicorum reads as a very
pretty and unselfish sentiment, but it requires some
explanation. Mons. Grolier did not 4^0 w his
treasured volumes to leave his possession. Those
who were privileged to enjoy his friendship, were
permitted to consult his books ; they had no choice,
however, but to do so in the spacious salons of
Mons. Grolier, after partaking of his hospitality.

On the death of Grolier, in 1565, his valuable
collection became the property of Emeric de Vic,
Keeper of the Seals, from whom it passed to his
son. On his death, this library, which had been
the pride of three generations of book-lovers, was
sold and dispersed in 1676. Some of the principal
books came into the possession of such well-
known collectors as Paul Petau, de Thou, and the
Chancellor P. Siguier ; they have been well pre-
served till the present day, but they contain no
book-plates belonging to Grolier.

Paul Petau was a councillor in the Parliament

252 French Book-plates.

of Paris. He formed the nucleus of a library, rich
in early French and Latin MSS., and was aJso an
enthusiastic collector of coins and antiquities. On
his death, in 1613, he left the whole of his collec-
tions to his son Alexander, who not only suc-
ceeded to his public offices, but also inherited his
cultivated tastes for art and literature.

Paul Petau had his books handsomely bound,
with his arms stamped on the sides. His arms
are thus emblazoned by French heraldists : Ecar-
teU: au i et 4, d'azur, a 3 roses d'argent, au chef-
d or charge d'une aigle issante ^ployde de sable ;
au 2 et 3, d argent, a la croix patt^e de gueules.
Devise : Non est mortale quod op to.

It will thus be seen that the arms are precisely
the same as those carried by his son Alexander on
his book-plate, the motto alone being changed in
the latter to '' Moribus Antiquis!'

M. Poulet-Malassis makes a curious misstate-
ment in describing this ex-libris, for he asserts
that the shield bears quarterly the arms of Alex-
ander Petau and of his wife. It may be that M.
Poulet-Malassis intended to say the arms oi Paul
Petau and of his wife, for Paul, the father, certainly
carried these arms, as did Alexander afterwards,
with the statement that he was the son of Paul.
Now Paul Petau could not have carried the arms
of his son's wife.

The shield rests on a mosaic pavement, on
which are reproduced in alternate squares the
three principal charges, namely, the eagle issuant,
the three roses, and the cross pattee (see plate,
page 69).

Book-plates of smne Famous Men. 253

On the death of Alexander Petau his MSS.
were purchased by Queen Christina of Sweden,
who bequeathed them to the Vatican Library.
His printed books were sold at the Hague in
1722, with those of Franijois Mansart "Cata-
logue des bibliotheques de feu M.M. Alexandre
Pitau, conseilier au Parlement de Paris, et Francois
Mansart, intendant des batiments de France."
La Haye, A. de Hondt, 1722.

Had the king of France himself desired a new
book-plate he could scarcely have been provided
with one more gorgeous or imposing than that
engraved by Daudin, in 1702, for Michel B^gon.
Although according to its date it must be classed
as an eighteenth century plate, its style belongs to
an earlier period, as indeed, properly speaking, did
its owner, for he was born at Blois on December
26, 1638, so that he did not have this sumptuous
ex-libris engraved till comparatively late in his life,
and did not long survive to enjoy it, for he died on
the 14th of March, 1710.

The arms (blazoned thus by French heraldists:
d'azur au chevron d'or, accompagni en chef de deux
roses, et d'un lion en pointe) on an oval shield
surmounted by the coronet of a count, supporters
two lions. Inscription : Michaeli Began et amicis
1702.

Here we have at once a plate remarkable for its
beauty, and interesting on account of its owner,
who was a man of note in his day, and famous as
a collector.

He was thus described in the official registration
of his death : " Messire Michel B^gon, chevalier,

254 French Book-plates.

seigneur de la Picardiere et autres Heux, conseiller
du Roy en ses conseils et d'honneur au Parlement
de Provence. Intendant de Justice et finances de
la Gen^ralit^ de la Rochelle et de la Marine k
Rochefort."

Mons. B^gon came of good family, was well
educated, and appears to have been very successful
in his career as a government official. He held
appointments successively at Martinique, San
Domingo, and Marseilles, and finally, in 1688, was
appointed Intendant de la Rochelle of the port of
Rochefort, which post he held for the rest of his
life. On the death of his father, he had succeeded
to a valuable library which he continued to enrich ;
he was also an indefatigable collector of medals, of
natural history specimens, and of engravings,
especially portraits.

From an inventory made after his death, it
appears he left 7,000 volumes, and more than sixty
valuable manuscripts of the ancient classics. His
collection of prints, which comprised about 8,000
portraits, 15,600 general engravings, and 925 maps,
was valued at 16,481 livres, and was acquired for
the library of the King of France in 1770.

Michel B^gon was therefore a man worthy to
possess a really handsome book-plate such as his
was, but we may take it that the expression " for
his friends " {et amicoriim he wrote on some of his
books) did not imply they were to be removed from
his custody, but only that they might be consulted
by his friends when they visited him, as we know
was the intention of Grolier who also used this
apparently self-denying expression.

ATK OF MlCHKr. BEfJON, I^OI.

Book-plates of some Famous Men. 257

It may be added that in the ** Biographie Uni-
verselle" (De Feller, Paris, 1834), a short account
is given of Michel Begon, in which it is said :
" Le gout avait preside au choix de ses livres dont
la plupart portaient sur le frontispice Michaelis
Begon et Amicorumy

It is therefore somewhat singular that no men-
tion of him, or his arms, occurs in the ** Armorial
Fran^ais" of Johannis Guigard. This is to be
regretted, as it renders it difficult to trace in what
way the family of B6gon and the old French
family of Chapuy were related. That some kind
of relationship existed can scarcely be doubted :
in view of the following application received
from Mr. Charles J. Shoppee, President of the
Surveyor's Institution, and Vice President of the
Ex-Libris Society :

" I am anxious to know something of the origin
of the armorial bearings of Michael Begon, 1702,
the coat being the same as that of Chapuis of
Dauphin^, viz., ' Uazur au chcvrofi d'or^ accom-
pagni de deux roses d' argent e?i chef, et en pointe,
d'un lion rampafit, de mSme' These arms I bear,
as the representative of the branch of the Chapuis
family settled in England."

Amongst a list of the French officers taken at
the battle of Oudenarde, July i ith, 1708, " Of the
regiment of dragoons of Pouriere, Lieutenant
Cfiapuy'' is recorded. This officer was the an-
cestor of Mr. C. J. Shoppee.

Nicolas Joseph Foucault was a councillor to
the Parliament of Paris, and a member of the
Acad^mie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres. He

L L

258

French Book-plates.

died in 1 720, aged seventy-seven, leaving a library
which was considered particularly rich in relation
to the early history of France. Unfortunately it
was dispersed on his decease, and his ex-libris
given herewith is consequently scarce. It was
probably engraved between about 1680 and 1700,

EXBIBUCTTHEfX •

NICOLAliOSEFH FOJCWIX

COMtTLS COI4SI5TOR1AM

BOOK-PI.ATE OF NICOLAS JOSEPH KOUCAULT,

and carries the same arms as were embossed on
the bindings of his books.

It would perhaps be more interesting to know
the name of the artist who designed this beautiful
plate for Mr. de Joubert, than who and what Mr.
de Joubert himself was. Unfortunately the plate
is not signed, but it is in the style of the Louis
XV. period, and was probably the work of some
artistic engraver in the south of France.

Book-plates of some Famous Men. 259

The date of the plate can only be approximately
fixed on the following train of reasoning. Mr. de
Joubert styles himself " Tresorier des Etats de

WBIIl^EpI

BJB^/y^^fi^^^llHCBB

mJ^S^S^I^P§'^r'''<'ia

Fi^iBflS^^i^i^fl

M^^ji^^dl^Bbr^\S^BHl

DE JOUBERT.

Languedoc ; " now on reference to an old French
work, somewhat similar to a Court Guide, we find
a mention of this gentleman.

26o French Book-plates.

In '* L'Etat de la France," published in Paris in
1 749, his name is given as President des Chambres
des Comptes de Languedoc, with the date of his
appointment, thus :

"25 F^vrier, 1733. Laurent-Ignace Joubert, Chevalier, cy-
devant Syndic G^ndral de la Province de Languedoc."

It thus appears that Joubert was alive in 1749,
and still holding the high office in the provincial
treasury to which he was appointed in 1733 ; the
date of his plate may therefore be assumed to have
been not earlier than 1733, and in all probability
it was not much later.

In this entry he is called Chevalier, which ac-
counts for the De on the book-plate. This is an
instance of the difficulties a collector has to con-
tend with in deciding the period of undated plates,
especially where the artist has not signed his work.

Mons. Gueulette was a French novelist and
dramatist, who enjoyed considerable fame in the
first half of the last century. He died in De-
cember, 1 766, at the ripe old age of eighty-three
years, and his writings have since sunk into un-
deserved oblivion, although, it is true, Messrs.
Nichols published a translation of his " Contes
Tartares" (an imitation of the "Arabian Nights")
in 1893, but of this only a small edition was printed.
His book-plate, signed H, Bccat, is inscribed *' Ex
libris Thomae Gueulette et Amicorum." It repre-
sents the Gueulette arms, with two supporters on
each side, namely, an Italian Arlequin, a Tartar,
a Chinese Mandarin, and a Cyclops holding an
infant in his arms. Each of these figures has some

Book-plates of some Famous Men. 261

reference to the works of the owner of the plate ;
thus, the Arlequin is in allusion to the numberless

ti^aiSirtt ThomsB GtumirtU e

BOOK-l'I.ATK OK THOMAS HUEUl.ETTK.

farces he wrote for the Th^dtre Italien and the
ThMtre des Boulevards ; the other works alluded
to are his " Contes Tartares " and " Les Aventures

262 French Book-plates.

du Mandarin Fum Hoam/* The design is sur-
mounted by a graceful little Cupid bearing aloft a
scroll, on which is inscribed the epicurean motto
" Dulce est desipere in loco," which has been thus
happily translated by a distinguished member of
the Sette of Odd Volumes :

" Dulce — Delightful, says the poet,
Est — is it, and right well we know it,
Desipere — to play the fool
In loco — when we're out of school."

M. Gueulette was a worthy disciple of Horace,
for more than eighty years he enjoyed the work,
the pleasures, and the success of life ; he accumu-
lated a large and valuable library, and his books
were probably the first to be decorated with a
book-plate bearing not only the arm* of their
owner, but also ..allegorical allusions to his tastes
and literary labours.

M. Gueulette had a second and smaller plate,
signed Bellanger ; this was similar in its general
features, but different in many of its details to the
above.

The Abb6 Joseph-Marie Terray, Controller-
General of Finance under Louis XV., was one of
those men who, by their cruel exactions, dissolute
living, and reckless expenditure, were directly re-
sponsible for the ruin of French credit and for the
great Revolution which ensued. Terray was born
.at Boen in 1715, and died in Paris in February,
1778, almost universally hated and despised. It
is true that he had collected a handsome library,
that his books were sumptuously bound, and that

Book-plates of some Famous Men. 263

he had a reputation as a patron of art and letters.
But holding many highly paid sinecure offices, and
being the proprietor of rich ecclesiastical livings
(not to mention the gross jobbery he exercised in
the state finances), he could well afford to buy
expensive books and to employ a few bookbinders.

BOOK-PLATE OF THE ABfit JOSEPH-MARIE TERRAV.

History records no other good trait in the character
of this priestly financier, who was both physically
and morally ugly, depraved, and rapacious.

Was it for him that this epitaph was written ? —

"Ci-git un grand personnage.

Qui fut d'un illustre lignage,

Qui poss^da mille vertus ;

Qui ne se trompa jamais, qui fut toujours fort sage ;

Je n'en dirai pas d'avanlage,

C'est trap menlir pour cent ecus''

264 French Book-plates.

The game cock was a favourite emblem with
the ancient Greeks and Romans, on account of its
courage and endurance. ** The gait of the cock,"
writes Pliny, **is proud and commanding ; he walks
in a stately stride, with his head erect and elevated
crest ; alone, of all birds, he habitually looks up to
the sky, raising at the same time his curved and
graceful tail, and inspiring terror even in the lion
himself, that most intrepid of animals/' He will
fight to the death, and use his last breath to crow
out a defiance, whilst the conqueror, standing over
his vanquished rival, will flap his wings and loudly
proclaim his victory.

For many ages the game cock, as brave and
noble a bird as any that lives, was the badge of
our Gallic neighbours :

" Le coq fran9ais est le coq de la gloire.
Par les revers il n'est point abattu ;
II chante fort lorsqu'il a la victoire,
Encor plus fort quand il est bien battu.
Le coq franqais est le coq de la gloire
Toujours chanter est sa grande vertu.

Est il imprudent, est-il sage ?

C'est ce qu'on ne peut d^finir :

Mais qui ne perd jamais courage,

Se rend maitre de Tavenir."

Besides being a national emblem, many ancient
and noble French houses bore a cock on their
shields. There were cocks **cantant," holding up
their heads with opened beaks, as though they
were crowing, and cocks ** hardy," which stood on
one leg with the other aggressively uplifted. Louis-
Philippe, on being made King of the French,

Book-plates of some Patnous Men. 265

adopted the bird standing in this warlike attitude,
a circumstance which did not escape the attention
of the Legitimist opponents of the bourgeois king.
Shortly after his accession a biting satire was
circulated in anti-Orleanist society. It set forth
how the noble Gallic cock, raking in the dunghill,
had scratched up King Lou is- Philippe, who, in
exulting gratitude, had placed the bird in the arms
of France. Be this as it may, the Gallic cock
held his place on the escutcheon of the Orleanist
dynasty until the events of 1848 compelled Louis-
Philippe to escape to England under the assumed
name of Mr, Smith.

M. Gambetta carried this bird, in the act of
crowing, on his book-plate, with an equally gallant
motto, " Vouloir c'est Pouvoir," but we seek in
vain to learn of what was composed the library of
Gambetta. This is a mystery! It may be readily
surmised that he had not many of the tastes of a
bibliophile, nor time in which to indulge them.
As to the plate itself, the design was probably
suggested by Poulet-Malassis, and it was engraved
by M. Alphonse Legros about 1874, when that
artist was commissioned by Sir Charles Dilke to
go to Paris to procure a portrait of M, L^on
Gambetta.

Proof impressions of the plate exist in four
states, all very rare ; but the curious feature about
it is that M. Gambetta certified in 1882 that he
had never made use of it as a book-plate, and
when in May, 1895, ^''- Bouland obtained the
loan of the original copper to publish in the
" Archives de la Soci^t^ Fran9aise," he found it

French Book-plates.

266

had scarcely been used. So that the numerous
copies of the Gambetta book-plate scattered about
must be looked upon as forgeries.

The book-plate of another distinguished French-
man, Victor Hugo, is also somewhat of a puzzle.

BOOK-PLATE OF l.(^;ON GAMBETTA. (REDUCED.)

It has been reproduced in nearly every illus-
trated article that has been printed on French ex-
libris, with its towers of the cathedral of Notre
Dame illuminated by the flash of lightning carrying
his name :

" Les tours de Notre-Dame ^taient I'H. de son Nom ! "

Book-plates of some Famous Men. 267

On what occasion can M. Aglaus Bouvenne
have designed this celebrated book-plate, seeing
that at the time of his death the library of Victor
Hugo consisted of less than fifty volumes ?

The history is a somewhat curious one.

As is well known, Victor Hugo was an im-
placable enemy of Napoleon HI., and during his

BOOK-PLATE OF VICTOk HUKO.
By AglaiJs Bouvenne.

reign resided in Guernsey. Wishing to pay his
great countryman a compliment, Mons. Aglaus
Bouvenne designed this plate, the towers of Notre
Dame being introduced not only to remind Hugo
of his beloved Paris, but also in allusion to his
famous novel.

On the 10th July, 1870, Victor Hugo wrote
from Hauteville House to thank the artist for the

268 French Book-plates.

plate : " V'otre ex-libris fait par vous pour raoi me
charme — j'accepte avec reconnaissance cette jolie
petite planche. . . . Votre ex-libris marquera tous
les livres de la Bibliotheque de HauteviUe House."
But the great war came, the downfall of the
Empire, the return of Victor Hugo to Paris, and
amidst so much change and excitement the poor

BOOK-PLATE OK THtoPHILK (lAL'TIER,

By Aglaus Houvenne,

little ex-libris appears to have been neglected.
After the poet's death forgeries of it flooded the
market, and many unwary collectors purchased
worthless copies.

At length Mons. Aglaus Bouvenne, who pos-
sessed the original copper, allowed prints of it to
be taken to be issued with the "Archives de la
Society Fran^aise des Collectionneurs d'Ex Libris"
for June, 1895, together with a facsimile of Victor
Hugo's letter of thanks above quoted.

Book-plates of some Famous Men. 269

It should be noticed that the original plate is
signed Aglaiis Bouvenne del et sculp. 70 (for 1870),
and although it may please collectors to possess a
copy of this ex-libris, they must not assume, when
purchasing one, that it ever was in the possession
of the great poet himself.

M, Bouvenne also designed a plate, dated 1872,
for the late novelist and dramatist Th^ophile Gau-

X%li

BOOK-PLATE OK THE COMTE AE.FRKU D'OKBAV

tier, enshrining his monogram on the entablature
of an Egyptian temple, but in this case he had to
deal with a veritable lover of books, who possessed
a library of some importance, which was sold, after
his death, at the Hotel Drouot. A catalogue was
issued describing the books, but, although they
were mostly in good condition, and bore the book-
plate of a man somewhat famous in his day, they
realized but a small sum under the hammer.
Of the Comte d'Orsay, at one time the leader of

270 French Book-plates.

fashion, the Prince of Dandies, and the associate
of the lovely but unfortunate Lady Blessington,
there is little to be said, nor would that little be
complimentary.

On page 38 is the tiny little plate of Paul
Lacroix, better known, perhaps, as the bibliophile
Jacob, whose writings have done so much to
popularize the study of the manners of the Middle
Ages, and the progress of civilization in France.

The two naked little gamifis are gazing at the
P.L. on the open volume, illuminated by a lamp
of ancient Greek design. The motto runs, ''Livres
nouveaux^ livrcs vielz ct antiques^ Etie^uie Dolct!'

Mons. Paul Lacroix was appointed curator of
the Library of the Arsenal in 1855, where he died
a few years ago.

The Vicomte de Rouge, who died in 1873, was
a famous Egyptologist, whose translations from
the papyri and inscriptions on the Egyptian monu-
ments were considered of the highest philological
value. In i860 M. de Roug6 was installed in the
chair of Egyptology in the College of France,
where for some years he expounded the principles
of careful analysis, upon which his own successful
studies had been based. He left a son, who
shared his fathers enthusiasm for research, and
was also a frequent contributor to the ** Revue
Arch^ologique."

The device of Ferdinand de Lesseps was a
Hercules with the motto "Aperire terram gen-
tibus," in allusion to his great work on the Isthmus
of Suez. He did not then foresee his defeat and
ruin in the Panama Canal.

Book-plates of some Famous Men. 2'ji

The Comtesse de Noe possesses a name which
permits her to represent the prehistoric ark as a
kind of rebus ; whilst Mons. Eugene Jacob, notary
of Angerville, possesses a small ex-hbris, designed
by his nephew, Mons. M^tivet, which represents
a Jacob's ladder crowded with book-loving angels.

i OF THE VICOMTE UE ROU(;i

Albert Tissandier, the learned aeronaut, pro-
claims his specialty on his circular book-plate,
which shows an inflated balloon soaring aloft to
the realms of thought and ideality.

Whilst Prince Roland Bonaparte, who possessed
one of the largest and most valuable libraries of
modern collectors, was content to use nothing
more elaborate than the Napoleonic eagle.

272

French Book-piates.

One of the most interesting and also one of the
scarcest book-plates of modern French men of
letters is the tiny ex-libris of Prosper-M^rimee,
whose library was burnt during the troubles of the
Commune in 1871.

It is, as nearly as possible, the size of a penny

BOOK-PLATE OF EUOfcNK JACOB.

postage-Stamp, but it was designed and engraved
by no less a man than Viollet Le Due. The Gothic
letters P. M. are surrounded by a scroll in the
shape of a horse-shoe, with the opening directed
upwards. The motto, in Greek, may be thus trans-
lated. "Do not forget to doubt." Here, too, is
the unpretentious plate of the bibliophile Jacob,
with angels bringing him his favourite volumes ;

Book-plates of some Fatuous Men. 273

whilst that of Charles Monselet, the author, has
been inserted already in the chapter on punning
plates.

A well-known plate is that designed by Gavarni
for the brothers Edmond and Jules de Goncourt,
and engraved by Jules de Goncourt himself.
These brothers have written much on French art,
and, in allusion to their literary partnership, the
plate shows a sheet of paper on which are the
letters E. J. held down by the two outstretched
fingers of a hand. The design is at once simple
and striking, but it has the great demerit of not
proclaiming its owner's name, which is, after all,
the raison d'etre of a book-plate.

I cannot conclude this short chapter on dis-
tinguished plate-owners better than by giving the
Japanesque ex-libris of Octave Uzanne, who has
not only produced many charming volumes, the
delight of all book-lovers, but is also himself an
enthusiastic collector of ex-libris, and a writer of
authority on their history.

In this plate the exigencies of space have com-
pelled the artist, M. Aglaiis Bouvenne, to so divide
the name that it reads as though M. Uzanne were
in the act of courteously saluting himself!

Well, why not 'i Ave Uzanne !

N N

BOOK-PLATE OF OCTAVE UZANNE,

By Aglaiis Bouvenne.

CHAPTER XVI.

MODERN EX-LIBRIS.

3R0M the downfall of the first Napoleon,

"1 and the restoration of the Monarchy,

until about 1850, art, as shown in

I ex-libris, appears to have slumbered ;

scarcely anything can be found but a dreary re-
petition of heraldic plates, without character and
without style, or slavish imitations of designs of
the pre-RevoIution character, such as those of F.
des Robert and Du Puy de Belveze (see pages
276. 277).

As Poulet-Malassis observes, they appear to
have been turned out to pattern indiscriminately
by the Parisian engravers. The pattern most in
request was a kind of strap, or sword-belt, which
surrounded the shield or monogram of the owner.

Even in this dreary waste, without art, without
originality, there is just one plate which calls for
remark. It is that of Alphonse Karr, the author,
and represents a wasp (the symbol he chose) busy
writing on a long parchment. Probably this was
designed for him by GrandviUe, the caricaturist.
This plate almost marks a division line between

276

French Book-plates:

the old engraved copper-plates with their stiff and
formal heraldry, and the modern etched ex-libris,
with designs free and graceful, — allegoric, pictorial,
allusive, humorous, anything, in fact, that is not

BOOK-PLATE OF F. DES ROBERT, 18;

heraldic, or in which, at least, if there be anything
of an armorial nature, it is made subservient to
the general design, and as little conspicuous as
possible.

Some well-known artists of the day having set the
fashion, it became " the thing " with literary men —

Modem Ex-Libris.

277

plebeian people, of course — to discard heraldry,
and to have ex-libris emblematical of their studies,
their tastes, or their principal works, as in the
plates, for instance, of Victor Hugo, Th^ophile

BOOK- PLATE OF G. DU PUV DE BELVEZE.

Gautier, Manet, the Brothers Goncourt, Octave .
Uzanne, Paul Lacroix, and others.

Apart from what may be termed the original
and characteristic book-plates of some of the
leading men in arts and letters, French ex-Hbris
of the first fifty years of this century may be
divided into three leading styles: i. The plain
armorial shield, or seal, with heraldic bearings.

278 French Boofe-plaies.

2. The plain printed label, either in modem type,
or in imitation of that of the fifteenth century.

3. Type-printed, surrounded by a wreath of
flowers, a belt, or a strap.

BOOK-PLATE OF LOUIS MOHK.

All, or nearly all, come under these headings,
and are about as artistic as the label on a botde of
champagne, or a box of bonbons. They accom-
plish their object, for they proclaim the ownership
of the volume, but tell us nothing of the owner's
personality.

A new fashion which arose in ex-libris, almost

Modem Ex-Libris.

279

synchronous with the rise of the Second Empire,
dispelled much of this formality and monotony.
Individuality and originality were displayed, often
weak and puerile, but infinitely superior to the dull
uniformity which had prevailed in the previous

BOOK-PLATE OF LEON GRUEI.

generation. Statesmen, literary and scientific men,
even artists, began to mark their books in this
way, and their plates were almost as varied as
their tastes and characters. Their designs may
not always please, may sometimes even shock, as

28o

Fretick Book-plates.

does that of Niniche, but at least they do not
weary with their sameness.

But of all the modes in ex-libris there is one, at

SjBLZOTMEgUE
DE Air LE COMTE DE BUREV.

BOOK-PLATE OF THE COMTE DE BUREY.

least, which always pleases, whether French or
English, namely, the photographic portrait of the
owner carefully reproduced by a cunning engraver,
and furnished with bookish surroundings.

BOOK-PLATE OF THE COMTE DE nniCV.

."282 ' French Book-plates.

This portrait exvlibns has great interest for the
collector, but the simple photograph, in al! its
detestably scientific truth and brutal exactitude,

BOOK-PLATE OF HENRI TADSIN, OF sK QUENTIM.

cannot be considered as a respectable o*" desirable
member of tilie ex-libris family.

Little need be said concerning modern French
armorial plates, they are neither numerous nor
especially characteristic. Some of the neatest

BOOK-PLATE OF J. E. SVLVESTllE.

Peintre-Gravcur.

284

French Book-plates.

amongst them are signed Stem, graveur, Paris,
and In their formality and clearness resemble our
own modem heraldic work.

But it is in the light, graceful plates of to-day
that we find the fuUest development of French

BOOK-PLATE OF G, MALET.

art and originality. They style them Ex-Libris
de Fantaisie. They illustrate the transient humour
of the owner, his caprices, his studies, or his
recreations ; they obey no rule, they elude analysis
or classification, they defy description :

" Their beauties are like poppies spread,
Vou seize the flower, its bloom is shed 1
Or, like the snow-falls in the river,
A moment white — then melts for ever,"

Modem Ex~Libris.

285

It were, indeed, as ridiculous as "gilding refined
gold, or painting the lily," to venture to describe
the coquettish Parisienne on the plate of G. Malei ;
or the fanciful design for Georges Mantin; the
charming decorative plate of Henri Tausin, or the

BOOK-PLATE OF GEORGES MANTIN.

quaint monogram designed for Alexis Martin by
Aglaiis Bouvenne. Art pour I'Arl, Faniaisie,
Diablerie; democratic ideas prevalent In the
mottoes, armorial bearings discarded, even titles
and prefixes of honour abandoned by those who
have the most right to use them. Henri B^raldi
goes even further, and asserts that the size of a

286 French Bopk-plates.

man's book-plate is in inverse ratio to the value of
his library, but let him speak for himself :

" U est i remarquer, qu'aujourd'hui les vrais
Bibliophiles s'efforcent de contaminer le moins
possible leurs livres par I'apposition de leurs Ex-

book-pi. \te OF ALEXIS MARTIN.

By Aglai

Libris. lis ont done des Ex-Libris aussi petits
que possible. En g^n^ral, ce sent de simples filets
nd'encadrements entourant le nom. On les fait
feire par son relieur. Les non- Bibliophiles ont
des Ex-Libris gigantesques, ou ils ^talent des
blasons, des chiffres, des embl^mes, des devises,
des r^bus, des sujets de guerre, placards qui en-
combrent toute la garde des volumes. On devrait

Modern lix-Libris.

287

se garden dc dtiposer ces ciiosts-la sur des livres
precieux."

"Consid^rons I'Ex-Libris comme un ar^om^tre
servant k titrer le degr^ de force bibliophilique de
son possesseur, et formulons un axtome i la Balzac :

BOOK-PLATE OK HENRI CRESLIE..

La valeur d'un Bibliophile est en raison inverse de
la dimension de son Ex-Libris"

We protest, and pass on, i .'•

During the last few years an artist has come to
the front, Mons. Henry Andr^, who has devoted
so much of his invention and his skill to book-
plates that it is difficult to decide which of his

288 French Book-plates.

numerous works to select as best illustrating his
style. He has kindly permitted eight designs to

BOOK-PLATE OF AUGUSTE GEOFFROY.

be reproduced ; one, that of Doctor F. Bargall6, will
be found amongst the medical plates, the others
are those belonging to Messieurs Auguste Geoffroy,

Modern Ex-Ltbrts. 289

an art expert ; Alexandre Geoffroy, an art critic,
with the telling motto, " A Tous Vents Je Seme,"

BOOK-PLATE OF ALEXANDRE GKOFFROV,

appropriate to the editor of such a journal as
" La Curiosity Universelle" ; Jules Lermina, also
a man of letters, with the motto " Fiat Lux "

290 French Book-plates.

emerging from the clouds, a very quaint and
original conception ; Ch. Guinot, a poet and a
bibliophile, with the ernfclfrrts of death and im-
mortality.

WlOK-PLATi; OF Jl'LES LEKMINA.
Dcsignctl by Henry Andre.

The plate of Mons. Jan des Vignes is a singular
design. The owner, a poet and journalist, is a
native of Cluny, in Burgundy, famous for its
abbey, and as having given birth to the painters,
Greuze and Prud'hon, and to the celebrated poets

Modem Ex- Li br is.

291

Lamartine and P. Dupont. The view of the
ancient abbey, surrqunded by the vine, proclaims
at once the owner's birthplace and his name, whilst
the exquisite sonnet reveals his poetical genius.

BAB.TE ?

IfOOK-rUME OF CH. GUINOT, I894.
Designed by Henry Andrt.

The Docteur Jules Le Bayon is a Breton, a
native of Carnac, where are to be seen the won-
derful Druidical stones, a few of which are depicted
on his ex-libris. Mons. Le Bayon is a doctor of
medicine by profession, but he is also an en-

292 French Book-plates.

thusiastic amateur of music, hence the introduc-
tion of a peasant clad in the old Brittany costume,
playing on the rural pipes. The sprig of mistletoe,

BOOK-PLATE OK JAN Dl

the sacred plant of the Druids, completes an en-
graving which is full of picturesque allusiveness.
And lastly, we have that of Mons. Abel Picard,

Modem Ex-Libris.

293

an eminent bibliophile holding a high official posi-
tion in Paris. The ribbon, that so ingeniously
curves itself into the owner's initials, enfolds a

BOOK-l'LATF, OF JUI.ES I.E BAYON, r

view of the quays along the Seine, with their
stalls of second-hand books, and the flaneurs on
the look-out for bargains. In the distance may

294 French Book-plates.

faintly be descried the towers of Notre Dame.
Below we have indications that the owner's tastes
in reading are varied : Michelet, the historian, is

BOOK-PLATli OF ABEI, PICARLi.

near a volume on art ; whilst the novels of Daudet
and Zola are only separated by a sliding partition
from a bulky and well thumbed tome on the
" Droit Administratif." surely a suggestive contrast.
As for the perky little Parisian sparrow {for such I

Modem Ex-Libris.

295

am informed is the bird), c'est un plat de supple-
ment a cinquante centimes that I do not feel called
upon to describe.

Mens. L. P. Couraud, of Cognac, designed his
own armorial plate ; the motto (a translation from

Ex libris L. P. COURAUD

IK)0K-1'LATE OV L. P. COURAUD.

Virgil) is appropriate to one who has won success
by his own energy and skill.

Mons. Couraud, who is an enthusiastic collector
of prints, medals, and ancient furniture, thus de-
scribes the origin of his book-plate : " Dans une
vieille Edition du ' Roman du Renart * je recontrai

296 French Book-plates.

cette devise, ' Fortune secort les hardiz,' d^s lors
mon ex-libris ^tait trouv^. Je fis repr^senter la
classique Fortune dans un ^cusson d'or, au chef

BOOK-PLATE OF BARON ]

cousu d'azur (shown gules in the engraving) charg^
de trois fleurs-de-lis, avec deux cogs pour supports ;
ce qui faisait allusion a mes opinions politiques."
This was drawn by Mons. Couraud and engraved
by Devambez.

Modern Ex-Libris.

297

It will be seen that the owner frankly admits not
only that the arms were assumed, but that they
were purely fanciful. For a trade label such a
device might be excused, but all who have any

BOOK-PLATE OF ALFKED BOVET.

Engraved by Stern.

respect for the science of heraldry will be pleased
to learn that the owner has determined to suppress
this plate, and has had another engraved for him
by Henry Andr^, after a pretty floral design of
Van Spaendonck, and printed in colours.

298

French Book-piates.

The power to appreciate beauty is but one
factor in many that go to the forming of an artist,
yet it is the indispensable.

Who, then, amongst modern French artists, has
produced the most beautiful and characteristic

C-P1.ATE OF I.AFITTE.

Desij^ed by Agry.

ex-libris ? The question is too difficult to solve
offhand ; it is, indeed, a matter of taste. Many
would select Aglaiis Bouvenne, Leopold Flameng ;
others might suggest C. E. Thi^ry or Henry
Andr^.

Other modern artists who should be mentioned
are Bracquemond, who produced a plate for M.

Modem Ex-Libris.

299

AglaQs Bouvenne himself, and the very simple
severe mark for the late Poulet-Malassis, with its
vigorous assertion.yi; Vai, as well as the plates for
Charles Asselineau and Paul Arnauldet, the latter
with its anti-Grolier motto, Nunquam amicorum /
Fran9ois Courboin, F^licien Rops, and Paul

BOOK-PLATE OF C. BAYARD.

Avril have also produced some light and graceful
designs for modem ex-libris.

The style of a book-plate may be taken as some
indication of the tastes and nature of the owner,
and this is particularly true of modern French ex-
libris, in which artistic fancy and originality have
full swing. From this point of view a collection
may have more value than might at first be sup-
posed. It would be claiming too much to assert

300 French Book-plates.

that no great man ever had an ugly or an inappro-
priate ex-Hbris, yet it may be safely assumed that
few but men of taste and culture possess really
artistic book-plates.

BOOK-PLATE OK MAKTHE DE ItORNIOU

CHAPTER XVII.

ARTISTS AND ENGRAVERS WHOSE SIGNA-
TURES ARE FOUND UPON FRENCH
BOOK-PLATES.

BN the following list no attempt has been
1 made to enumerate every separate ex-
libris signed by each artist ; such works

I as woula best illustrate their style, or

the period they worked in, only have been selected,
or plates possessing other features of interest,
literary, artistic, or personal.

It must be borne in mind that a large proportion
of the early French plates bore no owners' names,
although they were frequently signed by the en-
graver. Many of these plates have been identified
by the arms, the mottoes, or other peculiarities in
design, but some still remain unidentified.

Where engraved dates appear on the ex-Hbris
these have been mentioned, but no notice has been
taken of dates inserted in manuscript, these, as is
well known, being quite unreliable.

For certain engravers, on whose work no date

302

French Book-plates.

has been found, a century has been named ap-
proximately from an examination of the plates
they produced.

Some of this information must necessarily be
conjectural, and Mons. Poulet-Malassis mentions
certain artists and engravers of book-plates of
whose work it has not been possible either to
obtain copies, or any information whatever.

For facility of reference a strictly alphabetical
arrangement of the names has been adopted.

Wherever it was possible, the inscriptions and
signatures have been copied from the book-plates
themselves, carefully preserving the arbitrary con-
tractions, the obsolete orthography, and even the
errors and the faulty accentuation found on many
of them.

It will be observed that Mr. as a contraction for
Monsieur was formerly more generally used in
France than it now is, whilst Escuyer, Escuier, or
Ecuyer (for Esquire) was occasionally added after
a gentleman*s name, a custom which has, since the
Revolution, become quite obsolete.

One of the latest examples of the use of this
title will be found on the ex-libris of Jean Fran9ois-
Gillet, dated 1 778, of which a reproduction appears
on p. 96.

Abot.

Engraved a plate for M.

Greppe. Designed by Gia-

comelli. Modem.
TANCRfeDE Abraham.

Chateau de Ruilld. (De la

Planche, Comte de Ruill^.)

1874. Armorial.

Adeline, Jules.

Ex-libris de Champfleury des-
sin^ et grav^ par J. Adeline.
Portrait plate. Modem.
(See also Aglaiis Bouvenne.)
M. Henri Bouchot repro-
duced several works by this
artist.

A List of Artists and Engravers. 303

Agry. 14 Casti^lione. Maison
Bouvet (Pans). Modem.
Biblioth^que de Mouchy.

Armorial.
Biblioth^que de Lafitte.
Ales Sc.

Hilarii Gr^sy, 1868. Pictorial.
Ex-libris Gustave Chancel,
1876. Pictorial.
Aliamet Scitl. (See Eisen.)
On a nameless armorial, de-
signed by C. Eisen for
Claude Antoine deChoiseul-
Beauprd. i8th cent.
"J. Aliamet" on the nameless
armorial, designed by C.
Eisen, for the Marquis de
Paulmy.
Allin Sculp, fecit.

Robert Jehannot de Beau-
mont, Conseilleur du Roy,
etc., Verdun, 1 742.
Armorial.
Conrad Robert, Comte de
Wignacourt, Major au Regi-
ment, etc. Armorial.
Aloys Comte la Kos^e, fecit
1760, on a library interior,
name indistinct ; and on the
plate of Theod. Cte. Mora-
witzky, 1770.
Aloys^ comes de la Rost'e, inv.
del. et sculpst.y on his own
ex-libris, dated 1769. He
was a German from the
Rhine provinces.
Ancelet, E. 19th cent.
Andouard. i8th cent.
Andr6, Henry. Modem.
Jules Lermina. Symbolic

plate.
Alex. Geoffroy. 1893.
Henry Andr^, Secretaire de
la Soci^t^ Fran^aise, etc.

1893.
Paul Vibert. Portrait plate.

Th'*. Vibert. Portrait plate.

Louis Bihn. 1893.
Abel Picard. A view of the
book-stalls on the quays
of Paris.
Ch. Guinot. 1894.
L^on Quantin. 1894.
Henry Andrd. 1894. Portrait
Auguste-Geoffroy. 1895.
F. Bargallo. 1895. Alle-
gorical.
L. P. Couraud. Pictorial.
Jan-des-Vignes. 1896.
Ex Libris P. P. Capucinomm
Conventus Parisiensis.
1896.
Docteur Jules Le Bayon.

1896.
Ex Libris du Marquis de
Gourdon de I'Echo.
Armorial.
Apoux. Modem.

Ex Libris Lucien Bodin.
Pictorial. Motto, ^^Ohl
combien gai c'est / "
Aribaud, J. p. i8th cent.
Arthaud. 1 8th cent.
AUBL^. 1 8th cent.
P. AUDINET Sculp.
Rev. H. S. Cotton. Angling
scene.
AUDRAN, J. 1 8th cent.

Engraved the monogram tro-
phy plate for Louis XV.,
designed by A. Dieu.
Auger, E. Modem.

Designed the plate for Mons.
Charles Givelet of Reims.
Motto, ^^ Remeftsia coluiy
mihi et amidst Engraved
by A. Bellevoie. (See Les
Bibliophiles Rdmois, pp.
loj, 116.)
Augustus In. et Sculp,

Madame De Bouchard. La-
bel. 1 8th cent.
Auroux, N. 17th cent.
A. AvELiNE Sculp,

304

French Book-^plates.

On the armorial ex-libris of
Carolus de Drosses, Comes
Tomaci, Baro Montis, etc.,
with the motto ^^ Homuncidi
quanti sunty 1 8th cent.

M. Poulet-Malassis devotes
considerable space to this
very little man —Charles de
Brosses — and his quarrel
with Voltaire, fee Brosses
had two other armorial
book-plates engraved by
Durand, from which the
unfortunate motto was
omitted.

Charles de Brosses, Comte de
Tournay, was born in Dijon
in 1709, and died in Paris in

1777. He was a true biblio-
phile, and his books were
sumptuously bound in mo-
rocco stamped with his
arms — azure three trefoils
or.

They were sold in Dijon in

1778. See an illustrated
article on his ex-libris in
**Les Archives de la Society
Fran9aise," Jany., 1896.

AvisSE fecit. (Signature in-
distinct.)

Josephi Xaupi, 17 50 and 1765.
Ecclesiastical.
AvRii^ Paul. Modem.

Philippe Gille.

Ex-LibrisH.S.Ashbee. 1890.
Portrait rebus plate.

Ex-Libris Geo. B. de Forest
(of New York). Library
interior.

A. B. del.

M. Arthur Benoit, of Berthel-
ming in Alsace, designed
several book-plates for him-
self and for his late brother

Mons. Louis Benoit, libra-
rian to the city of Nancy.
These ex-libris contain views
of Alsatian buildings and
costumes.
Mons. A. Benoit designed a
modem plate for himself,
copied from a library device
of the last century ; Motto,
'^Avecle temps."
See ** Petite Revue d'Ex libris
Alsaciens," p. 37.

Bachelev, del. et sculp. 1768.
P. R. Le Cornier de Cideville.
Armorial.

Baltazard. 1755.

L. F. BAOUR/^t7/.

P. L. de Carbon, sen.
Armorial. i8th cent.
Baquoy, C. 1 8th cent.
Barbat, d Chalons. 19th cent.

Ex libris C. Remy. Armorial.

Mons. Charles Remy, Mem-
bre de I'Acaddmie de
Reims, carries the arms of
a Chevalier de PEmpire, a
title granted to his father,
the Baron Claude Charles
Remy, on April 25, 181 1.
(See ''Les Bibliophiles
R^mois," p. 117.)
C. Baron Sculp.

Biblioth^que de Madame
Victoire de France. i8th
cent.

This has the anns of
France in a lozenge. (See
p. 53, " Ladies' Book-
plates.")

BAUMKS/.V//.

Ex-libris D. D. Postic.

Armorial. i8th cent.

Reproduced in "Ex-Libris

Ana."
Baum6s, i\ Montpellier. i8th

cent.
BEAU,yf/j. 1 8th cent.

A List of Artists and Engravers. 305

BEAUMONT/f«V.

On the armorial £x Libris
Vaucresson de Cormain-
ville, etc., 1743.

And "Gravd par Beaumont,
grav*^ ord'*' de la ville," on
the " Ex-libris D. Jacobi
Olivarii Vallde, Equitis, regi
k Consilius, et in Cameri
regiarum Rationum Magis-
tri Anno 1730." Armorial.
Two supporters.
H. Bl£cAT/;/7/.

Signed the large allegorical
** Ex-libris Thoma: Gueulette
et amicorum." With the
motto, *^ Dulce est desipere
in LocoJ^ See reproduction.

Simon-Thomas Gueulette was
a prolific writer of farces for
the Th^itre Italien, and the
Theitre des Boulevards ; he
died in 1766.
B^HA, Lith, Metz.

Ex-libris Arthur Benoit.
Modem ; armorial.
Beillet Iffipr. 35 Quai de la
Toumelle. Modem.

Biblioth6que de Mme. la
Comtesse de Montblanc,
Baronne d'Ingclmunster.
Armorial.
J. D. Beleau, d Rouen^ 1724.
Belille, d, Verdun, 19th cent.
Bellange, Jacques. Painter
and etcher. Born at Nancy,
October 13th, 1594; died
about 1638.

He is supposed to have en-
graved the large armorial
plate for Melchior de la
Valine, dated 161 3. (See
"Archives de la Soci^t^
Fran^aise," vol. ii., Febru-
ary, 1895.)
Bellanger Inv, et Sc.

Signed an allegorical book-

plate for Simon Thomas
Gueulette, the novelist and
farce writer, who died in
1766. (See also H. B^cat.)
Bellevoye, Adolphe.
Modem.
Mons. Bellevoye, an engraver,
formerly of Metz, after-
war4p^ of Reims. Engraved
a landscape plate for him-
self, inscribed : " Biblio-
th^que d' Adolphe Bellevoye
de Metz " ; also the plates
for Mons. Charles Givelet
and Mons. Anatole Parois-
sien. (See "Les Bibliophiles
Rt^mois," pp. 91, 10 1, and

113.)
Berain, C. 17th cent.

Berger, D. 1786.
Berlier. 1740.
Bert, J ., J Granmont, 1 8th cent.
Berthault j^tt//. 1777.
Ex Museo J. G. R. Boscheron.
Armorial.
Bes. 1 8th cent.
Beugnet. 1769.
Le Comte de Luzignem.
Armorial.
BiDA, Alexandrf:. 19th cent.
Designed a book-plate for
Mons. Fdlix Solar. It was
engraved by M. Pollet.
M. Solar had a second book-
plate engraved by Paul
Chenay.
BiDAULT. 1707.

Nameless armorial, no motto.
BillI 1 8th cent.
Binard, J. Modem.
Ex Bib : Michaelis Chasles.
Engraved label.
Bis, d Douay. iSth cent.

BlZ^MONT-PRUNELi (Andf^-

Gaspard Parfait, Comte de
Bizemont-PruneM.)
Signed Biximonty sc, London,

R R

3o6

French Book-plates.

1794 on his ornamental
card : "M. Bizemont, Draw-
ing Master, 19, Norton
Street, near Portland
Street." He was then re-
siding in London as a
political refugee, earning
nis living by his talents.
There is a plate, which was
designed and engraved for
him by Ch. Gaucher in 1 78 1 ,
on which his full names and
title are given.
M. Bizdmont-Prunel^ also
etched a pictorial plate for
his wife, Marie Catherine
d'Hallot.

J. Blocquet, 1672.

The large nameless armorial
plate of Charles Maurice
le Tellier, archev^que de
Reims. (See M. Poulet-
Malassis, page 23.)

BOILY, L.
Nameless armorial. Motto,
" Sine maculay

L. BoiSSON 5r. (1881.)
Ex-libris C. Sagnier, Juin, 81.
Pictorial.

BONNARD. J. B. H. 17th cent.

E. BONNEJOY del. et sc.y 1875.
Ex Libris Docteur Bonnejoy.
Pictorial. Motto. ^* Sains
ex aquisP (The Doctor is
a vegetarian, and an ab-
stainer.)

J. BONNETON sciii. 1888.
J. Bonneton, president du tri-
bunal. Library interior.

De Bonrecueille. i8th cent.

Ed. Bouchardon in. del.
On the plate of Louise le
Daulceur, engraved by her-
self. (See also Louise le
Daulceur.) i8th cent.

Boucher, Francois. 18th cent.
Designed the plate, but did

not sign it, for Le Pr^ident
Hdnault de I'Acad^mie
Frangaise. It was engraved
by the Comte de Caylus.
(See Poulet-MaIassis,pp.28,
33, and 58.)

£x Libris Joannis Laurentii
Aubld, signed " F. Bouchier
in. Pariset .SV."

This handsome armorial
plate is reproduced by
Poulet-Malassis, p. 58.

Ex-libris de Crozat, baron de
Thiers. Armorial.

Reproduced by H. Bou-
chot.

F. B. inv. is also found on
the nameless plate of the
Chevalier de Valori, with
J. H. V. (Valori), sad.
BOUCHV Scuip.

Steph. Ign., et Joan. Jac.
Michelet fratres, Capellani
S^i. Petri Bisontini 1714.

Signed the following —
** Bouchy Sculp. Vesun-
tione : — "

Ant. Ign. de Camus de Filain,

1732. ,
Ex Libris Antonii Lengroig-

net, 1732.
And another plate dated 1739.
BOULLAV, J. 19th cent.
BoULONOls/^rr/A 1 8th cent.
Signed the large decorated
armorial ** Ex-libris Franc.
Le Vignon Doct. Me. Paris."
BouRCiER, Jeanne.

Signed Grc^. de Jeanne Bour-
cier^ Bar le Duc^ 1760, on
the armorial plateof Antoine
de la Falloize, Seigneur du
Bau de Chaumont.
Bourgeois. i8th cent.
BouTET, Henri. Modem.
Ernest Maindron (a collector).
Ex-libris Catel. Fantaisie.

A List of Artists and Engravers. 307

Motto, ^^ Nocturna versate
manu^ versate diurnaP

BOUVENNE, AGLAUS.

Designed and engraved the
following :

Ex-libris Ch. Asselineau, with
the curious enigmatical
motto, " Lafetnme qui n'est
pas la colombe et le roseau
est un monstre^ M. As-
selineau had anothei book-
plate by Braquemond.

He was an employ^ in the
Biblioth^que Mazarine, and
produced some biblio-
graphical works. He died
in June, 1874.

Jules Cousin. A punning
plate (a gnat).

Amon cher Edouard Castillon-
Aglaiis Bouvcnne, 1882.
Motto, " Travail liberie:'

Ex Libris Mario Proth.
(Author and Art Critic.)
Motto, " Sempre Vagare.^

Maurice Toumeux. Author
and critic, died in 1867.

Ex Libris Alexis Martin, 1868.
Pictorial.

Tht^ophile Gautier.
Monogram. 1872.

Ex Libris Champfleury, 1874.
Eau- forte.

Ex Libris Francois Copp^e.
Monogram on a lyre.

L.\y est, 1876.
Library interior.

Victor Hugo. View of the
Towers of Notre Dame,
Paris, 1870.

Octave Uzanne, 1882.

Pictorial. Author and art
critic.

Monogram (for M. Benoit).
Motto, ^^Avec le temfis"
Signed, Agaus {sic) Bou-
venne, Inv, Sculp, '83.

Ex Libris de Madame la
Comtesse dc Noe, 1888.
Fantaisie.

For M. L<5on Sapin the Book-
seller of the Rue Bonaparte,
Paris, a plate showing an
avenue of fir trees (Sapins)
Signed, Aglaiis Bouvenne
sc. it rami L. Sapin, (See
"Archives de la Soci^t^
Franqaise," May, 1895.)
Bracquemond del, et sculp, on
the cypher book-plate of
Aglaiis Bouvenne, 1875.
Motto, " Colligebat — quis
perjicict,^^

Mons. Fdix Braquemond also
designed the following
plates :

A monogram plate for Paul
Amauldet, signed B. Motto,
" Nunquatn amicorumP

Charles Asselineau.

Philippe Burty.
An allegorical desi^ for
this author, art critic and
collector. Motto, " Libre et
fidhU:'

Georges Pouchet.

Edouard Manet, the painter.
With the motto '''Manet
et manebit?^ In the first
state there were accessories
peculiar to the worship of
Priapus, which were re-
moved.

Christophe, the sculptor.

He also designed a plate for
himself (See Poulet-
Malassis, p. 38.)
Branche. 18th cent.

" Biblioth6que de M. deVilliers
du Terrage, Pr. commis des
Finances."

This was an armorial
plate, style Louis XV L,
the owner of which was

3o8

French Book-plates.

a Viscount, yet bore the
coronet of a Marquis. He
survived the revolution,
aristocrat though he was,
and served in the Ministry
of Police, under the first
Empire and the Restora-
tion.

Braspacher. 1775.

Br^nt. 1 8th cent.

BRENEXy^r//.

Louis Pfyffer de Wyher, Capi-
taine aux Gardes Suisses.
Armorial. i8th cent.

Ce livre Appartient k M^ Le
Maire. Armorial.
R. Brichet inv, sadp.

I. Ph. Grauss. Armorial.

Dumont de Valdajou.
Chirurgien. Armorial. 18th
cent. (See reproduction.)
Briot, Isaac. 17th cent.

Signed " Briot " on the plate
of Claude Sarrau, who died
in 1651.

Isaac Briot signed an engrav-
ing of Henri IV. lying in
state, dated 16 10.

BROCHERYy^r//.

J. Hoop. Pictorial plate, no
arms or motto. 1 8th cent.

BROCHERY, TH^RfeSE.

On the ex-libris of Alexis
Foissey of Dunkirk. Two
states, one with coronet, one
without. 1 8th cent.
B. H. DE Brockp:s.

Clemens Augustus. 1 760.
Ecclesiastical.
Brondes.

" Joannis Baptistae Grenier
Caus. Patroni." Annorial.

BRUPACHER/^'r.

Ex : Lib : Monast : St. Petri.
Montis Majoris 1765.
Armorial. Ecclesiastical.
BUHOT, Felix. A famous

etcher and book illustrator,
born at Valognes in Nor-
mandy, but now resident in
Paris.

M. Octave Uzanne wrote a
critical account of his works
in "Le Livre" for March,
1888, but no mention is made
of any ex-libris engraved by
him.
BURDET. 19th cent.
BURTY, J. 3 Rue de la V*.
Estrapade.
Lejay, fils cUni, Rue St
Etienne desGr^s, 12, Paris.
Landscape.

C. (COMTE DE CAYLUS.)

Engraved the plate designed
by Boucher for Le President
H^nault de I'Acad^mie
Fran9aise. i8th cent.
(See Poulet-Malassis.)

C ALLOT, Jaques. Of Nancy,
died 1635.
I have never heard of an ex-
libris by this famous engra-
ver, but some may yet be
found, as he had a prefer-
ence for fine small work
suitable for this purpose.

Calmettes, F. 19th cent.
De la Biblioth^que de Ma-
dame Anatole France.
Engraved label.

Carpentier, J. B. 1 8th cent.

Cars, J. F. i8th cent.

C.\TEL1N, J. B. 1 8th cent.

Cathey. 1 8th cent.

Cava, F. i8th cent.

Chabany.

De Maridort. Annorial.

Chappron, p. H. MeOnier.

Engraved an armorial plate

for himself, dated 1761.

A List of Artists and Engravers. 309

(See "Les Bibliophiles
R^mois," p. 57.)
Charles, C.
J. G. F. Chassel, 1792. (See
Warren's "Guide," p. 147.)
"C. Charles in." on a nameless
plate, dated 1739, signed J.
C. Fran*, sculp.
Charpentier. 1709.
Chauveau, FRAN901S. (Died
in 1676.)
Ex-libris de Clerget.

Armorial.
A majestic armorial plate for
Jdr6me Bignon, is also at-
tributed to Chauveau.
Chauvet, J. Modem.

Ex Libris D. Jouast. (A jour-
nalist.)
H. S. Ashbee (of London).
Cheffer, a. Grav, 22, Rue

Dauphine. Modem.
Paul Chenay Sculp.
Ex-libris F. Solar. Modem.
This plate is after a design by
Andrea del Sarto, and was
printed on the catalogue
of the library of M. Solar,
sold in i860.
Mons. F^lix Solar had another
ex-libris, designed by Bida,
and engraved by Pollet.
L. Chenu. F. 1780. Des-
maison invenit.
Ex-Libris Bouju. Armorial.
Chevalier. 17th cent.
Chevalier sculp. i8th cent.
M. L'Abbd Desmarestz. Ar-
morial. Ecclesiastical.
Chevrier, L. Modem.
A nameless etched plate, dated
1875, representing a child
beneath a pile of old books.
Chinon, B. 1 8th cent.
P. P. CHOFFARDyJrf/A
On the plates of De Cursay,
de Landry, etc., 1756.

De Cursay-Thomasseau, 1756.

Ex-libris de Buissy, 1759.

Franc. Jos. Ant. Hell (of Al-
sace), 1773.

Ex-libris Souchay, Eq**. Lug-
duni " C. Monet del. P. P.
Choffard, jr«//. 1776." This
handsome plate is repro-
duced in " Ex-Libris Ana.

Jean Armand Tronchin, 1779.

Thellusson, 1782. Poulet-
Malassis speaks of Thel-
lusson as a Prussian Baron,
whereas he was a descend-
ant of a French Protestant
family, and in 1806 was
created Baron Rendlesham
in the peerage of Ireland.

Andreas de Sal is, Curia Rhae-
torum.

Pinsot d' Armand.

M. Henri Bouchot reproduces
a lady's armorial plate,
nameless, engraved by
Choffard, after a design by
Moreau le Jeune.
Chollet. i8th cent.
Choubard sculp.
H. Christophe Lith, Nancy.

Ex Libris A. Benoit, Berthel-
mingen, 1894.

Ex Libris Francisci de Chan-
teau.
L. Christophe Nancy ^ 1852.

M. Ch. de Beauminy.
Armorial ; literary.
Clouzier, a. 1 8th cent.
Cochin, Charles Nicolas.
Kiiovfn2i's Cochin fils. i8th
cent.

He signed a nameless plate
Cochin inv. 1750. (De La-
fosse, sc.)

Also a nameless armorial
plate for the Abb^ Leblanc.
C. Cochin filius inv. (C. O.
Galimard, scuip.\ and an-

310

French Book-plates.

other for Poisson de Mar-
igny, dated 1752.

He also designed an armorial
plate for the Marquise de
Pompadour. (See Poulet-
Malassis, p. 60.)
C. N. C. d. {Cochin fils.)

Ex Libris Le Vassor de la
Touche. (See J. Ingram.)
L. P. C inv.

On the plate of L. P. Couraud,
also signed Henry- Andri
del, ct sc,

Mons. Couraud also designed
an armorial plate for him-
self.
CocHON, J. Modem.

Ex Libris M. Descoutures.
Cole. i8th cent.
J. Colin. 1685.
CoLiNET /ecif. 1 8th cent.

M. Thierry de Villedavray.
Armorial.
COLLARD. 18th cent.
Collin, Dominique (known as
Collin p^re). i8th cent.

This famous engraver was
born at Mirdcourt, in Lor-
raine, in 1725. He first
studied engraving under a
goldsmith in Metz, and
afterwards under Jean
Striedbeck of Strasburg.

In 1752 Collin married and
settled in Nancy, where he
soon acquired a reputation,
and was named engraver to
the town, and also to the
King of Poland, Stanislas,
Due de Lorraine et de Bar.

He died in Nancy, December
2 1st, .1781. . He produced
more than 300 engravings,
on many of which he signed
himself " graveur du feu roi
de Pologne."

A catalogue of his works was

given by Mons. le Conseiller
Beaupr^ in "Les Mdmoires
de la Soci«$td d'Archdologic
Lorraine,'' and a supple-
mental list, drawn up by
Mons. A. Benoit, with illus-
trations, appeared in the
"Archives de la Soci^t^
Fran9aise," April, 1895.

His son, Yves Dominique
Collin, also worked on
book-plates, and, judging
by the few known examples
of his work, would prob-
ably have surpassed his
father, but, unfortunately,
his career was brief. He
was bom in Nancy, in Feb-
ruar>', 1753, and died in the
same city on April 26th,
1792. He signed his plates
K JX Collin.fih.

The following is a list of the
known book- plates of Domi-
nique Collin ; his mode of
signature varied, and he
spelt his name Collin or
Colin indifferently.

Bourgeois.

Des Salles.

Du Perron.

Aubrussel.

Charles, Comte de Lavaux,etc.

Lespce.

Maillart.

Mengin.

Regnard de Gironcourt

Riston. (See reproduction.)

Bibliothc^que de Mr. J.
Anthoine. (Very rare plate.)
Armorial. Library interior.

Hr. M. B. Bach. Armorial;
signed D. Colin fecit y 1747.
Reproduced in the "Ar-
chives de la Soci^td Fran-
9aise," April, 1895, as the
earliest known dated ex-

A List of Artists and Engravers. 31 1

libris engraved by Collin

in Alsace.
Nameless armorial, dated 1748.
Friedrich Alexander Freyherr

von Schell. Signed D. Colin

Jtcit, 1751.

d'Etat, Procure ur GSn^ral
de la Chambre des Com pies.
1756. Signed Collin scitlp.
Nanctii.
Biblioihdque de R. Willemet,
Mire. Apothicaire a Nancy.

HOOli-PLATE OF M. HKRS.

Nameless amiorial, with sup-
porters, 17SO.

Bibliot&cque de M'. H^rd
1752. Armorial; pictorial.
(See reproduction.)

Nameless armorial, dated
1754-

Sirejean Fils. 1754.
Armorial ; pictorial.

M. Thibault, Conseiller

Pictorial. Signed Collin,
graveur du feu Rot de Pa-
tome, due de /jirraine.

Le Comte de Carvoisin.
Armorial.

V. C. Monogram on a car-
touche, signed d Nancy par
Collin graveur du feu Roi
de Pologne. A very scarce
example. Reproduced in

I )o( I. en Mt (Ici iiK.', w nil a I

(!itt(.i ciil iii^' iipiioii, aiu! i,()l (HM

(l.itc<l. ( )n

Iwi) plaice lor M. Tlioiucnin, A

Consr. du Roy. 1769. COUTJ

Ex-libris Ant. Jeanjcan, Can. Nan

ad St Pet., etc. m

Le Chanoine Jeanjean Crois

died about 1791. (See M^r.

"Archives de la Socidt^ Ai

Fran9aise/' July, 1895.) M

Collin, Y. D. i8th cent. /V

Yves Dominique Collin fils "I

(son of the preceding). Cvs, A.

Aubcrt, 1787. k(
Malvoisin, abb^ commen-

dataire de Sainte Sauve Danch

(Amiefis), 1785. cen

Also a nameless armorial, not £x L

dated, which is reproduced Flo

in the "Archives de la Domi

Soci^^ Fran^aise" for Am

April, 1895. Dapsol

COLLlHf d H^ims, 17th cent. De h

Collin, J. 1 8th cent Mil

COLOT. 1 8th cent Arr

COMPANON de/i. Denis

Mondolet. Armorial. du(

COQUARDON. 1 8th cent de •

CORDIER. 1 8th cent ^^

A List of Artists and Engravers. 3 1 3

Daudin.

Michaeli Begon et amicis.
1702. (See reproduction.)
Daulceur, Louise. (See Le

Daulceur.)
David. i8th cent.
Debey F*

Biblioth. D. D. de Fr^val.
Armorial. 1 8th cent.
Decach6. 1 8th cent.
Dejean. 1 8th cent.
Delafos^e j^i/i^^j//. 175 1.
Nameless library interior for
the Acad^mie de Nancy.
Motto, ^^ Animum censoris
sumet hofusii" Designed
by H. Gravelot.
He also engraved a nameless
armorial, designed by Co-
chin fils in 1750.
De la Gardette/?^*/.

Designed and engraved the
armorial — " De la Biblio-
th^que de M. Lavoisier de
PAcad^mie Roy ale des Sci-
ences^ regisseur des Poudres
et Saipeires de France, F^
General du Roy^^

Armorial, coronet of count,
and supporters. The title of
" Fermier Gdndral du Roy"
cost this man of science his
life; he was guillotined,

May 7, 1794-
This plate, in pure Louis

XV L style, was reproduced
by Poulet-Malassis.
Delaitre. 1 8th cent.
A library interior plate, having
the inscription "D. D. Le
Leu D'Aubilly, dicat aui
graiitud coclo sculp De-
lailre."

Beneath the design is a
small shield, bearing azur,
a chevron or, between
three wolves' heads. The.

D'Aubilly is an old-estab-
lished R^mois family, to
whom the artist was under
obligations.

This interesting plate is
reproduced in " Les Biblio-
philes Rdmois," p. 103.

Delarbre. 1 8th cent.

Delatre, Ch. Modem.
Ex-libris Alberti Metzger,
Milhusini. Armorial. (See
reproduction.)

De Launay le jeune sculp,
J 779) on the armorial Ex
Libris Duchi^ designed by
P. Marillier. (See repro-
duction.)

Delauney. 19th cent.

Donn^ k la Biblioth^que de
la Ville de Paris, par

MDCCC.

Armorial ; pictorial.

DELCOURTy?/j, d. Tournay.
1 8th cent.

P. Deloysi sc. 17th cent.
On the handsome nameless
armorial plate of Pierre
Sarragoz, of Besanqon, who
died in 1649. Reproduced
in "Ex-Libris Ana."
Pierre Deloysi, styled Le
VieuXy was a goldsmith and
coin engraver in Besan^on.
Engravings by him are
now very rare.

Delteil, Loys. Modem.

D'Elvaux Sc.
On a nameless plate designed
by Monnet. i8th cent.

D'Embrun. 1 8th cent

Demengeot, C. 19th cent.
Signed, " Inv', 6r* Sculpt:' on
the library interior, inscribed
^"^ Bibliotlikque de Francis-
que Sarcey.^

De Meuse. 1 8th cent.

Demille, M. 19th cent

S S

•f

French Book-plates.

DS MONCHI.

" Papillon minoris." Canting
arms.
Deniszard, inv» et sculps.
On the ecclesiastical plate of
P. N. Vingtdeux, a priest
bibliophile of the eighteenth
century. (See " Les Biblio-
philes R^mois," p. 85.)
Derond/.
A. Leguien. Decorated
shield.
Derond, J. i8th cent.
Descaves, a. 19th cent.
Desmaison invenii^ 1780. L,
Chenu^f,
Ex-Libris Bouju. Armorial.
Desnoyers. 19th cent.
Deunel Sadp, 1767.

On a nameless plate having
the Grimaldi arms. This
might have belonged to
Charles Maurice Grimaldi,
chevalier de Monaco, comte
de Valentinois, who died in
1790. Motto: ^"^ Deo Ju-
vanteJ^
Devambez, Graveur d, Paris,
Auguste Vincent. (Musical
Composer.) Design, musi-
cal instruments. Modem.
L. P. Couraud.

Biblioth^que de Charles Mon-
selet. Library interior.
(See reproduction.)
Dieu, a. 1 8th cent.

Designed the handsome mono-
gram and trophy ex-libris
of Louis XV., which was
engraved by J. Audran.
DiGOUT, Nicolas. Modem.
Biblioth^que de Madame
Chavernac. Motto : " To
kill time or amende I am
a ready friend,^' Armorial ;
pictorial.
A. Docaigne/^^://, 1762.

Le Conftnissaire Laumonier.
Armorial

D'Orvasy, ^ Nancy, 18th
cent.

Doyen. i8th cent.

Dreer. 1 8th cent

Drevet, C. 1 8th cent

F. Gum BERT Droz fecit
On the armorial plate of
Philipe de Reynold. 173a
(Possibly Swiss.)

Dudout. Or Dudouit.
De Flaghac, Capne. de Dra-
gons. 1779. Armorial.
Motto, '^ Laudate anima
mea Dominum,"

DUFLOCQ. i8th cent

Cl. Duflos sculpsiL
On a handsome armorial plate
(after a design by Sebastien
Le Clerc)in 1701 for Geoff-
roy, ancien grand garde du
corps des Apothicaires de
Paris.
" Maithaeus Franciscus Geoff-
roy, Pharmacopoeorum
Parisiensium antiquior
PraefccttiSy aedilis et consul. ^^
Motto, " Turris fortissima
Deusr

DUFOUR-BOUQUOT. 19th cent

DUMONT. Modem.
A landscape with initials A.
D. (Mons. A. Duriez.) 1893.

Du Palluet. 1 8th cent

Duplais-Destouches. 1890.
Biblioth^que du Docteur Fdlix
Durosier.
Punning armorial.

Duplessis. 1 8th cent

DUPONT dcL et sculp.
Ex Libris A. Kuhnholtz
Lordat. Armorial ; pic-
torial. Modem.

DUPR#., J. R. 1 8th cent

Durand. 1 8th cent

M*". de Fenille. Armorial.

*.♦

A List of Artists and Engravers. 315

" George M**"*" de -Massol de
Serville. L*" Colonel de
Ca*^. Fils a Guillaume
L*"* General des arm^s
du Roy." Armorial.

Carolus de Brosses, Comes
Tomaci, etc. (who died in

1777).
Two armorial plates, similar

in design, but having differ-
ent inscriptions. (See "Les
Archives de la Soci^t^ Fran-
^aise," January, 1896.)
See A. Aveline for more de-
tails.
Ex-libris Thomassin.

Armorial.
Mr. De D'Alleray. Pictorial.
J. L. Ainard de Clermont-
Tonnere. Abbatis, etc.
Armorial ; ecclesiastical.
A. DURAND, Paris.
Dacquet. Pictorial.
This appears to be an old
design re-engraved.

Reproduced by Poulet-
Malassis, p. 3, 2nd edition.
He considers the design to
be of Flemish origin.
DURAND, D. V. 1 8th cent.

Named by Poulet-Malassis.
DURAND, ci Lyon, 19th cent.
Named by Poulet-Malassis.
DURAND. Liih, Melun,

Ex Libris P. Guiraudi, 1680 —
1880. With the arms of
Renaud, Genas, and Comte
de Balincourt. Motto,
" Da laborem dabofmcius^^
DURIG Sc.
Magon de Terlaye. Armo-
rial.
DURiG, d Lille, 1 8th cent.
Seraphin Malfait. Negociant
\ Lille. Pictorial.
DUSEIGNEUR, A. 19th cent.

DUSSIGMERT, M. 1874.

EiSEN, Charles.

Mde. d'Arconville. C. Eisen
deL Louise Le Daulceur
sculp, et in,

k M. d'Arconville. 1749. A
pictorial plate designed by
Louise Le Daulceur.

A nameless plate of M. de
Monteynard (see Poulet-
Malassis pp. 28, 61), en-
graved by Le Mire.

Ch, Eisen invenit^ on the
nameless armorial of the
Bishop Choiseul-Beaupr^ ;
C, Eisen del. on a nameless
plate, dated 1749, ^^^ cn~
graved by R. Strange ; and
Eisen inv. on a nameless
plate bearing the arms of
the Marquis de Paulmy.

It was to this marquis that
Eisen dedicated his work
entitled " CEuvre suivie
contenant diffirents sujets de
decorations et d ornements^
etcJ' This contained many
heraldic designs, cartouches
and decorative garlands,
from which the engravers
of his time frequently bor-
rowed hints for the orna-
mentation of their heraldic
ex-libris.
Etioles.

M^ P.L. N. Meulan.
Armorial.

Fassole, C. H. Strasbourg.
Modem.
Albert Richard. Pictorial.
Faugrand. 18th cent. .
Faure. 1 8th cent.
Fays. 1784.
De la Biblioth^que de Mr.
Fays. Par son fils en 1784.
Armorial.

3i6

French Book-plates.

F^RIET, A. DE (Nancy).
A. Bretagne. Directeur des
contributions directes. Nan-
cy. Pictorial. Modem.
Signed, H, Christophe^ exc.
Ex-libris Francisci de Chan-
teau. Armorial ; pictorial.
Signed, H. Christ ophe^exc,
Nancy.
Leon Germain. Nancy.
Pictorial.
Ferrand Sculp. 1730.

Michel, Comte de Faul-
tri^res. Exempt des Gardes
du Corps, etc. Armorial.
Mptto, " Tendre et FeaU'
(See reproduction.)
Ex. Fessard sculp, 1737.
On the plate of Jacobus Hen-
ricus Tribourdet, designed
by H. Gravelot.
C. F ICHOR del. 1 874. Ad Varin sc.
Biblioth6que du comte de
Lavaur de Ste. Fortunade.
Armorial.
Flamel, Nicolas.

M. Henri Bouchot reprints
a plate designed by this
artist for the Due de Berry
in fifteenth century style.
Flamen, a. B. 17th cent.
Guillaume Tronson. Motto,
** Virtuti non divitiis^^ (See
Poulet-Malassis, p. 22.)

FLAMENG, LI^OPOLD. 19th

cent.
Produced ex-libris for the bib-
liophile Pierre Deschamps,
and for the Docteur Gerard
Piogey.
Flipart. i8th cent.
FoN BONNE, M"*. 1 8th cent.
De Hansy, k Paris, 1768.
Library interior.

FONTANALS Z>/y^«, 1809.

FORNET Lith. 1893. (Alsatian.)
On the armorial plate of

EUimund Engelmann, of
Mulhouse.
Printed in colours, see " Les
Archives de la Soci^t^
Fran9aise," Juillet, 1894.
FoUGERON sculp.

Pembroke Society. Alle-
gorical.
FouQUET. 1 8th cent.
Froben.
Symbolum Conradi Lycos-

thenis.
(Before 1561 ; the earliest
known Alsatian ex-libris.)
See " Les Ex-Libris Alsa-
ciens."
J. C. Fran*, scul. Nanceii C.
Charles in. 1739.
On a nameless French plate,
no motto. (/. C. Franqois^
of Nancy.)
A. Francois sculp. 1827.

On a nameless armorial ; no
motto.

Gagneux, P. 17th cent.

C. O. Galimard sculp.

On a nameless armorial, de-
signed by C. Cochin fils,
for the Abbd Leblanc, and
on another, with the arms
of Poisson de Marigny, also
designed by Cochin, and
dated 1752.

Gallaudet, E.

John Chambers, Esq.
Chippendale ; armorial.

Gamot, Jos. i8th cent.

Ganhy, J. B. DE. 1 8th cent.

Gardette. (See De la Gar-
dette.)

Gaucher, Ch. De lAccuUmie
des Arts dc Londres,
Charles - Etienne Gaucher
was a pupil of Basan, and

A List of Artists and Engravers. 317

Le Bas, and famous as an
engraver of portraits.

Signed, C, Gaucher inc, 1775,
on plate of Cabre, — and
DessitU et gravi par Ch.
Gaucher de TAcad. desArts
de Londres on the plates of
Francois Grangier de La-
motte, etc., 1779, and Mes-
sire Andrd-Gaspard Parfait,
comte de Biz^mont-Prunel^,
1781. (See Biz^mont.)

Gaucher also designed a plate
for "Jac. Desmares in
senatu Paris," and one
bearing the arms of Siguier.
(See Poulet-Malassis,p. 66.)
Gaucherel. 1831.

Bibliotheca Pichoniana in-
choata ab anno 1831.

(R^touch^ par Ad. Varin en
1873.) Armorial.
Gaultier, Leonard. 17th
cent.

Nameless armorial. Alex-
andre Bouchart, Sieur de
Blosseville, etc., 161 1.
Reproduced by Henri Bou-
chot.

The earliest known dated
French armorial book-plate.
Gavarni. 19th cent.

(See M. Poulet-Malassis, p.
39.) He credits this cele-
brated caricaturist with
having designed the ex-
libris used by the brothers
Edmond and Jules de Gon-
court, authors of " L'Art du
dix-huiti^me sic^cle," and
other works written con-
jointly.

The book-plate is exceedingly
simple ; it represents a left
hand, two fingers of which
are pointing to the letters
E. J. traced on a sheet of

paper. This was engraved
by Jules de Goncourt him-
self.
C. G. Geisler, d, Geneve. i8th
cent.

Plate of J. L. Robillard, with
canting arms ; it is dated,
but very indistinctly.
George. i8th cent.

Due de Brissac. Armorial.
Georgel, M. Modem. (Ma-
dame Marie Georgel.)

Ex Libris Henri Tausin.
Pictorial. (See reproduc-
tion.)

A design for a headpiece for
the "Archives de la Soci^t^
Franqaise," vol. iii.

Ex Libris Marthe de Bomiol.
Initials on a lozenge, sur-
rounded by flowers, books,
and musical instruments.
Reproduced on p. 152, vol.
ii., " Archives de la Soci^t^
Fran^aise," i895,and a large
size, issued as a separate
plate.
Germain. i8th cent.
Giacomelli, H. Modem.

A son ami Conquet (L^on
Conquet). Reproduced by
M. Henri Bouchot.

M. Greppe, a fantaisie de-
signed by Giacomelli, and
engraved by Abot.

Giacomelli also designed
plates of an equally artistic
character for Ballon, Ba-
voillot, Chevrier, Franqois
Courboin, Georges Oujples-
sis (Conservateur du Cabi-
net des Estampes), Paillet,
Pi^dagnel, Sciama, and
many others.
GlFFART, P. 17th cent

Petrus Bulteau de Pr^ville
Miles. Armorial.

3i8

French Book-plates.

De Villers de Rousseville.
Large armorialin two states,
both rare.
GiKFART, p. 1 8th cent.

Nameless armorial plate.
Motto, " Antigua /EtaU
decorae"
Gilbert. 17th cent.
GiLLOR sc. Modem.

Ex Libris Paul Bellon. Liter-
ary. (See Henri Bouchot,
page 75) '

GiRALDON, ADOLPHE. IQth

cent.
Biblioth6que de Mr. de Pel-
lerin de Latouche. Motto,
^^ Est-il meillcure munition
d, cet humain pilerinagef^^
Armorial.

GiRARD, H. 19th cent.

Glomy. 1 8th cent.

Goby Sc, r, du Bac. 19th cent.
Guerrier du Maste. A literary
plate, about 1830.

GODARD, d, AUnqon. i8th cent.

A. GODREUIL del. 1867.

Biblioth^que du Montessart
(Baron Pichon). Landscape.
(See also A. Guillaumet and
Varin.)

GossART. 1 8th cent.

Mr. Le Vte. de Gauville. Ar-
morial. No motto.

GOSSELIN. 1770.

GOSSET, J. 1 8th cent.

Nameless armorial plate. No
motto or date.
GOUEL, P.

Ex-libris H^rambourg, 1777.

A nameless armorial, dated

1778.
GOUJEAN. Modem.

Alfred Piet. Pictorial.
Gozo (Gozora). 19th cent.
J. Grandjean Sc. Modem.

Ex-libris Francisci de Chan-
teau. (See reproduction.)

H. Gravelot, invenit Dela-
fosse scuipsit.

N ameless library interior ( Aca-
d^mie de Nancy), 1751.

H. Gravelot inv. Major sc^
1747, on the nameless plate
(probably that of an actor),
with the motto ^^Fcicies mu-
tat sempergue d^center**

On the plate of Mr. Thiroux
d'Arconville, President au
Parlement. Mde. Le D.
(Daulceur) sculp.

Also the plates of Thiroux de
Gervillier,and Jacobus Hen-
ricus Tribourdet, 1737.

The signatures Gravelot inv,
/. Pine sculp., are found on
the armorial library interior
plate of J. Burton, D.D., of
which the design was ap-
propriated for the plates of
Wadham Wyndham, Esq.,
and Thomas Gaisford.
(See Poulet-Malassis, page

59.)
Grkgoire i) l\cnnes.

" Ecuyer Patrice Sus. Hamart

de la Chapelle. Cons, du

Roi, etc. Docteur Aqr. au

College des Medecins de

Rennes." Large armorial.

Gribelin, Simon. A French

engraver who came to Enj^-

land about 1680, and died m

1733.
He signed S. Grtbeltn sculp,

on the plate of Sr. Philip

Sydenham, Bart., 1699, and

engraved plates for several

other English people, and

for parochial libraries.

Grostost, F. Lithographer of

Strasbourg. Modem.

Signed the charming little

nameless pictorial plate of

M. Jacques Flach, formerly

A L ist of A rtists and Engravers. 3 1 9

of Strasbourg, afterwards a
solicitor in Paris. It is on
this plate that the lines ad-
dressed to the owner's books
occur :
^^Plaisants^je xfous aimej

Sdrieux aussi^
FrivoUs de mime;

Pidants^ tnerci! "
(See " Ex-Libris Alsaciens,"
page 21.)
Groux, Henri de. Modem.

M. R^my de Gourmont.
Gu^RARD, d Beaucaire, i8th

cent.
GUERARD, N.

R. P. Placidia Sta. Helena.
Aug. disc. Gal. Regio Geo-
graphi. Pictorial. Motto,
"/« hoc si^io vinces,"

Nicolas Guibal. Peintre or-
dinaire du Due de Wirtem-
berg. Born at Luneville.
(See "Archives de la
Soci^t^ Franqaisc," vol. ii.,
March, 1895.)
Designed a book-plate for
himself, dated 1775, "N.
Guibal, Pr. Peintre du Due
de Wurtemberg." Literary.

GuiBERT, J. B. 18th cent.

Emile Guillaudin Sc. 1881.
Boscary de Villeplaine.
Armorial.

T. G. GUILLAUME sc.
Cottin de Fontaine. Early
Armorial. 17th cent.

GuiLLAUME. 1 8th cent.

A. GUILLAUMET SC, 1 867. A.

Godreuil del.
Biblioth^que du Montessart
(Baron Pichon). Land-
scape.
GUSTAVE. 19th cent.

Halm Sculp, 1766.

On two nameless plates de-
signed by Wille Jilius,
Halm was probably a pupil
of Wille senior.
Hameu 19th cent.
Helm AN. 1767, 1768.
"J'appartiens a Cleenewerek
de Crayencour."
Armonal. Three states.
Helman Ujeune, i8th cent.
H^risset sculp, 18th cent.
De la Bibliothdque de Mr. Le
Cat, Docteur en MMec :
etc., 1 741.
Doctor Le Cat was a famous
French surgeon, bom in
1 700. An allegorical design.
Hillemacher, Fr^d^ric.
A talented engraver, who illus-
trated the edition of Moli6re
published by Perrin of
Lyons, died 1886. He en-
graved bookplates for
Georges Champion,
Eugene Piot, the bibliophile,
and one for himself : "Biblio-
th^que de Fr^d^ric Hille-
macher."
HiRSCH. 19th cent.
Houat. Ex bibliot Costeana.

Armorial.
A. HoUAT, raini^. i8th cent.
Humbelot. i8th cent.
HuOT, G. Paris. Modem.
A. P. (Pontilly— Monogram.)
(See reproduction, p. 321.)
Ex Libris Farnou. See in

"Ex-Libris Ana."
Ex Libris Bosch, a curious

allegorical design.
Ex Libris de A. Hustin.
Monogram.
HUQUIER, J. G. 1 8th cent.
Jacques Gabriel Huquieryf/r,
signed his own pictorial Ex
Libris J, G, Huquier (see in
"Ex-Libris Ana," p. 9). He

320

Frencft Book-plates.

also designed and engravea
a handsome plate for Le
Berchc, and the pictorial

Ex LibrisG. Bernard deRieux,
signed Huquier sculp, docq,
inv.

Both Huquier senior and Hu-
quier junior had the same
Christian names, and as
both were en|f ravers in
Paris their identity is some-
what confusing. The father
died in 1772, the son twenty
years later.

Ingram, J. i8th cent.
Collcg. Scotor. in Acad. Paris.
Armorial ; pictorial ; eccle-
siastical. (Sec " Ex-Libris
Ana," p. 55.)
He also engraved the Ex
Libris Le Vassor de la
Touche, designed by C. N.
Cochin yf/j.
P. C. I. ifiv, et sc, 1785.

Signed the nameless plate of
Joseph Fromenf, with the
motto ''^[ynus incrementum
datr

Jacquemart, Jules. Modem.
Libraire Techener.
Philippe Burly.
Biblioth^que du Chiteau

d'Aramon.
(M. Jules Jacquemart, a clever
eau-fortiste^ died in Paris in
1880.)
Jacques {ct Rouen). i8th cent.
C. Bailli^re. Academ. Rothom.
(Rouen). Pictorial, with
scientific instruments.
Jacquot. 1 8th cent.
Janinet, F. 1 8th cent.
Jkanjean. 1 8th cent.

A nameless armorial, signed
Jeanjean sculp, is described
in " Les Archives de la
Soci^td Franqaise," April,
1895.

JEUNE, David. Nimes, 1885.
Vauvert, " Prosper FcUgat-
rolU:'

JONVEAUX/. 19th cent
Claudius Nassd, pastor.
Armorial.

JONVEAUX. (Of Verdun.) i8th
■ cent.
Signed an armorial plate for
Raimondus Lamarre, and
another almost identical for
a Doctor Clouet. Both
plates are reproduced in the
"Archives de la Socidt^
Fran^aise," vol. ii., p. 37.

L. JOUBERT inv. et sc.
Ex Libris AnnemundiCharret.
Annorial. 1 8th cent.

Fme. Jourdan sculp. 1788.
Biblioth^que de M. le V»*=. de
Bourbon - Busset, Premier
Gentilhomme de la Cham-
bre, etc.
On this plate the Vicomte
claimed relationship with
the Royal family of France,
by his arms and supporters,
but in 1793 he deemed
it advisable to cover his
arms and high sounding
titles with a simple label
bearing the inscription
" Biblioth^quc de Louis
Antoinc Paul Bourbon-
Busset^ Citoyen Fran^ais^
1793." (Sec reproductions.)
Bourbon- Busset was born at
Busset, the 19th November,
J 753 ; he survived the Terror
and died in Paris, February
9, 1802. Guigard mentions
the " Catalogue des livres

A List of Artists 'an^ Engravers. 32 1

dt la BibUothique de/eu le
citoyen Bourbon-Busset, 2o
nivose an xi. Paris : Sil-

JUDiE. igih cent.
UNDT, GUSTAVE. Di Stras-
bourg. 19th cent.
Composed the bookplate for

LACOSTE. 19th cent.

Ladame. 17th cent.
EngTBved several book-plates
which were afterwards re-
produced in the " Armorial
de Segoing."

Lalauze. 19th cent.

Lalauze, Adoi.phe. 19th cent.

Ex Libris Aubert Raymond.

This pretty little faniaisie

IIOOK-PLATE OF PONTILLV.

By G. Huot.

Kraus, J. U,
Ex-libris Bibliothecae D.
Zach. Conr. ab Uffenbach.
M. F. Two siies. See
"Ex-Libris Alsacieos."

Armorial.
Lackappelle, p. i8ih ceni
Lachaum^E. i8lh cent.
La Comparde. tSih cent.

plate is reproduced ii
Bibliophiles R^mois,

page

K. D. (Adolphe Uauphinot,
membre titulaire de I'Aca-
ddmie de Reims.) This
design is also reproduced in
" Les Bibliophiles RSmois,"
page 96. It represents the
Museof Painting supporting
a shield on which are the
arms of Reims ; below are
books, engravings, and gu ns,

322

French Book-plates.

whilst above are two dol-
phinS) in allusion to the
name of the owner.

M. Dauphinot is an enthu-
siastic collector of engrav-
ings.

C. Glinel. Fantaisie.

Mons. Charles Glinel was the
author of a " Bibliography of
Alexandre Dumas," pub-
lished in Reims, in 1884.

E. L. (Mons. Ernest Lemaitre,
a solicitor of Laon). Fan-
taisie. Motto, " Mieux qui
pourraJ*

V. M. (Mons. Victor Marteau,
who designed this plate for
himself, and had it engraved
by Mons. Lalauze). The
design shows a cupid sitting
on a book, holding a ham-
mer (marteau). In the
background are emblems of
manufacturing industry.

This plate is reproduced in
" Les Bibliophiles Rdmois,"
page 1 10.
l^KUqoii fecit. 1 8th cent.

Charles Francois Dumars de
Vaudoncour. Armorial.
About 1750.
Lancelev^e, L. Modem.

Le Theil pres Bernay (Eure).

An armonal plate for la Com-
tesse Le Pellerin de Gau-
ville, reproduced in " Les
Archives dela Soci^t^ Fran-
^aise," Mai, 1896, with a his-
tory of the family, Lei'heil.
Lanqon, d Nancy. i8th cent.
Landry sculpsit. 17th cent.

Messire Paul Armand Lang-
lois, chevalier, conseiller du
Roy en ses conseils et
Maistre Ordinaire de son
hostel.

A handsome armorial.

Lapaix, C. 1878.
Ex Libris F. des Robert.

Armorial.
L^on Le Brun. 1884.
Armorial.

Laporterie 5c. 1 8th cent.
De Bourscheit Burgbroel, etc.
Armorial.

De la Laune del. et sc, i8th
cent.
Mr. Chanorier. Armorial.

A. Lavau Sculp, d Bordeaux,
De la Biblioth^que de Mr. de
Thilorieur Conseilleur au
Parlement de Bordeaux,
1765. M«. des Requites,
1 776. Armorial.

Lebas, 1 74 1.

Lebeau. 1 8th cent.
Antoine Louis Du Pr^ de St.
Maur Officier aux Gardes
fran9oises, par son trh h.
Serviteur Lebeau.
This officer was bom in 1 743,
and married in 1774, about
which period, probably, this
elegant trophy plate was
engraved. It was repro-
duced in the "Archives de
la Soci^td Fran9aise," Oct.
1894.

LeBlond. DessifU et gravi
par Le Blond^ on a name-
less armorial, dated 1785.
A modem armorial plate for
Thomas Harrison is signed
''Le Blond sc. 4 Walbrook:'

Le Clerc, G. 17th cent.

Le Clerc, S^bastien. 17th
cent.
A famous engraver of Metz,
and afterwards of Paris,
whose works were described
by Jombert in his "Cata-
logue raisonn^ de I'oeuvre
de Seb. Le Clerc" (Paris,
1774), in which mention is

A List of Artists and Engravers. 323

made of seven armorial
"marques de biblioth^ques"
all signed by him.

Poulet-Malassis mentions four
others, in different sizes, all
for Nicolas Martigny de
Marsal, all signed, and
two dated 1655 and 1660.

In 1 701, he signed 5. Le Clerc
invenit on the armorial plate
inscribed ^^ Matthaus I^ran-
ciscus Geoffroy^^ which was
engraved by CI. Duflos.
This design was afterwards
appropriated by P. Picaut,
(or Picault) for a M. Veron-
neau of Blois. Jombert,
in his catalogue, described
this plate for M. Geoffroy,
on which the motto
was, ** Turris fortissima

S. Le Clerc is credited with
having been the first to de-
part from the formal, but
correct heraldic style, as
shown on the plates of An-
dr^ Felibien, and Alexandre
Petau, in order to adopt the
oval shield (of Italian ori-
gin) set in a foliated car-
touche, the Renaissance
style, in fact, which gradu-
ally developed into the
Louis XIV. style.

See "Ex-Libris Ana" (p. 31),
for further details about the
works of Le Clerc. The
following plates are named
as engraved by him :

Jean Baptiste de Jouanne,
Marquis de Saumery.

Pierre Le Febvre (of Metz).

Maurice Le Tellier, arche-
veque de Reims.

Denis Godefroy de Tralage.

M. de la Reynie.

Bibliotheca Thuana.

Le Due de Bouillon.

Etiennc I^aluze.

M. de Beringhen. Repro-
duced by M. Henri Bou-
chot.
Leclere. 1 8th cent.
Louise Le Daulceur. i8th
cent.

This clever engraver signed
her name in several ways.

LeD.

Louise Le D. scuip,

Madame Lc D.

Louise Le Daulceur.

Daul sculp,

L. Daul sculp.

Louise Daul :

She herself had two book-
plates, one inscribed M***
Le Daulceur, is signed "AV.
Bouchardon in. del. Louise
Le D. sculp ^^ the other, a
smaller one, is not signed.

Madlle. Le Daulceur studied
under Bouchardon, and in
examining the plates signed
by her, it will be seen that
she engraved after designs
furnished by Bouchardon,
Pierre, H. Gravelot, C.
Eisen, and Durand, whilst
Poulet-Malassis speaks of
her as " une femme du
monde, amateur de talent,
gracieux interm^iaire en-
tre les artistes ses mattres et
ses amis."

H^r talents appear to have
been principally devoted to
illustrating books of poems
for her friends, and it is
supposed that the ex-libris
she engraved were prob-
ably works of love. The
following is a list of thenL

La Comtesse de Mellet, two,

324

French Book-plates.

one after Rouchardoii) the
other signed : Le D.

Montigny— two, a large and a
small one.

MigTiot de Montigny — after
Pierre.

Le Comte Thiroux de Ger-
villier — after Gravelot.

Thiroux d'Arconville — after
Gravelot.

Madame d'Arconville — after
C. Eisen.

(This, signed in full, Louise
Le Daulceur sculp, et inv.
is reproduced on p. 218,
" Ladies' Book-plates.")

Madame Du Tailly.

Madame d'Alleray — after Du-
rand.

There is also a delicate little
plate of Mademoiselle
d'Alleray, with the arms on a
lozenge supported by a wild
rosebush, which has been
attributed to Louise Le
Daulceur, but it is not
signed. The original plate
is in the possession of Dr.
Bouland, President of the
French Society, and im-
pressions from it were issued
with the "Archives de la
Soci^td Fran^aise," in June,

1894.

Le Due, ViOLLET. 19th cent.

Le F^RON, d. Rennesy 1767.

LEFfevRE. 19th cent.

L. Le Grand scuip. i8thcent.
Nameless armorial plate, for
Madame Du Barry. Motto,
" Boutez en avantP
This plate was engraved by
Le Grand after a design by
Cochin fils some time before
1774. It has two shields
and supporters, and what is
somewhat unusual in French

book-plates, there is a crest
above the coronet.
Poulet-Malassis is of opinion
that this plate was little
used by Madame Du Barry,
whose books, handsomely
bound in red morocco, bore
her arms stamped in gold
on the sides. Louis XV.
remarked, "La Marquise
de Pompadour avait plus de
livres que la comtesse, mais
ils n'dtaient pas si bien
relids, ni si bien choisis."

Legros, Alphonse, 19th cent.
About 1874, this artist (who
then resided in London)
engraved the copper for the
well-known Ex libris Uon
Gambetta, of which only a
few impressions were taken,
and these were never em-
ployed as book-plates.
Forgeries exist, and have been
sold by the dealers in large
numbers.
The original plates may be
known by a small circle on
the bottom left-hand comer
of the design in which are
the letters A.B. See "Ar-
chives de la Socidtd Fran-
qaise," April, 1895, with
which was issued an impres-
sion from the original
copper.

Leguay, EuGfeNE. Modem.
Ex Libris Eu^^ne Leguay.
Reproduced m "Ex-Libns
Ana."

Lejeune. 1 8th cent.

Le Keux, J. H. Mr. Le Keux,
although of French Hu-
guenot descent worked in
England all his life, and
died in Durham on February
4, 1896. He is best known

A List of Artists and Engravers. 325

from his engravings for the
architectural works by
Pugin, Ruskin, Wright and

He did a handsome seal book-
plate for himself, and others
for English owners ; indeed,
his name is only included

Marchionis de Beaufibrt et
de Mondicourt. Armorial.
See "Archives de la Soci^t^
Fran^ise," voL i,, p. 140.

Lemaitre, 1772.

Le Masson, Antoine. 17th

N. Lk Mirk inv. el sculp.

HOOK-PlJlTE OF J. H. LE KEUX.

here because its French
appearance might mislead
im inexperienced collector.

E. libris Julianc Hoyd. 1877.

Edward Arthur White, F.S.A.
1878. Seal.
Leix)ik. Modem.

M. Maurice Faulcjue de Jon-
quil res. Fantaisie.
Lemaire sculp. i3th cent.

Ex libris Caroli Ludovici
Alexandri de BeaufTort,

On the allegorical ex-libris of
the author, J, B. Descamps.

Ex libris J. J. Isambert, 1746.
Armorial ; pictorial.

He alsocngraved the elaborate
nameless plate of M. de
Montaynard, designed by
Ch. Eisen. This desigtt
wasafterward sappropriated
for the book-plaie of M. de
Noyel. (See Pouiet-Ma-
lassis, pp. 38, 31.)

326

French Book-plates.

"N. Le y^\x^ sculp, 1 777 "on a
plate designed by J. Moreau
for the Marquis de Rognes.
(See Moreau.)
Le Roux, J. 1704.
Nicolas Remy Frizon de Bla-
mont, President au Parle-
ment. Signed " J. Le Roux
f. k Paris le 14 aoCist 1704."
M. Frizon de Blamont had
another plate dated 1694.
(See " Les Bibliophiles R^-
mois," p. 66.)
J. Le Ko\ fecit 1782.

Des Livres de Mr. Dubut

Cur^ de Viroflay, etc.
Armorial ; ecclesiastical
(See reproduction.)

(This artist must not be
confounded with CI. Roy.)
Le Sage. i8th cent
Letort, Gravenr, Rue Cos-
tiglione. Modem.
T. J. Foord Bowes. Armorial.
Le Veau.

Ex libris de Brinon.
Ex libris Jouvencel.
LiZARS. 19th cent
E. Loizelet Jt7//^. Juin, 1876.
Ex Libris A. Beurdeley.
A floral design.
LORDONN^/ Adole.
De Saporta. Armorial.
Motto, " Fortis Custodial
LOREAU d, St, Omer, iSth cent.
Louis de Givenchy. Armorial.
LORPHELIN d, Clennont,

Nameless decorated armorial.
Lorthier/ 18th cent

De la Biblioteque de L^large
Officier au grenier k sel de
Reims.
This rococo plate is repro-
duced in ** Les Bibliophiles
R^mois," page 76. The
Ldlarge family still exists in
Reims.

Joannes de Loysi fecit^ 1659,
Nameless armorial, two varie-
ties. Qy. Philippe.

LOYSi, P. De. See P. Deloysi.

Luc. 19th cent.

Lucas delineav, et fee, k M. le
Mquis de Courtarvel.
Armorial. Military trophy.
1 8th cent

LussAUT. 18th cent

C. M. M.
Ant Duchene. Prevot des
Batims. du Roi. Armorial
Maingourd, E. 19th cent
Major, sc, 1747.
On a nameless plate, designed
by H. Gravelot, with the
motto ''''Fogies mutat sem-
perque decenter!^
Malbeste, a Paris^ 1827.
Ex Bibliotheca Seren"*. Prin-
cipis Friderici de Salm-
Kyrburg, anno 1827.
Mantled armorial.
Mandormet//. 17—.
Ex Musa^o Cli. Imbert.
Armorial
Manesse, H. 19th cent
Manessier. 18th cent
Manfui/

L'abb^ Johann Bapti Bema.
Literary.
R. G. Manuel inv, i8th cent
Rud. Gab. Manuel. Armorial.
LEOPOLD Mar, Paris,

Ex Libris L. Mar 1895.
March AND. i8th cent
C. C. Marechal, 1785.

On a nameless plate with the
inscription : ^^ Papier par-
ley, guand less Boucne se
taisent" {sic),
Maretz. 17th cent
P. Marillier inv. et del, 1779
on the armorial Ex Libris

A List of Artists and Engravers. 327

DucJU^ engraved by De
Launay le ieune. (See
reproduction.)
Marotte, L60N. Modem.
Designed and engraved an
interesting plate for J.
Cartault. Motto, ^^Chacun
d son tourJ^
A. Martial / Imp. Beillet,
Quai de la Toumelle, 35,
Paris.
On the library interior of
Henry d'Ideville, dated
1867, with the motto, "Fais
ce que dots advienne que
pourraJ^
Martinet del. fee.
Ex Libris J. T. Aubry.

Monogram. i8th cent.
Ex libris Joannis Thomae
Aubry. Doct. Theol. Soc.
Sorb. Rectoris S. Ludovici
in insuli. Motto, " Ite ad
vendentes et emite vobisP
^ J. T. Aubry was cur^ de Saint
Louis en I'lle, Paris.
See ** Les Bibliophiles R^-
mois," page 180.
Math (Mathan). 17th cent.
Mathey Scidp.
Mr. Brochant du Breiul,
Conseiller au Parlement.
Armorial. i8th cent.
Matthis, C. E. Alsatian artist
"^ mon cher ami Louis Mohr^
1879." This plate has the
lines :
" Tel est le triste sort de tout

livre pp'St/,
Souvent il est perdUy toujours

ilestgdtd:'
See " Ex- Libris Alsaciens."
Maugein, M. 1 8th cent
Mauriset. 1 8th cent
Maurisset, J. C. 1 8th cent
Mavelot, Graveur de Made-
moiselle.

Louis Francois du Bouchet,
Marquis de Souches con-
seiller d'Estat prevost de
L'Hostel et Grand Prevost
de France. 17th cent
Meissonier. Modem.

This famous artist signed with
his well-known monogram
the plate for Vigeant, the
fencing master. It repre-
sents two monkeys with
drawn swords.
Motto, ** Ense Vigeant**
Mercadier, J. i8th cent

"y* Mercadier inv. et sculp**
on the very fine armorial
ecclesiastical plate : —

Franciscus Tristanus de Cam-
bon Episcopus Mirapiscen-
cis.

Plate mark 94x7.
MERCHEySr^V.

A L'Hospital Comtesse, 1753.
A lad/s armorial plate.
Mr. Taveme de Burgault, 1771.

Armorial.
Merchi^: d Lille,

Henricus Le Couvreur canon-
icus Ipprensis.

(The coronet was cut out at
the time of the Revolution.)

Felix de Wavrans, Episc.
Iprensis, 1762. Armorial.

Mr. le Ch**. de Palys Mont-
repos, 1769. Armorial.
Merch^ Graveur des Etats^ d
LUle, 1772.

J. Bowens. 1772. Armorial.
J. C. D. Merch^ 1786.
Merlot Feat.

Le Chevalier de la Cres-
sonniere. Armorial i8th
cent
C. Merves del. Imp, Lemer-
cier6f*Cie., 1887.

Ex Libris F. N. J. Edouard
Schutzenberger anden bil-

328

French Book-plates.

tonnier de I'ordre des avo-
cats de St. Di^ Pictorial.
Mess ACER Sculp.

Ex Libris Joannis Baptistae
Riviere. Regis Poloniae
Elect. Saxon. Legationia
Secretarii. Pictorial i8th
cent.
Metivet, L. Modem.

Biblioth^que Eug. Jacob.
Angels on Jacob's ladder,
signed L, M.
Metzger, J. R. (of Strasbourg).

Designed and engraved the
armorial plate, " Ex biblio-
theca Schoepfliniana " in
1762. See " Ex- Libris Alsa-
ciens," p. 33.
P. H. Chappron Meusnier

ifiv. et sculp, on the Ex Libris

Chappron, 1762.
MlCAUD/<r6-. 1 8th cent.

F. N. E. Droz. Causidici
Acad. Bisunt (Besan9on)
socii. Armorial ; pictorial.
Female figure holding a
MS. inscribed ''^ Histoire
de Pontarlier^^
J. Michel //i? Genhve,

Signed ''^Michel fecit^ Arela-
tensis^^ on a nameless ar-
morial, dated 1727, and
''Michel fecit A relate (Aries)
on the armorial Ex Libris
D. G. De Loinville, 1727.

"y. Michel invefi, et incidit
Avenione^^ (Avignon), on a
nameless armorial, dated
1730.

"y. Michel Gefievensts inv,
deli et incidit Avenione " on
the armorial plate of Ville-
neuve de Martignan, 1732.

''Michel sculpr on the armo-
rial ex libris of D. De Pel-
lissier, 1732, and of Andrae
Barthcl dated 1733.

Michel, Marius.

Monogram plate.
MiLLifeRE sculp,^ 1782. Jom-
bert inv,
D. P. (De Prony). Floral
design.
MoiTTE. 1 8th cent.
MoNCHi, DE. 1 8th cent
C. Monet del.

Ex libris Souchay, EqK, Lug-
duni, 1776. Engraved by
P. P. Choffard. Repro-
duced in " Ex-Libris Ana,"
Poulet-Malassis ascribes an-
other plate to him, signed
"Monnetinv, HElvaux scJ^
MONIER sculp.
Ludovico Vacher Pastori
Vitellensi, 1768. (Curd de
Vitteaux, C6te D'Or.)

A punning armorial. (See
reproduction.)
L. MONNIER fecit, Diviotie
1762.
Ex Libris P. A. Convers Lau-
donensis. Armorial.
MONNIER. 1 8th cent.
Ex Libris Claudii Thibault,
1768. Armorial festoon.
L. MoNNiER, Modem.
Le Belin. Canting arms.

J. D. DE MONTALEGRE fecit,

1 8th cent.
On a nameless plate, query of
Polycarp Muellen, about
1740. Pictorial. P.M. in
monogram. Two sizes.

Francois Montulay fecit.
Ex Libris Delaleu. 1754.
Armorial ; pictorial. (See
reproduction.)

Montulay letUe.

(For Montulay I'aind.)
Signed a nameless armorial
book-plate for Jules-Har-
douin Mansart, the cele-
brated architect, who was

A List of Artists and Engravers. 329

Director of Public Buildings
under Louis XIV. I7thccnt.
J. N. MOREAU, U Jeune signed
inv. et sculp., 1770, on
the annorial plate " Du
Cabinet de livres de A. P.

" Moreaii i. f/j." on the name-
less, armorial of Moreau
A'Hem^rfj^.TiAJ.M.Moreau
Jeune on a nameless plate,
dated 1766. (See Poulet-
Malassis, page 63.)

BOOK-PLATE OF }. REUSS.

de Fontenay, Sgr. de Som-
mant," etc. ; andy. Moreaii
del. on the Ex libris Mar-
quis de Rognes, 1777.

" Moreau sculp." on the Ex
Libris Ludovici des Champs
des Toumelles.

" Moreau in. fecit 1 768 " on a
nameless armorial.

C. MOTTEROZ Imp. Modem. '
De la Bibliotheque de Jules
Richard.
MOULiNNEUF. i8th cent
MOYNIER, L, Modem.
£x Libris L. Moynier, :
Monogram.

MOYREAU, M

1873.

330

French Book-plates.

MtJLLER. 1779.

J. Reuss. Armorial ; pic-
toriaL {Par son ami Miiller
1779.) Seep. 329.

Nicole ^ Nancy,
Nameless armorial plate, 1 744,

and another dated 1745, ^^^

to be for Le Preudhomme

de Fontenay.
Mr. L'AbW de Seichamps,

1 747. Armorial.
Mr. le President Gallois,

Con". d'Etat. 1 763.

Armorial.
DelaBiblioth^quede Linsigne

E^lise Primatialle de Lor-

rame, 1767.

(See reproduction.)
Le Chevalier Dumars de Vau-

doncour, etc., 1753.

Armorial ; pictorial.
Mr. de Provench^res. 1762.

Armorial. No motto.
And a large number of other

dated plates.
Nicole fils^ d, Nancy ^ 1754,

1755.
NiON. 1 8th cent.

NOBLIN. 1 8th cent.

Ad. Noel^-. Modem.
Ex Libris de Marie Georgel.
Reproduced on page 219,
" Ladies' Book-plates."

Pierre Nolin, 1650.
Signed an armorial plate for
** Charles, Marquis et Comte
de Rostaing," and " Mre.
Simon Chauuel, Chevalier
Seigneur de la Pigeonni^re,
Conseillerdu Roy," etc., both
of which were reproduced
in the "Tr^sor H^raldique
Armorial," published by
Charles Segoing in 1657,
containing copies of more
than sixty other book-plates

either by Pierre Nolin, or
borrowed by him from the
owners, or from other en-
gravers. (See Poulet-
Malassis, page 25.)

NONOT /<?«/. 1 8th cent
Manchon. ArmoriaL

NoNOT, Charlotte. 18th
cent.

T. NouviAN sculp. Modem.
Ldon Germain, Nancy. (See
reproduction.)

Oberkampff. Modem.

Ex Libris Bilco. Literary.
Oblin sc,
Biblioth^que de Mr. Berryer.
Araiorial festoon. Berryer
had another armorial pLate,
not signed.
(See reproduction.)
Ogier, d, Lyony 1696.
And signed Ogier fe Lugduni
(Lyons), 1704, on the name-
less plate of Froissard-
Broissia.
Ollivault h Rennes, i8th
cent
J. C. Villers. Books, violin,

etc.
De la Biblioth^que de Laus-

sat
Ex Libris de Mr. de Sarrobert
Armorial.
Ollivault, i Paris^ 1788.
Madame du Bu de Long-
champ, 1 79-.
Livres de M. N. de Chiteau-
Giron. A charming design.
Motto, ^^ Penses y ce que
vous voudrez^^
Reproduced in "Ex- Libris
Ana," page 20.

P. Pagnier, 1879.
• Ex Bibli. Lardet. Armorial.

'■ --•IT-*''
.■ii.'iasa,

NAMKLKSS BOOK-PLATE BY B. PICART.

332

French Book-plates.

M. Palaiseau sc.
Ex Libris Alphei Cazenave

Doct**. Medici: 1835.
Ex Libris Le Roy, Doct^
Medici. 1835.
Palli^re, F. 1 8th cent
De la Biblioth^que de Mr. de
Polverel, Ecuyer. Avocat
au Parlement
Decorated armorial.
Lamouroux. ArmoriaL
Palluet, Du.
J. A. T. Chambon de Contag-
net. Armorial. No motto.
Papillon.
On a nameless plate, dated

1764.

On a pictorial plate, dated
1 77 1, with the motto,
" Tuetur et nutrit^^ and
below it the inscription,
" Cong. Miss, Sent, S, Car.
PictP This was reproduced
on p. 172, vol. i., "Archives
de la Soci^t^ Fran^aise,"
with the question if it could
have been the Ex-libris be-
longing to a Seminary of
Saint Charles at Poitiers.
Pariset sc. 1 8th cent.

On the armorial Ex Libris
Joannis Laurentii Aubld
designed by F. Boucher.

A handsome plate reproduced
by Poulet-Malassis, p. 58.
P. Pascalon inv. del.

On the Ex Libris C. B««».
(Ch. Bayard of Lyons,) en-
graved by P. A. Varin in

1879.
Pegard, J. 19th cent.
H. Pellissier sc. d Marseille^

1895.
Ex Libris P. Dor.

Armorial ; literary.

Perret, Marius.

Ex Libris for a "Catalogue

des ouvrages condamn^."
Reproduced by Henri
Boucbot.
Louis Perrin, Lyon. Modem.

De la Biblioth^que duChiteau
de Toury-sur-Abron.

Armorial.
Perry, F. 19th cent.
Phelippeau, C. 1 8th cent
Picart/?. 17th cent

Nameless armorial plate. (Ex
libris d'Auzoles.} Motto,
" Sub zodiaco vales^
Reproduced in Ponlet-
Msdassis, p. 11.
B. PiCART. 1 8th cent

A nameless pictorial plate.
Interior of a printing office.
Motto, " Vitam martuts
reddo:'

"B. Picart del. 17 18." On a
nameless library interior.
Motto, " Uni vero."* (See
reproduction, p. 331.)

Ex libris Jean Gabriel Peltier
de Cholet, 1728.

''B. Picart dir. 172s'' Name-
less armorial plate. Motto,
''^Sapere aitde." (Qy. arms of
George, Viscount Parker.)

"-ff. Picart del. et sculp, 1 729."
On a nameless armorial with
supporters. No motta
Bernard Picart designed an
allegorical plate for Prosper
Marchand. (See Poulet-
Malassis, p. 31 ; he does not
mention the period.)
E. PiCARD del. Modem.

Ex Libris Ernest Petit. Imita-
tion of an ancient seal,
Picart, Jacques. 17th cent

Some of his heraldic designs
were included in the "Tr^sor
H^raldique Armorial," pub-
lished by Charles S^going
in 1657.

A List of Artists and Engravers. 333

Joan ^kkkt fecit.
On the plate of De Justel.

Armorial. No motio. i7tb

cent.
Ex libris Dc Chaponay.

(PHvot des Marchands de

la ville de Lyon en 1627.)

P. PiCAULT, i Blots. iSthcenL
Poulet-Malassis says he stole
a design by S^bastien Le
Clerc, and used it on a plate
for a Mons. V^ronneau of
Blois.

Pierre dt/. 18th c

BOOK-PLATE OP LOUIS CLAUDE DAQUIN, ORCAMST.

Signed y0(»t Picart tncidil.
(See Poulet-Malassis, p. 9.}
J. PiCART sc. 17th cent

Nameless armorial. Les fibres
Sainte Marthe. (See I'oulet-
Malassis, p. 13.)

Nameless armorial of Le Puy
du Kou. (See Poulet-
Malassis, p. 15.)

On the plate of Mr. Mignot
de Montigny, engravea by
Louise Le Daulceur.
PiLLE, Henri.
Designed the modem punning
plate of E. Tabouriech.
F. PiLSEN,/. iSth cenL
On the Ex libris of Louis
Claude Daquia, a celebrated

334

French Book-plates.

organist of the church of
Saint Paul, Paris, who died
in Paris, 1772. His initials
L. C. D. are in a Louis XV.
cartouche, on which are
resting musical instruments
and books.
This plate is in the collection
of the Biblioth^c^ue Nation-
ale, Paris, but it is probably
scarce, as neither Poulet-
Malassis nor Lord de
Tabley mention it, or the
engraver. (See reproduc-
tion.)

PlNOT,yf/^. 1 8th cent.

PoiLLY, J. B. DE. 1 8th cent.

PoissoN Sc. 1787.
On a nameless armorial
ecclesiastical plate. (Qy.
Orival arms.)

POLLET. 19th cent.
Engraved an Oriental Ex
libris for Mons. Fdlix Solar,
after a design by Alexandre
Bida.

M. PoT^MONT, inv. R. Mar-
tial, sc.
These signatures are on the
very large and curious book-
plate for Mons. Abel Le-
mercier, on which are to be
found a collection of the
various maledictions em-
ployed against book
borrowers.

POTIER, J. 19th cent.
Aim^ Leroy. Valenciennes.
Library interior. Motto,
" Mes livres font {sic) (not
sont as sometimes quoted)
ma joie."
Reproduced in " Ex- Libris
Ana."

A. Pr^vot Scul. Modem.
Biblioth^que de Ch. Pr^vot.
This large plate is but a repro-

duction of a frontispiece
designed by Bernard Picart,
in 1712, for an edition of
the works of J. B. Rousseau.
This ex-libris is generally
found printed on tinted
paper.

L. Provost Graveur, Rue de
Richelieu^ 38, Paris. Modem.

Provost-Blondel, 19th cent.

R. DE QUIRIELLE invemi.
Ex libris Rog^er de Quirielle.
Woodcut library interior.
Modem.

Raigniauld, Riomi.
(Regnault of Riomi in Au-

vergne.)
A large nameless armorial
plate, dated 1644, described
by Warren, p. 140. (See
reduced reproduction.)
Ramel/ 1 8th cent.
Ex libris J. Vallat. Motto,
^^ Deus vailai justos.^^

An armorial plate, shield
in a distinctly Chippendale
frame.
Randu.
Connetablie te Mard Chauss^
de France, 1779. (sic.)
Armorial.
Raparlier inv. 1880.
Monogram plate of Cordier,
with the motto, ^'^ Le fldne
done je suis.^^
(Engraved by P. A. Varin.)
Regnault, J. i8th cent.
P. R. (Paul Reiber). 1879.
Ex Libris Reiber.
M. Paul Reiber, of Stras-
bourg, engraved this pretty
little plate for himself, and
his brother, M. Ferdinand

A List of Artists and Engravers. 335

Reiber, who was a zealous

collector of book-plates.

See "Ex-Libris Alsaciens,"

p. 42.
Reillet Imp: Quai de la

Toumellcy 35, Paris.
Biblioth^que Pichon, 1874.
This plate was engraved by P.

A. Varin.

RiBOULET-GOBY. 19th Cent.

T. RiCHOMME sculp, an xii,
De la biblioth^que de Mr. F.

L. M. Richomme.
Library interior.
Robert et Lepage. Grs, Lith,
Dauai,
Sr. William de Sars, Cheva-
lier. Anno 1858. Armorial.
Robin. i8th cent.

Gallatin. Armorial.
Rochebrune, O. de. Also
signed O, de Roch : and O,
de R,
M. Octave de Rochebrune de-
signed several book-plates
for himself, and for members
of his family, as well as for
Benjamin Fillon, the author,
and T. S. Montague. These
are dated 1867, 1S68, 1869,

1871, 1873.
Roger. i8th cent.
M. C. RoLiDE, 1750.
J. C. Q. E. H. Devind
Pictorial.
Rops, F^LiciEN. Modem.
Emanuel Gideon. Pictorial.
A correspondence about a
book-plate wrongly attri-
buted to this well-known
artist will be found in the
"Archives de la Soci^t^
Frangaise," vol. i., pp. 149,
190, 195.
Rose. i8th cent.
" Fait par Rose," on a name-
less armorial plate, back-

ground a field, with military
tents. Motto, ''*' Quam
foedari potius tnoriJ^

Ros^E, Aloys, Com. de la.

See Aloys.
Rottiers, Capt.

"Fait a I'eau forte par le Capt
Rottiers ce 30 Aoust 1808.'*
On a nameless armorial
plate ascribed to Comte de
Hoeuff, of Holland.
RouARGUE. 19th cent.
Rousseau. 17th cent
P. LE. Roux / d Paris le 14
Aoust 1704.

On the armorial plate of Nico-
las Remy Fnzon de Bla-
mont. President au Parle-
ment. (See reproduction.)
Roy. 1 8th cent

Ex Libris de Bourgongne.
Armorial.

(Probably Marie-Nicolas de
Bourgongne, Chanoine de
TEglise de Rheims, who
died in 1804, aged 81.)

Dionys. Franc. Secousse,
Eques in Paris. Armorial.

Joan. Mariae. Morin. de Tein-
tot Eccl. Meld. Canonici.
Annorial.

This Roy was probably the
father of the following en-
graver.
Roy, Ci^ude. Bom in Paris
about 1712. For many years
he worked as an engraver,
principally of portraits,
which it appears he also
sold at his own shop. ** Des-
sind et gravi par Roy, Se
vend d Pan's chez Roy^
graveur^ sur le quai des
Orftvres,^'

For some years he was com-
pelled to desist from work
owing to the failure of his

336

French Book-plates.

sight, which, however, was
restored to him, and on his
subsecjuent works he alludes
to this happy recovery.
Thus on a portrait of Vina-
tier, he signs : " Dessini
Grav^ et Offert en 1743, par
son trh oblige Serviteur CL
Royy aprh le Recouvrement
de sa veiUP He only pro-
. . duced a few ex-libris, but
these are of exceptional
merit, and are much sought
after.

He signed at times ^^ p^aveur
sur tons metauxP He died
at his residence on the
Quai des Orf&vres in 1792,
aged 80.

A nameless plate bearing the
arms of Henri- Anne de
Fuligny Damas, Comte de
Rocheouart, etc., and those
of his wife, Marie Gabrielle
de Pons. As this Comte
de Fuligny-Damas died on
February 24, 1745, ^^is
plate must have been en-
graved before that date. It
is a very handsome design,
having, in addition to the
two shields, a number of
musical instruments within
an elegant floral border. It
is signed CI. Roy D, et Sc, ^
Reproduced in the "Archives
de la Soci^t^ Fran^aise,"
March, 1894. With an
article on Claude Roy.

Bibli. loan. Petri. Ludovici
de Podio. Equitis. Domini
de Laloubi^re, 1750. Signed
Roy inv.et sculp. Armorial.

Nic. Gat. Hamarc de Laborde
equitis. Signed CL Roy
inv. etfec. 1765.
ROYER, Emile. 19th cent.

Saint-Aubin, Augustin de.
1 8th cent
Signed his own ex - libris
^'Augu*^ de Saint-Aubin;''
that of Ludovicus de Mes-
lin, ^*'Aug, de Saint-Aubin
fecit ;^ 2xA *'^Aug, de Saint-
Aubin inv, del, 1763" on the
charming plate of F. de la
Rochefoucault, Marchionis
de Bayers, which exists in
three dates. (See Poulet-
Malassis, page 62.)

De St. Hiijvire del, et sc,
Joannis Bemardi Nack.

A curious pictorial plate,
dated 1759. This was re-
produced by Warren. Nack
was a citizen and merchant
of Frankfort, but De St.
Hilaire was probably a
Frenchman. (See also
Wicker.)

Sarret. 17th cent.

Sas, CHRifexiEN. 17th cent.

G. Save sc, H, Christophe^ lith,
Nancy.
Ex Libris A. Benoit, Berthel-
mingen, 1894. Pictorial.

SCOTIN, J. B. 1 8th cent.
Bibliotheca Domini Mascrany.

Armorial.
D"i Richard de Ruffey, Regi a

Consiliis, etc. Armorial.
Biblioth^aue de Mr. le O^
Richard de Vesvrotte,

Armorial. Another design
copied from the above, the
coronet and inscription
being altered. The Comte
de Vesvrotte was a refugee
from the Revolution ; he
died in 1840.

GERARD ScOTiN /W«/, i Paris

(1643-1715)-
Joh : Heinr : Burckhard M.D.

Armorial. Two sizes.

A List of Artists and Engravers'. 2>Z1

Charles de Bachi, marquis
d'Aubais.

Armorial, with supporters.
A very scarce plate.

SCOTTO.

Le Comte D. Boutourlin.
Armorial.

S V. DE (Semeuze). i8th

cent.

V. DE Semeuze del. et sc, 1761
on the armorial plate of A.
J. Hav^ ; and inv. et sculp.
on the Ex Libris H^doum
1763 ; and the same on
another plate for Hddouin,
dated 1764, with flags and
cannons. (See " Les Biblio-
philes R^mois," pp. 69, 71.)

L. Seon deL sc, 1872.

Biblioth^ques Municipales
Ville de Lyon. Literary.

SERAUCOURT/rr/V 1 747.

Nobilis Patrici Veneti Claudii
Rocher. A pictorial.
A. Serin, d Paris. 19th

cent.
A. Serjent scul. Camuh\ 1773
(Chartres) on the beautiful
plate inscribed "Ex Libris
D. D. d'Archambault" (See
reproduction), and Serjent
fecit on an inferior plate for
Mr. Tascher. M. Poulet-
Malassis styles this en-
graver Serpent' Marceau.
SiCARD. 18th cent.
Simon, Henry.

" Graveur du Cabinet de sa
Majesty I'Empereur & Roi, &
du Conseil du Sceau des
Titres."

The name of this engraver
thus occurs on the title-page of
the "Armorial Gdndral de
TEmpire Fran9ais," dated
181 2, which gives the arms of
the French Imperial family,

nobility and cities, etc., as
settled by Napoleon L

An elaborate work, with
large heraldic engravings.
SiMONiN, d Toloze. 17th cent.
SOMM. Modem.

The ex-libris of M. Gandouin.
Sornique. i8th cent
Stagnon sc. i8th cent.
II Cittadino Carlo Giac^
Caissotti. Motto, "Z«r
Hommes naissent libres ef
egaux en droits^^ Pic-
torial.
A nameless armorial plate,
with military trophy, signed
^^Dessin^ et grav^ par A.
M. Stagnon Graveur des
Sceaux du Roi a Turin^
1780."
Stallin, E. i8th cent.
Du Cabinet de Mre. Barthe-
lemy Gabriel Rolland D'Er-
ceville, Consr. au Parlementt
de Paris, 1750.

Armorial. (M. Rolland
had another plate, dated
1 761, not signed.)
a Mr. de Lorme, Gentilhomme
Ordinaire du Roy.
Armorial.
Stkrn, Graveur d Paris,
M. Stem has signed some of
the most beautiful modem
* French book-plates ; light,
graceful, and clearly en-
graved. A fair proportion
of his plates are what we
term plain armorial; indeed,
these somewhat resemble
the neat, formal workman-
ship of the modem London
heraldic engravers.

Those herein named have
been selected only as typical
examples of the various
styles he has produced.

X X

338

French Book-plates.

Biblioteca Conte Di Aquila.

Seal, armorial.
Monogram B. C. Motto,

" Cest ma Toquade.^* (See

reproduction.)
Alfred Bovet.
Wilfrid Chauvin.
A. Clericeau. Pictorial, (See

reproduction.)
L. Delatre. Pictorial. (See

reproduction.)
Antonio £. D'Omellas.

Armorial.
Emile Levavasseur.

Monogram.
Paulde Saint Victor (Historian

and Journalist). Seal.
Alphonse Royer. Monogram.
Patrice Salin.

Motto, " TV/ je su/s prends

moiP Monogram.
Ex Musaeo Castellanac Gene-

vensium. //. Z. B. 1874

(Bordier).
Ex Libris Dupuytrein, 1884.

Pictorial.
Ex Libris Armand Baschet.

Crest in a garter. Motto,

" Cvstos vel uitor." (Signed

Stertty Panoramas 47,

Paris.)
Biblioth^que du Marquis de

Granges de Surg^res.

Motto, ^^Post tenebras spero

lucemT Armorial.
Ex Libris V. Dian court.

Motto, ^^ Eli^cre, Colli i^ere^

Legere}^ Mons. Victor

Diancourt, who is Mayor of

Reims, has written some

works on the history of that

city.
A charming faniaisie plate,

reproduced on page 96. ** Les

Bibliophiles R^mois.
A. Steyert deL et sculp.
Ex Libris Auguste Fabre (of

Lyons). Motto, " Le peta-
fine pas r 19th cent.
STORCK.
J. Morel, Lyon, 1843.
Pictorial.
R. Strange scul. on a name-
less plate designed by C. Eisen,
dated 1749.

Sir Robert Strange was a
devoted adherent of the Stuart
dynasty, and, having been im-
plicated in the 1745 attempt
to expel the Hanoverian
usurper, he was obliged to
seek refuge in France. He
executed many fine en-
gravings, as well as several
other book-plates.
J. Striedbeck fee. Argent.
(Strasbourg.)
On the armorial plate of the
Alsatian scholar and biblio-
phile, Richard Brunck. (See
"Ex Libris Alsaciens," page
41.)
Striedbeck of Strasbourg also

engraved the following :
Jacob Reinbold Spielmann.

Armorial ; pictorial.
Ex Bib. Philippi Henrici Boe-
cleri (of Strasbourg).
Emile Sulpis sculp. F. Vernon
del.
L. B. (Portrait plate of Ma-
dame Baillieu. Library
interior.) Dated 1894.
Sylvestre, J. E. Modem.
Ex-libris J. E. Sylvestre.
Motto, ''Nihil:' Eve pluck-
ing the apple : a very plain
young lady, with large flat
feet. Reproduced in " Ex-
Libris Ana."
Ex Libris Jules de Marthold.
Fantaisie. Motto, " Pas-
sons." Reproduced in ** Ex-
Libris Ana."

A List of Artists and Engravers. 339

Ex libris Leb^gue. Fantaisie.

Motto, " Ure delivre,"
A. Salze. A pictorial plate

designed for a bibliophile of

Montpellier. Motto, " Utile

dulciP
And several others.

TKRDl'E.Vjilius, 1 8th cent.
On a nameless ecclesiastical
armorial plate.
Tardieu, p. F. i8th cent.
Tardieu, Lse Duv. {Gravi
par)
Sangnier D'Abrancourt.
Armorial. No motto.
Tardiveau, h Rennes,

On a plate inscribed "k Mr.
Lefferon de I'Hermite."

Armorial with supporters.
Signed Fecerunt Tardiveau
et lefiron Redon. Date in-
distinct, either 1767 or 1787.
P. Targ^ sculp.
Nameless plate, armorial,
pictorial, dated 1730. Motto,
** Invenit etperficitr
G. Tasni^re fecit^ Tauriniy
1697.
On a nameless armorial. (See
"Archives de la Soci^t^
Fran^aise," vol. ii., p. 44.)
Tattegrain, Francis.

Signed " F. R. Tatt." on the
fantastic etched plate of M.
Georges Vicaire, dated 1888.
Reproduced in the "Ar-
chives de la Soci^td Fran-
^aise," vol. iii., Feb., 1896.
Mons. F. Tattegrain, bom in
P^ronne, is an artist of
standing, some of whose
paintings adorn the H6tel
de Ville in Paris.
Tavernier, E.

Biblioth^que Socidtd de I'His-

toire du Protestantisme
Fran^ais. Pictorial. Dated
1868. (See reproduction.)
Thansis 1 8th cent.
A. Th^ry d' Inch em, ^ Cisoing.

Adrien Th^ry d*Inghem, cha-
nonie r^gulier de Pabbaye
de Cisoing, engraved an
armorial plate for his bro-
ther the Abb^ de Gricourt,
dated 1750, signed A, T.
Cis. (See reproduction.)
Thevenard, M. 1 8th cent.

M. F. Huguenin Dumitand.
Armorial landscape.
Thibaut. i8th cent.
THifeRY, C. E. Modem.

C. E. Thi^ry. Library interior.

"Bdb^ fait irruption dans la
biblioth^que — gare ! ! "

Bibliotheca Oratorii Turon-
ensis. Ecclesiastical.

Ingold (D'apr^s la miniature
originale de 1466). This
belongs to the Rev. Father
Ingold, author of " Les Ex-
libris Oratoriens." Paris,
1892. (See reproduction.)

Mons. Claude Emile Thi^ry
was one of the founders of
the Socidt^ Fran^aise, — he
died at Max^ ville on Feb-
ruarys, 1895.

He was born m 1828, studied
in the Ecole des Beaux
Arts, and was a graceful and
humorous artist He was
appointed engraver to the
Austrian Court, and was for
some time curator of the
Museum of Nancy.

An article on his works
appeared in the "Archives
de la Soci^td Fran^aise" for
January, 1894, with a series
of book-plates he designed
for his fnend Gustave Droz,

340

French Book-plates.

and he also engraved several
plates for his own books — of
these the most interesting
was in imitation of a MS. of
the Middle Ages, impres-
sions of which were issued
with the "Archives de la
Soci^t^ Fran^aise" for Jan-
uary, 1895, accompanied
by a humorous letter from
Mons. Thifery himself.

E. Thi^ry/
Nameless literary plate, be-
longing to Beaupr^, Con-
seiller k la Cour de Nancy.
Two states.

Thomassin. 17th cent.
A nameless plate bearing the
arms of the Nivemais family
UArmes,

Le Tillier inv.
Ex Libris Francisci Perrault
Ecclesiae de Praville in
Belsia. Rectoris 1764.
Portrait.

Reproduced in the " Ex-
libris Journal," vol. iii., p.
69.

TiPHAiGNE, L. 17th cent.
On the nameless armorial
book-plate of De Roque-
laure, surrounded by the
collars of the orders of
Saint Michael and the
Holy Ghost. (See Poulet-
Malassis, p. 12.)

TissOT, J. 19th cent.

T., J. (Jean Toustain.) 17th
cent.
An armorial plate inscribed
" B»«i de UV Pellot P«f Pres"
du Pari"* de Normandie."

Poulet-Malassis gives the
date of this plate as between
1670 — 1686, and ascribes it
to Jean Toustain, an en-
graver of Normandy.

J. Toustain Inv, F.

Ex Bibliotecha {sic) Illustris-
simi Nobilissimique Viri D.
Domini Claudii de Vassy
Marchionis de Pirou nee-
non de Bressey Domini
Castellani de Touchet nec-
non de Beaufou Domini et
Patroni de Celland de
UEspinay Tesson de St.
Marcouf, &c. 17th cent
(See reproduction.)
Traiteur, J.

Mr. le Marquis de Saisseval,
1772. Armorial, with sup-
porters.

M. L. Comte d'Essales 1771.
ArmoriaL

" Traiteur fecit 1761." On the
plate of F. J. Schwendt, an
Alsatian of some note, who
died in 1824.

See "Archives de la Socidt^
Fran^aise," August, 1 894.
Trouchou. 19th cent.
Trudon. 17th cent.

Signed a nameless plate bear-
mg the arms of Potier de
Novion.

He engraved the whole of the
plates for the heraldic work
entitled " Nouveau traitd de
la science pratique du
blason," published m 1689.
TUBERT. 1 8th cent.

v., J. H. (Valori.) 1 8th cent.
J. H, K scui, on the nameless
plate designed by J. B.
(Boucher) for the Chevalier
de Valori.
VACHERON/rrrV d Douai^ 1769.
Benoit Bieswal, avocat en
Parlement. Armorial.
J. Valdor, d. Nancy, 17th cent.
Signed the armorial Ex libris
" Guillelmus Grangierus.*'

A List of Artists and Engravers. 341

'J^iyhiUfJlrniauC' l^Lrr.l>,Dcnrun
CiauxUide f^ii.rjy Miirchionuhk
Tiratinecnon dcBrcdfci^ Domini |
'^aJiiUlanif^cTaucftet nc&n-on |
t^c^Denu^u-DoirUnL etPatroTlL
dcCcltoM^ dc /"E/Jjinaui
T^ffon de J.' Marcoi^,Sc .\

BOOK-PLATE OF CLAUDE DE VASSV.

J. Valdor was bom at Li^ge,
and educated in Italy ; was
settled in Nancy in 1630,
and in Paris in 1642.
(See Poulet-Malassis, p. to.)

342

French Book-plates^

A. M. (Alfred Morin.) Motto,
^*'Aux livres je dots toutP
Fantaisie.
A. H. 1880. Pictorial ; literary.
Signature very indistinct.
Motto, "/'^ ^^ ^^ manuel
des ouvriersJ*
Vallottin, FiLix. Modem.
Ex Libris L. Joly. Library
interior with cats, repro-
duced in " £x-Libris Ana."
A woodcut signed F. V.
Valton, Edmond. 19th cent
Van Driesten, D. E. J.
Modem.

A coloured armorial by
himself for himself, repro-
duced in the "Archives de
la Soci^t^ Fran9aise,"June,
1895. Mons. Van Driesten
is a French artist who has
devoted considerable study
to ancient miniatures and
heraldic work.
G. Vanel. '95. Modem.
Ex Libris Tony Genty. Liber
Libris 1895.
Fantaisie design.
Reproduced in the " Archives
ae la Soci^t^ Fran^aise,"
April, 1895.
Van Merlen, T. J. i8th cent.
Van Muyden, E. Modem.
Library interior of L. Bauzon,
1891. Motto, "Z/r^ et
choisir,^^
Ex Libris F. Raisin 1891.
Motto, "//y sont trop verts"
Allegorical.
Ex Libris Manoury. Portrait

plate, 1890.
Ex Libris Wolf. (See repro-
duction.)
Varin, 1774.

Varin, Pierre Adolphe.

Bom at Chalons-sur-

Mame on May 24, 1 821, he

settled early in Paris, where
he achieved distinction as
an engraver. For a long
illustrated article on the
works of this artist see
" Les Archives de la Soci^t^
Fran^aise," September,
1895.

The following are some of
the principal plates he has
engraved ;

Bibliothe Pichon (Baron J.
Pichon). Library interior,
dated 1873, ^^^ ^^ armorial
plate.

Ex Lib Deu. Literary.

H. G. 1880. A handsome pic-
torial plate for Mons. Henri
Gresl^, who died in 1893.

Ex libris de ma tante Pauline
Etevenon, Paris.

Armand Bourgeois 1883.
Pictorial.

Jules Bourgeois, 1883.
Pictorial.

C. B»^. (Ch. Bayard, an
architect of Lyons.)

H. C. C. (H. Cordier.) i88a

A. D. M. 1881 . (A. de Manet
of Bmssels.)

Comte de Lavaur de Sainte-
Fortunade, 1874. Armorial.

Thoreux (de la Rochelle),
1872.

Lhoste de Chaalons (intend-
ed for Monsr. Lhote de
Chalons). Armorial.

Ex Libris Henrici Jadart,
Reims, 1884. Motto, "67i-
nam prositnP

Mons. Henri Jadart, secretaire
general de TAcad^mie de
Reims, is the author of
several works relating to the
histor>' and antiquities of
Reims.

•* Les Bibliophiles R^mois,"

A List of Artists and Engravers. 343

published by him in 1894,
IS a work of considerable
research and of much utility
to the collectors of French
book-plates. (See Biblio-
graphy.)
Veran, J. M. 19th cent.
F. VEftNON del, Emile Sulpis

sculp,

L. B. (Portrait of Madame
Baillieu in her library.)
Dated 1894.
VEYRIER/r«7.

Forbyn Ste. Croix 1751.
Armorial.

J. B. Gastaldy D. Med. 1752.
Armorial.

Ex Libris Antonii Ludovici
Tellus 1760. Armorial.

He also engraved the Ex
Libris Joseph-Frangois de
Faucher. (See "Archives
de la Soci^t^ Fran9aise,"
vol. ii., November, 1895.)
J. ViDAL, <J Bordeaux. 19th

cent.

ViDAL, HONOR^.

Gravd par Honor^ Vidal on
the plate of John Brook
Wood, 1835.

ViGNERON.

Coloured ex-libris for M. Piat.

Nameless plate of Mons.
Cousin. Motto, " Cest ma
toquader This is signed
Stem graveur,

ViGNEROT, ROUGERON.

Modem.

Ex Libris de A. Hustin.

Motto, " Scientia et labore."

Monogram.
Vl LLi KZ fecit 1 770.
On a nameless plate having

the initial f^on it.
ViONNET. Modem.

Henri- Marie Hippolyte de

Faucher. Armorial.

ViOTTE, Graveur de la monnaie

royale, i8th cent.
ViOTTE. Regis monet.

Mr. D'Hyenville. Armorial.

Louise du Vivier / 1737.

On a nameless armorial plate

with supporters, and coronet

of marquis.

VOYSARD. 1 8th cent.

Wachsmut Sculp.
On the ex-libris of J. L.
Blessig, prof. A library in-
terior, similar to that of F.
R. Saltzmann of Strasbourg.
(See " Ex Libris Alsaciens,"

page 35-)
Waffet. 1 8th cent.
D. WALLAERxy^^//. i8th cent.
Ex Libris J. Gosselin.
Pictorial.
Weis (Alsatian, of Finckwiller).
Probably engraved the
ex-libris of Antonii Jean-
jean of Strasbourg, who
died 1 79 1. (See '* Archives
de la Soci^t^ Fran^aise,"
vol. ii., page 70.)
Weiss, J. M. (of Strasbourg).
Johannes Boeclerus.

Armorial. (A Doctor of
Medicine, Strasbourg.)
Ex Museo Schoepfliniano.
(See " Ex Libris Alsaciens,"
pages 15, 40. See also J.
Striedbeck.)
Ch. V^tK\ fecit 1887.
Ex Libris V. DuchAtaux,

advocati Remensis.
Mons. Victor Duch^taux,
avocat, membre du Conseil
Municipal de Reims, presi-
dent de PAcad^mic. The
arms on the plate are those
of Reims. (See " Les Biblio-
philes R^mois," page 98).

344

tFrench Book-plates.

Wicker sc. (Sec Saint Hilaire.)
J. B. Nack, 1759. (Of Frank-
fort.)

V^IlLLEjilius (Ul, 1766.
On a nameless plate (en-
graved by Halm) supposed
to be for J. V. Meyer, of
Bordeaux. Reproduced in
the "Ex Libns Journal,"
vol. iv., page 178.
The same signatures and date
on a nameless plate sup-
posed to be for E. Cordes.

Pierre- Alexandre Wille,
son of the famous engraver,
Georges Wille, spent most
of his life in Paris ; and,
although of German origin,
was enrolled in the Garde
Nationale in 1789. He was
still alive and in Paris in

1 82 1. Halm was probably
a pupil of Wille senior.
Winkler. i8th cent

P. YvER 1743.
Le Marquis de Goumay.

Zapouraph sculp,
Duval. Floral label, dated

1772.
Zix, Benjamin.

An Alsatian artist who
etched two ex-libris for him-
self : one for his library, the
other for his collection of
engravings. These are
described in "Ex Libris
Alsaciens," page 33.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

BEING A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS

REFERRING TO FRENCH EX-LIBRIS,

CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED.

OTICE sur quelques Graveurs Nanciiens
du XVIII. si^cle. Par M. Beauprd.
Nancy, Lucien Wiener, 8vo, 1862.

This work contains descriptions of a number of
book-plates engraved by Dominique Collin.

U Amateur d' AtUographes, Avril, 1872.
This contained an article by M. Maurice Toumeux on the
collection of book-plates in the possession of M. Aglaiis Bou-
venne, a well-known artist and designer, and collector of book-

Armortal du Bibliophile, avec Illustrations dans
le texte. Par Joannis Guigard. 2 vols., royal
8vo. Paris, Bachelin-Deflorenne, 1870-1873.

Contains many illustrations of super-libros, which are fre-
quently useful in assisting to discover the owners of nameless
French armorial book-plates. (See also " Nouvel Armorial du
BiUiophile," 1890.)

Y Y

346 French Book-plates.

Bibliophile Franfais. Gazette illustr^e des
amateurs de livres d'^tampes, et de hautes
curiosit^s. Paris, 7 vols., royal 8vo, 1868-73.

This work incorporates the "Armorial du Bibliophile *• of
Joannis Guigard.

Les Ex'Libris Franfais, depuis leur orig^ne
jusqu'k nos jours. Par A. Poulet-Malassis. Paris,
P. Roquette, royal 8vo, 1874 (illustrated).

Des Marqties et devises mises a leurs livres par
un grand nombre d'amateurs. De Rieffenberg.
Paris, 1874.

Bulletin du Bouquiniste. Paris. No. 416.
April 15th, 1875 : Letter from the Comte de
Longp6rier-Grimoard on a Super- Libris of Crozat.
Dec. I and 15, 1876 : A letter from the Comte de
Longp^rier-Grimoard, " Une Marque inconnue."

Etude sur les Ex-Libris. Par le Comte de
Longp6rier-Grimoard. Senlis, E. Pay en, 8vo,
8 pp., 1875.

A paper read before the Comit^ Arch^ologique de Senlis,
December nth, 1874.

Les Ex-Libris Frangais, depuis leur origine
jusqu'a nos jours. Par A. Poulet-Malassis.
Nouvelle Edition, revue, tres augment^e, et orn^e
de vingt-quatres planches. Pari% P. Rouquette,
royal 8vo, 1875.

Dictionnaire des devises des hommes de lettres,
imprimeurs, libraires, bibliophiles, etc. Par Van
de Haeghen. 1876- 1879.

Bibliography. 347

A Guide to the Study of Book-plates (Ex-Libris).
By the Hon. J. Leicester Warren, M.A., London.
John Pearson, 1880.

Although not dealing especially with French ex-libris, this
guide by the late Lord de Tabley is an almost indispensable
book of reference to every collector of book-plates.

Nouvelles Etudes sur r University de Pont-ct-
Mousson. Par M. Favier (illustrated). Nancy,
1880.

Petite Revue d' Ex-Libris Alsaciens. Par Au-
guste Stoeber. Avec un fac simile d'un ancien
Ex-Libris (C. Wolfhardt). Mulhouse, Veuve
Bader, i2mo, 1881.

The author of this charming little pamphlet died a few years
ago.

Les Ex'Libris dans Us trois EvicJUs, Toul,
Metz, Verdun, 1552-1790. Par Arthur Benoit.
Paris, 8vo, 1883.

Les Ex-Libris de Schoepflin, Notice par Arthur
Benoit. Paris, Rouveyre et Blond, 8vo, 1883.

Reprinted, with illustrations, from " Le Bulletin de la Soci^t^
pour la conservation des Monuments historiques d*Alsace."
Second series.

Les BibliopkUes, les Collectionneurs, et les Bib-
liotheques des monastferes des trois 6vech^s, 1552-
1790. Par Arthur Benoit (illustrated). Paris,
royal 8vo, 1884.

The three bishoprics referred to are Metz, Toul, and Verdun.

348 French Book-plates.

' Lis Femmes Bibliophiles de la France. Avec
43 Planches d'Armoiries. Par Ernest Quentin-
Bauchart. Paris, 8vo, 1886.

Nouvel Armorial du Bibliophile ^ Guide de
TAmateur des Livres Armories. Cont^nant la Re-
production de 2500 Armoiries et riches Reliures
armoiriies. Par Joannis Guigard. 2 vols. 8vo.
Paris, Emile Rondeau, 1890.

Le Livre Moderne, Revue du Monde Litt^raire.
Paris, Maison Quantin, 1891.

No. 19 (July, 1891) contained an article by M. Octave
Uzanne, entitled "Remarques sur quelques Ex-Libris con-
temporains," with facsimiles of 36 interesting examples.

No. 24 (December, 1891) contained an article in continuation
of the above, entitled " Quelques Nouveaux Ex-Libris," also by
M. Octave Uzanne, with many illustrations.

The Book-plate Collector's Miscellany. Edited
by Mr. W. H. K. Wright, Borough Librarian,
Plymouth. Quarto, illustrated, 1890-91. Plymouth,
W. H. Luke.

Les Ex-Libris, et les Marques de Possession
du Livre. Par Henri Bouchot, du Cabinet des
Estampes. Paris, Edouard Rouveyre. With
numerous illustrations, pp. 104, 8vo, 1891.

750 only printed.

The Bookworm. May, 1892. A Hunt for
Book- Plates in Paris. By Walter Hamilton.
London, Elliot Stock.

This publication contained several other articles on book-
plates.

Bibliography. 349

La Curiositi Universelle.

A small weekly newspap)er published at i, Rue Rameau-
Paris. This contained several articles and letters on the topic
of French ex-libris, and advocated the formation of an £x-Libris
Society in Paris.

No. 228. June ist, 1891. A propos d'Ex-Libris.

No. 262. January 25th, 1892. Illustrated article.

No. 268. March 7th, 1892. Article on ex-libris.

No. 269. March 14th, 1892. Illustrated article.

Les Ex'Libris Oratoriens. Par le Pere Ingold.
Paris, Librairie Charles Poussielgue, Rue Cas-
sette, 15, 1892. Crown 8vo, pp. i6. With 13
illustrations of ecclesiastical book-plates.

Le Serpent Embleme des Chirurgiens^ et des
MSdecins. Par Arthur Benoit. 6 pp. No date.

An extract from "La Revue Nouvelle d' Alsace-Lorraine,"
which treats of serpents shown on book-plates.

The Journal of the Ex-Libris Society. A. and
C. Black, Soho Square, London. Quarto, illus-
trated, 1891-96. (In progress.)

A monthly journal containing numerous articles on French
book-plates.

French Book-Plates. A Handbook for Ex-
Libris Collectors. By Walter Hamilton, Hon,
Treas. of the Ex-Libris Society. With numerous
fac-similes. London : George Bell and Sons,
York Street, Cov^nt Garden, 1892.

Catalogue des Incunables de la Bibliotheque
Publique de Besanfon. Par Auguste Castan,

35^ French Book-plates.

Conservateur de la Bibliothfeque de Besan^on.
Publication Posthume faite sous les auspices de la
Society d' Emulation du Doubs. Besan^on, J.
Dodivers, Grande Rue, 1893.

Mons. Castan was bom in 1833 ; he died in June, 1892.

La Bibliothique de Fontainebleau et les Livres
des Derniers Valois k la Biblioth^que Nationale.
(i 5 1 5- 1 589.) Par Ernest Quentin-Bauchart Paris,
Em. Paul et Guillemin.

Les Relieurs Franfais ( 1 500- 1 800). Biographic
critique et anecdotique. Pr^ced^e de I'Histoire de
la Communaut^ des Relieurs et Doreurs de Livres
de la Ville de Paris et d'une ^tude sur les styles
de reliure. Par Ernest Thoinan. Paris, Em.
Paul et Guillemin.

This useful work on the subject of bookbinding gives bio-
graphical details of more than 1,700 French binders, with their
signatures and notices of then: principal works. The armorial
stamps on French bindings are frequently of great assistance in
identifying nameless plates.

Archives de la SocUtS Fran^aise des Collection^'
neurs d'Ex-Libris. Paris, Emile Paul et Guil-
lemin, Rue des Bons-Enfants. (In progress.)

The organ of the French Society of Collectors of Book-plates.
The first part was published in December, 1893, and it has
appeared monthly ever since. Many illustrations of great
beauty and interest have been issued with the Archives^ but
specially printed on plate paper.

Ex-Libris Ana^ et Ex-Libris Imaginaires et
supposes de Personnages c6I6bres, anciens et

Bibliography. 35 1

modernes. Paris, L. Joly, Editeur, 19, Quai Saint-
Michel, 1 893- 1 894.

This little publication contained some valuable historical
articles and reproductions of old plates. The Ex-Libris
Imaginaires were grimly humorous and satirical, especially
those of Rabelais, La Fontaine, Rollin, Marat, Danton, E. A.
Poe, Dumas fils, Charcot, and Ernest Renan.

Les Bibliophiles RSmois leurs ex-libris et fers de
reliure suivis de ceux de la Bibliotheque de
Reims. Ouvrage illustr^ de 70 gravures. Par
Henri Jadart Conservateur adjoint de la Biblio-
theque de Reims Secretaire g^n^ral de TAcademie.
Reims F. Michaud, Rue du Cadran-Saint-Pierre.
1894.

This work is extracted from the proceedings of the Academic
de Reims, and only 1 50 copies were printed.

It contains biographical notices of the principal book col-
lectors of Reims, and its vicinity, with their armorial bearings,
descriptions of their book-plates, and the stamps on their
bindings. It also gives an alphabetical collection of mottoes
with the families to whom they belong, and a bibliography of
the Catalogues R^mois.

The information contained in this delightful volume is of the
greatest value to collectors of French Book-plates, and the
facsimiles are executed in the most artistic manner.

Dated Book- Plates (Ex-Libris), with a Treatise
on their Origin and Development. By Walter
Hamilton. London, A. and C. Black, Soho
Square, 1895. Illustrated.

This volume contains a list of all the known French dated
plates from 1574 to 1895, '^^'^ descriptions of their styles,
their mottoes, artists, and engravers, and biographical notes
about their owners.

352

French Book-plates.

Ladies' Book-plates. By Noma Labouchere.
With numerous illustrations. London, George
Bell and Sons, 1895.

In the " Ex-Libris '* series. This work contains a chapter on
Foreign Ladies' Book-plates, in which many interesting French
ex-libris are described.

Les Ex-Libris Limousins. Par A. Fray-
Fournier. Published by M. Ducortieux, Limoges,
1895.

L' Ex-Libris deF.de Larockefoucauld, Abbi de
Tournus. La premiere Marque Fran9aise ar-
mori^e. Par F. S. Paris, L. Joly, Editeur, 19,
Quai Saint-Michel, 1896.

350 only printed.

Les Ex-Libris Anciens aux Armes de Jeanne
d'Arc. Par A. Benoit.

Miss Labouchere cites this little pamphlet on p. 214 of
" Ladies' Book-plates," but omits to mention when and where it
was published. She gives a few details of plates belonging to
descendants of the family of Jeanne d'Arc, but these do not
appear to be of any special interest.

INDEX.

EJ™UDMIRAL of France,

IrHn'B Ailleboust d'Autun,

HW13 Charles, ex-libris,
1574, 7. II. 12. 64, CS-

Albcnas, M, Georges <i', 248,
249.

Alphabetical classification, ad-
vantages of, 34, 35.

Abate. " I'elile Revue d'Ex-
Libris Alsaciens," by A.
Steelier, i, 6, 9, 152.

"Amateur d'Autographes" on

Fre

x-iibrii

Andr^, M. Henry, 17,214, 287,

el itq., 298.
Ansclme, Pere. " Les Grands

Officiers de la Couronne,"

32-
Antoinette, Marie, farewell of,

246.
Archambault, 182, 183.
" Archives de la Society Fran-

^aise," 10, 19, 10.
Armorial beaTings,abolitionof,

2, 27 ; revival of, 3, 28,
book-plate, earliest

French, 1 ; first French

dated, 2, 1 1 ; second French

dated, 2.

"Armorial G^n^ral del'Empire

Fran^ais," par Henri Simon,

124.
" Armorial du Bibliophile," par

Joannis Gujgard, 32, 80.
Artists in ex-libris. Modern

French, 275, et stq.
Ashbee,Mr. H.S. Portrait, 16.
Auzoles, de la Peyre, 70.
Avril, Paul, 299.

Bacon, Sir Nicholas, First

dated English book-plate,

"574. '. >'■
Barbier, Abbot, 177.
Bardin, Joannes, 72.
Bargallo, Dr. F., 214-217.
Barony du Bois de Ferrieics,

the, 162.
Bastille, Chateau de la, 104.
Bayard, C., 299.
Bayon, Jules le, 293.
Beaujeu, Q. de. 188.
Beaumont, R. J. de, 1742, 90.
Bee, order of the, 55.
Begon, Michel, 255.
BelJehache, Chevalier de,

1771. 93-
Benoit, A. and L., 1846, 153.
, A., 1894, 154-

354

French Book-plates.

B^raldiy Henri, on ex-libris,
285, et seg.

Berry, Duchesse de, 135, 136.

Berryer, Mons., 149.

Berulle, 71.

Besangon, library of, 189, et
seq, ; book-plate of Car-
melites of, 192.

Beugnot, Vicomte, book-plate
of, 142 ; position of, 148,
149.

** Biblioth^que de la Pro-
vidence," 235.

Bibliotheque Nationale. Col-
lection of ex-libris, 34.

Bigot, Emeric, 66.

Johannes, 65.

Bizemont-Prunel^, Comte de,
116.

Blamont, Frizon de, 85.

Bonaparte, Prince Lucien,

Prince Roland, 271.

Book-plates of the Channel
Islands, 160, et seq.

first English, i, 11;

general use of, 13; styles
of Henri IV. and Louis
XIII., 22, 24; style of Louis
XIV., 23, 24; styleR^gence,

24, 25 ; style Louis XV.,

25, 26 ; style of Louis XVI.,

26, 27; heraldic, 28; in
the time of Henri IV. and
Louis XIIL, 75; effect of
First Republic on, 109, et
seq. ; restriction of, 1 20 ;
under the Second Empire,
141, et seq. ; styles and ten-
dencies of, 299, 300.

Borniol, Marthe de, 300.

Boscheron, J. G. R., 1777, 94.
Bouchart, Alexandre, 161 1, 2,

63.

Bouchet, Marquis de Souches,

80.
Bouchot, M. Henri. "Les

Ex-Libris," 5, 188.
Boula de Nanteuil, 1777, 95.
Bouland, Dr. L., founds the

Society of French Collec-
tors, 18, et seq.
Bourbon, L. J. M. de. Admiral

of France, 52.
Bourbon-Busset, Vicomte de,

1788, 114, 116.
Bourbon - Rothelin, L*Abb^

de, book-plate of, 187.
Boussac, of Limousin, 7 1 .
Bouvenne, M. Aglaiis. 5, 225,

227, 267, et seq.
Bovet, Alfred, 297.
Boyveau-Laffecteur, 113.
Bracquemond, M., 298.
Brasdefer, Louis, 68.
Brinon, 70.

Bucy, Marquis de, 163, 164.
Burey, Comte de, 280, 281.
Burghese, Pauline, 120.

Caffarelli, Amb., 120, 121.
Canting Arms, 218, et seq.
Carson, Rev. W., 236.
Caumartin, Bishop, 175.
Cazenave, Alpheus, M.D., 212.
Cellier, P., 238.
Chabeuf, Bishop, 176.
Champfleury, M., 225.
Chanlecy, 67.
Chanteau, F. de, 156.
Charreton, 70.
Chassebras, 71.

Index.

355

Chatelain, the Chevalier de,
1 66.

Chevillard's "Armorial," 32.

Chodowiecki, Daniel, en-
graver, 212.

Cities of P>ance, Latin names

Classification of ex-libris, 21,

et seq.
Clerical plates, examples of,

177, 178.
Clericeau, A., 230.
Cochon, P., 222.
Colin, engraver, 214.
Colletet, Guillaume, 235, 236.
Coloma, Baron de Moriensart,

1657, 167.
Con vers, P. A., 92.
Coquereau, C. J. L., 219.
Corday, Charlotte, 8.
Cordier, Paul, 226.
Coronets in French heraldry,

47-
Correard, Dr., 211.

Couraud, L. P., book-plate of,

295, 296.
Courboin, Francois, 299.
Cousin, Mons. B., 231.
" Curiosite Universelle, La,"

18.

Daudin, engraver, 253.
Dauphin of France, arms of,

48.
David, Louis, 28, 46, 124.
De Chaponay, of Lyons, 68.
De Cuzien, 103.
Delaleu, 1754, 91.
Delatourrette, C., 17 19, 86.
Delatre, M. L., 240.
Deloysi, Pierre, engraver, 70.

Denis, Saint, order of, 53.
De Regnouart, 70.
Desfontaines, Abbe. Portrait,

16.
Des Vignes, Jan, 292.
Devambez, engraver, 296.
De Visme family, 163, 164,

165.
Diane de Poitiers, 95.
" Dictionnaire des Devises,"

" Dictionnaire desGirouettes,"

127, 129, 130, 147, 242.
Dieppe College, prize label of,

195-
Dignitaries of the Church, 1 70.

Dobree, Peter, 159, 162.

D'Orsay, Comte Alfred, 269.

Dubarry, Comtesse, 97, 99.

Dubuisson, M., 1805,130,131.

Dubut, Cure de Viroflay, 1 782,

181, 184.
Duche, 1779, 98.
Duplessis, M. Georges, 35.
Duvall, Gabriel, descent of,

205.

Ebner, Hieronimus, ex-libris
of, 30.

Ecclesiastical dignitaries, 170.

P2dict of Nantes, 198.

Edicts against improper as-
sumptions of arms, 47.

Eglise de Lorraine, 1767, 186.

Eu, College of, 1729, 180.

Eugenie, Empress, cipher on
bindings of, 144, 145, 146.

Ex-libris de Fantaisie, 284,
ei seq.

"Ex-Libris, Les," by Henri
Bouchot, 12.

356

French Book-plates.

" Ex-Libris Fran^ais, Les,"

by M. Poulet-Malassis, 5.
Ex-libris. Defined in ** Le

Grand Dictionnaire Univer-

sel," 7.
" Ex-Libris Oratoriens, Lcs,"

185.
"Express de Mulhouse," 152.

Faultrieres, Michel de, 87.
Felibien, Andrd. Historio-
graphe du Roy, 1650, 13,

14, 74, 79-
Flach, Jacques, 243.

Fleur-de-lys. First use of on
the arms of France, 43, 47,
et set/.

Foissey, Alexis, 117.

Foucault, N. J., 258.

French collectors of ex-libris,
8, 17.

Protestant Hospital, 1 99,

201, 202.

colleges, sample of book-
plate of, 194.

Heralds' Collegf, 58,

et seq.

— military plates, 16.

— names. Anglicised, 203.
plates, division of, 36,

et seq.

Frizon de Blamont, N. R.,
1704, 85.

Gallic cock, the, 220, 264,

265.
Gambetta, L^on, 242, 265,

266.
Garibal, 71.
Garrick, David, 234.
Gaultier, Leonard, 2, 66.

Gautier, Th^ophile, 267, 268.
Gavarni, 273.
Geoffroy, Auguste, 288.

Alexandre, 289.

Germain, L<:on, 157.

Gillet, Jean Francois, 1778,

96.
Golden Fleece, order of the,

55-
Goncourt, E. and J., 273, 277.

Gouache, M., 239.

Grancey, Comte de, 147.

Grand ville, 275.

Grangier, Guillaume, 68.

Greslie, Henri, 287.

Gricourt, L'Abbe, 86, 87,

182. 185.

Grolier, Jean, his library, 250,

251-
Gruel, Leon, 279.

Grumet, J. Philip, M.D., 210,

213-
Gueulette, Thomas, 261, 262.

Guigard, Joannis. **Amiorial

du Bibliophile," 6, 32.

Guinot, Ch., 291.

Havilland, Peter de, 161, 162.

Henri IV., 198.

Heraldry, fashion to discard,

277.
Flemish, specimen of,

167.

P>ench, notes on, 39,

et seq. ; effects of Revolution
on, 45 ; under the Empire,
46, 47 ; under Napoleon,
123, et seq.

" Heraldry made Easy," by J.
Ashby-Sterr}', 41.

Index.

357

Heraldic terms, French, 40,

41. .
tinctures, French, 40, 41.

"Historic Devices," by Mrs.
B. Palliser, 31.

Hommeau, C. F., 236.

Houblon, Jacob, 223, et seq,

Hozier, Pierre d*. Heraldic
list, 75.

Huet, Bishop, 1692, 78, 171,
ei seq.

Hugo, Victor, 267, 277.

Huguenot Society, 202 ; book-
plate of, 204.

Huguenots, the, 197, et seg.

Hurson, M. 53.

Ingold, Rev., on Ex-Libris,

185, ct seg.
Institution Guillot, by Apoux,

18.

Jacob, Le Bibliophile, 38, 270,

272.
Jamart, J. F., 190.
Joubert, M. de, 259, 260.
Jourdan, Marshal, 120, 121,

122.

Karr, Alphonse, 275.
Knighthood, orders
France, 54, et seg.

of, in

I^ffecteur, M. Boyveau, 113.
Lafitte, book-plate of, 298.
Laflize, D., 1768, 215.
Lamare, Antoine de, 71.
Lameth proposes abolition of
titles of nobility, 1790, 113.
La Milliere, A., 196.
Lamy, Amy. Portrait, 74.

Lancey, General de, 150.

Lanjuinais, Comte, 143, 147.

Larousse, M. Pierre, his de-
finition of Ex-Libris, 7.

Latin phrases of book posses-
sion, 7, 8.

names for French cities,

32, Z2^'
Lecuyer, F. G., 89.

Le Due, Viollet, 272.

Le Feron, 72.

Legion of Honour, founded

1802, 56.
Lejourdan, Mons., 108
Le Keux, family of, 200, 201.
Lemercier, Abel, 184, 236.
Leonor le Francois, 1673, 80.
Lermina, Jules, 290.
Lesquen, 72.
Lesseps, Ferdinand de, motto

of, 270.
Le Tellier, C. M., 1672, 80.
** Livre Moderne, le," articles

by Octave Uzanne in, 6.
Lorme, M. de, 81.
Lorraine, Charles de, 66.
Lorraine, MetropolilanChurch

of, 186.
Louis XIV., 198.

XV., 89, 99, 100.

XVI., 105, 107.

XVIIL, 134, 135.

Louis Philippe, 137, 264, 265.
Lyons, College of, 189.

Maine, Due de, 1729, 178,

179.
Maintenon, Madame de, 96,

no.
Malassis, M. Poulet, on French

Ex-Libris, 5, 265, 275, 279.

358

French Book-plates.

Malet, G., 284.
Malherbe, Fran<jois de, 74, 83.
Manet, M. Portrait, 16.
Mantin, Georges, 285.
Mansart, J. H., 82.
Marbot, Baron de, 122, 123.
Marechal, Sylvain, 241.
Marshal of France, badge of,

Marsollier, Benoit, book-plate

of, 49.
Martigny de Marsal, 1655, 80.
Martin, Alexis, book-plate of,

286.
Martin, Claude, 94, 102.
Mazarin, Cardinal. His lib-
rary, 170, 171.
Medical men, book-plates of,

208, et seq.
Mehl, Charles, 235.
Manage, Gilles, 1692, 79, 80.
Menestrier, le Pere. "Sience

de la Noblesse," 39.
Mercier, J. A. Le, book-plates

of, 184, 185.
Merimee, Prosper, 272.
Mesurier, Frederick le, 160,

162.
Mdtivet, Mons., 271.
Metzger, Albert, 155.
Michaud, J. B., 1791, 117.
Milsand, M., 227.
"Miscellanea Gcnealogica et

Heraldica," 201.
Mohr, Louis, 1879, 278.
Mondesir, Comte de, 54.
Monier, 220.

Monselet, Charles, 227, 228.
** Mont Joyo Saint Denis," 60.
Montchal, J. P. de, 71.
Montmeau, J. de, 191.

Mouchard, Fran, Ex-Libris of,

88.
Mouchy, Due de, 148, 150.
Mountaine, R., 223.
Mourie, Valentin, 238.
Murat, 133.

Napoleonic heraldry, 28, 47.
Napoleon L, ex-libris imagi-

naire, 132, 133.
Napoleon IIL, cipher on

bindings of, 145.
Neufchateau, Frangois de, 242,

245-
Nicole of Nancy, book-plates

by, 158, 186.

Niniche, 280.

Nobility, coronets of, 48, 51.

Noe, Comtesse de, 271.

Nogaret, Bernard de, 72.

Nolin, Pierre, engraver, 80.

Ordres du Roi, Les, 55.

Paillot, M. Pierre, on Heral-
dry, 31, 32.

Palmerston. Lord, 224.

Papillon, Thomas, 117, 118.

Pasquier de Messange, 1792,
106.

Pastoret, Marquis de, 144, 146,
et seq.

Pellot, Mgr., 80.

Petau, Alexandre, 68, 69.

Paul, 251, et seq,

" Petite Revue d'Ex-Libris
Alsaciens," i, 6, 9.

Petra Sancta, Father S. His
mode of showing heraldic
tinctures, 40, 63.

Index.

359

Phrases of book possession,

French, 232, ^/ seq.
Phrases of book possession,

Latin, 7, 8.
Picard, M. Abel, 294.
Piis, Antoine Pierre Augustin

de, description of plate of,

131-
Pixdr^court, Guilbert de, 235.

Pompadour, Marquise de, 96,

97.

Portalis, J. M., 129.

Portrait plates, earliest, 16.
Potier de Novion, 82.
Prosper- M^rim(^e, 272.
Protestantism in France, 197,

et eq.
Providence, La, 202.
Punning plates, 218, et seq.
Puy du Fou, 72.

Quantin, M. Leon, book-plate
of, 20.

Rabelais, Fran^:ois, 8, 248,
et seq,

Raigniauld, armorial book-
plate by, 73.

Ravachol, 220.

Ravenel, D., 205, 206.

Richard, N. F. J., 114.

Richelieu, Cardinal. His lib-
rary, 170.

Rimmel, Eugene, 227.

Riston, Mons., 141.

Robert, F. des, 1878, 276.

Robillard, J. L., 225.

Rochefoucauld, Fran9ois de
la, I.

Rops, Felicien, 299.

Roquelaire, 70.

Rothschild's ** Characteristics

from French History," 197.
Roug^, Vicomte de, 270, 271.
Royal coronets in France, 47,

48.
Ruffier, Claude, magnitude of

his ex-libris, 63.

Saint Andrt^,N. T. de, 71.

Denis, order of, 53.

Esprit, order of, 54.

Lazare, order of, 55.

Louis, order of, 54.

Michel, order of, 53.

Sainte Marthe, freres, 71.

Sala, G. A., 234.

Salamon, Alphonse, 4.

Sarragoz, Pierre, of Besan^on,
70.

Sarrau, Claude, 67.

Satan, French idea of, 228, et
seq.

Scott, Marquis de la Mesan-
gere, 7 1 .

Secousse, Dr. F. R., 193.

Seguier, Pierre, 251.

Seguret, L. F., 178.

Serrier, Fr., 242.

Sevign^, Mdme. de, her
opinion of ex-libris, 83.

Shields, square, on early ex-
libris, 63.

Shoppee, Mr. C. J., 257.

"Sience de la Noblesse, La,"

.39-
Simon, Henri. ** Armorial

G<^n^ral," 124.

Soci^te Fran^aise des Collec-

tionneurs d'Ex-Libris, 19.

360

French Book-plates.

Soci^^te dc THistoire des Pro-
testanisme Fran^aise, 1852,
203.

Sordi^re, G. de la, 80.

Stern, 284, 297.

Stoeber, M. Auguste. "Petite
Revue d'Ex-Libris Alsa-
ciens," i, 6. 7, 152, 153;
motto on his ex-libris, 236.

Suchet, Marshal, 28.

Suppression of the French
nobihty, 113.

Sylvestre, J. E., 283.

Tausin, Henri, book-plate of,

282.
Terray, J. M., 1772 262, 263.
" Tesserae gentilitiae," 63.
Thi^ry, Claude, 137, 186, et

scq.^ 298.
Thilorieu, M. de, book-plate

of, 29.
Tinctures in French heraldry,

3o» 63.
Tissandier, Albert, 271.
Toison d*Or, order of Le, 55,

57'
Toque, La. Invented by David

to denote rank, 46.

Tourneux, M. Maurice, on

French ex-libris, 5.

Tralage, J. N. de, 82.
Trudon, engraver, 82.
Turgot, Bishop, 1 7 16, 1 78, 1 79.
Turner, Matthew, book-plate
of, 209.

Uzanne, M. Octave. Articles
in ** Le Livre Moderne," 6 ;
ex-libris, 273, 274, 277.

Vacher, Louis, 1768, 221.
Valdajou, Dumont de, 209,

213-
Valine, Melchior de la, 16 11,

2, 12, 67.
Varoquier, Francois de, 72.
Verdier de Vauprivas, 61.
Vicaire, M. Georges. Portrait,

16.
Vicars, Sir Arthur, letter from,

59-
Vignoles, John, 224.

Villatte, General, 120.

Villiers du Terrage, 118.

Weigel, Marie, 247.
Willemet, R., 213, 214.
Wolf, Mons., 229.
Wolfhardt, Conrad, i, 152.

• «.

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