Item #2688v A composite geographical almanac. EMBROIDERED ALMANAC BINDING.
A composite geographical almanac.
A composite geographical almanac.
A “vernacular” embroidered binding

A composite geographical almanac. [France, ca. 1788-90].

24mo (binding size 97 x 65 mm). [64] pp. Apparently lacking title, replaced by the engraved title of a different almanac, 2 foldout engraved mapsheets at front and back containing 7 different maps. Corner of fol. B1 torn away. Contemporary ivory silk over pasteboards, covers embroidered alike with a frame of couched green thread enclosing repeated small purl bows or leaf motifs, at center an oval cartouche composed of a band of silver metallic thread edged in green silk thread, enclosing two birds nuzzling on a green branch, the birds composed entirely of purl, the cartouches “tied” at the top with a triple bow, each loop composed of bronze-colored purl filled with silver metallic purl, tied with a ribbon of pink silk embroidered thread and small sequins, the covers edged with needle-looped metallic lace, backstrip with zig-zag pattern of purl (lacking a few pieces), yellow silk liners, free endpapers of copper-glazed paper. Provenance: Carlo de Poortere, bookplate.***

An odd little almanac binding, probably the work of an amateur, on an unidentified almanac with geographic content whose missing title was replaced by the engraved title of an unrelated almanach galant, Le Trottoir du Permesse, ou le Rimeur fantastique, Paris: Jubert, [1788]. The maps show the world in two hemispheres, France, and the continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America).
Item #2688v

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