Paul Lacroix – Sciences and Letters in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (1877)

A monumental and richly illustrated French edition from 1877 on science, knowledge, and literature during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Sciences et Lettres au Moyen Âge et à l'Époque de la Renaissance was compiled by the French writer, historian, and bibliographer Paul Lacroix (1806–1884), better known by his pseudonym Bibliophile Jacob. The work was published in Paris by the famous publishing house Firmin-Didot et Cie.

In over six hundred pages, Lacroix discusses the development of education, universities, philosophy, mathematics, the natural sciences, medicine, chemistry, alchemy, and literature, among other subjects. The text is accompanied by approximately 400 wood engravings, making the book a major visual record of the nineteenth-century interest in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Of particular note are the thirteen separate chromolithographic color plates by Compère, Daumont, Pralon, and Werner. All 13 chromolithographs originally included with this edition are present in this copy.

The original publisher's binding is also particularly decorative. The red, chagrin-embossed percaline is richly adorned with gold-colored ornamentation in a historicizing Renaissance style. Combined with the fully gilded page edges, this gives the substantial volume the appearance of a luxurious nineteenth-century showpiece.

An impressive antiquarian book in which history, science, book illustration, and nineteenth-century book design come together.

Details:

• Author: Paul Lacroix (Bibliophile Jacob)
• Title: Sciences et Lettres au Moyen Âge et à l'Époque de la Renaissance
• Publisher: Librairie de Firmin-Didot et Cie
• Place of publication: Paris
• Year: 1877
• Edition: first edition
• Language: French
• Extent: IV + 612 pages
• Format: in-4°
• Illustrations: approximately 400 wood engravings
• Color plates: 13 chromolithographs
• Completeness of plates: complete, all 13/13 chromolithographs present
• Illustrators of chromolithographs: Compère, Daumont, Pralon, and Werner
• Binding: original red publisher's binding in chagrin-embossed percaline
• Decoration: extensive gold-colored ornamentation in Renaissance style
• Edges: fully gilded
• Period: 19th century
• Origin: France

Condition:
Good antiquarian condition with clear signs of use and age. The original red percaline binding shows wear, particularly on the front cover, edges, and corners. In places, the underlying textile structure of the percaline is visible due to wear. Nevertheless, the rich gold decoration is still clearly present, and the book retains a particularly strong decorative appeal. The fully gilded edges have also been well preserved. Inside, there are signs of age and occasional foxing, consistent with a book from 1877. Importantly, the copy is complete with all 13 chromolithographic color plates originally included with the edition.