Beschreibung:

CALLOT, Jacques (1592-1635). Capricci di varie figure ... All Ill m o . & Ecc. m o S. Principe Don Lorenzo Medici . Florence: [1617].
CALLOT, Jacques (1592-1635). Capricci di varie figure ... All Ill m o . & Ecc. m o S. Principe Don Lorenzo Medici . Florence: [1617]. Oblong 12° (84 x 100mm). Etched title, dedication, and 48 etched plates by and after Callot, with later numbering in manuscript. (Some soiling and spotting.) English gold-tooled red morocco, second quarter of the 18th century, covers with central ornament incorporating fleurs-de-lis, rosettes, thistles and crowns, enclosed by wide border with similar emblems, gilt edges (joints cracked, spine a little chipped, a few light scuff marks on covers, rubbing to corners, recent pen trials in red ink on front blanks). Provenance : 'Metcalf Robinson 1726 bought of Gamberini compleat 50 plates' (inscription on front blank) -- Wrest Park (bookplate). FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS UNIQUE SUITE OF ETCHINGS 'en petit' by Callot who lived in Florence from 1611 to 1621. 'C'est une merveille de composition et de dessin, un prodige de graveur, d'une finesse et d'un charme incomparables' states Lieure. 'Cette série ... marque une date dans l'art de la gravure, tant par la nouveauté du procédé que par la maîtrise dans l'emploi exclusif de l'eau forte'. The unique designs show Florentine pageantry, martial enagagements, games, the costume of different classes, and bucolic life in a unique miniaturised form. Among the games are swimming in the Arno, horse-racing at the Pitti palace, and jeu de paume in the piazza Santa Croce. Brunet I, 1489: 21; Lieure Callot 214-263: 'très recherchée'; Lipperheide Ci16.