Gaguin, Robert

Chancery folio (274 x 192mm.), 180 leaves, Aa⁶ a-z A-F⁶, 45 lines plus headline, woodcut title-page (repeated at end), woodcut printer's device at end, 3-line printed Lombard initials, 6- and 8-line initials in red and blue with printed guides, yellow initial-strokes, a few early annotations in a French hand, contemporary blind-stamped calf over pasteboard, outer panel with roses and a lozenge-shaped vase with flowers, inner panel composed of crested acorn tools, small central vertical panel composed of a repeated serrated square stamp, binding slightly rubbed, spine repaired at head and foot, joints cracked

Goff G15; HC 7413; BMC viii 217; BSB-Ink G-8; Bod-inc G-009; GW 10454

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The fourth edition of Gaguin's compendium of French history, first published in 1495. This copy contains the additional paragraph at the end on the collapse of the Pont-Neuf in October 1499 and the punishment meted out on 9 January 1500. At the end is the letter to the author from Erasmus which, in the first edition, was the first appearance of Erasmus in print.

The crested acorn tool used on the binding creates a pattern similar to the acorn panels used by binders such as Jehan Norvins in Paris in the early sixteenth century, and also found in London. A similar stamp is Oldham, English Blind-Stamped Bindings, plate X, stamp 37. Oldham's Unnamed Cambridge Binder (plate XIV) has a less-similar acorn crested tool as well as the serrated square used in the centre of this binding (stamps 132 and 134).