Catalogue Raisonné Des Estampes.
Paris, [Leblanc for] F.L. Regnault-Delalande 1817.
8vo. xii, 564p.
Contemporary red sheep-backed marbled boards (rubbed), flat spine and title gilt, uncut.
Buying his first prints in 1762, the comte Rigal (b. 1747) formed an extraordinary collection, here “scientifically described” by the auctioneer Regnault-Delalande (Lugt, tr.). His exceedingly detailed notes record states unknown to previous scholars, including Bartsch. The prints account for some 1000 lots, then a few collecting guides and lastly twelve copperplates from the renowned French flower painter Pancrace Bessa’s monumental Fleurs et fruits of 1808, along with 2999 proofs printed in color, colored by hand or pulled in black. The Bessa made 8405 francs — no other lot breached 800 fr. The final twenty pages list Regnault-Delalande’s two hundred eighty-three art auction catalogs (1785-1817). In good condition, priced throughout in contemporary ms., indexed by artist, and with the 15-page printed price list bound in.
¶Blanc, Trésor de la curiosité II: 319-29; Lugt, Répertoire des…ventes 9255; Lugt, Marques 2139a.
Price: $700.00