Martin (Gabriel, compiler & auctioneer) Bibliotheca Fayana, seu Catalogus librorum bibliothecæ, half-title, charming large engraved allegorical vignette to title by Jean-Baptiste Scotin, woodcut head- and -tail-pieces and decorative initials, without portrait frontispiece, priced in a contemporary hand, some browning and spotting, contemporary calf, gilt spine in compartments and with red morocco label, abrasions to both covers, joints cracked but holding, and other wear to spine, [Pollard & Ehrman 269; Taylor, p. 239], 8vo, Paris, Gabriel Martin, 1725.

⁂ ‘On peut dire que ce catalogue est le premier d’un type nouveau et qu’il marque les débuts de la bibliophilie en France.’ (Bléchet, in Charon (ed), Les ventes de livres et leurs catalogues, Paris: 2000, p.83). The library of Charles-Jérôme de Cisternay Du Fay (1662-1723), captain of the Gardes Françaises and renowned bibliophile. Seriously wounded and forced to retire from active service, Du Fay dedicated himself to building his library. The sale comprised 4414 lots, and one of the main buyers was Count Karl Heinrich von Hoym (1694-1736), who considered Du Fay’s library to be ‘la plus remarquable d’Europe par le choix et la rareté des livres qui la composait.’.

Provenance: Léon Duris du Fresne (c.1844-1888), bibliophile of Berry, France; Anthony Hobson (1921-2014), book auctioneer, book historian (particularly bindings) and bibliophile (armorial bookplates).