Fanfare binding.- Cicero (Marcus Tullius) Les Sentences Illustres, collation: A-Z Aa-Zz AAa-Lll^8, Roman and italic letter, text in Latin and French, small woodcut ornament to title, woodcut portrait of Cicero to recto of otherwise blank final f., sig.Fff bound before sig. Eee, paper flaw to head of Bbb⁵, some water-staining, lightly browned, occasional spotting, contemporary burgundy morocco gilt à la fanfare, covers with central oval cartouche containing name of owner of the volume, these surrounded by a rich array of floral and foliage tools, all enclosed within two sets of filet borders, spine similarly richly decorated and within double filet borders, sympathetically rebacked, preserving original backstrip, corners sympathetically restored, backstrip with some creasing, rubbed, g.e., 16mo (119 x 75mm.), Lyon, Antoine de Harsy, 1589.

⁂ A handsome binding, It is rare to find a fanfare binding with the name and details of the person who commissioned the binding, along with a date of execution, rather than simply central arms. This binding was executed for Jean IV Daffis, Bishop of Lombez. A number of the tools are reminiscent of Clovis Ève (for a similar composition see the Ezmerian sale catalogue vol.1 lot 33, 1972).

Provenance; Jean IV Daffis, Bishop of Lombez from 1598-1614. Upper cover of binding with 'DE DIT. R. D. I. DAFFIS EPI. LUMBARIENSIS' and lower cover with 'IN COLLE. SOC. IESU TOLOS. AN. DO. 1601'.