{"product_id":"the-first-edition-of-the-polish-livy-in-a-spectacular-pastiche-binding-by-louis-hague","title":"The First Edition of the “Polish Livy” in a Spectacular Pastiche Binding by Louis Hagué","description":"\u003ch3\u003eMartin Cromer’s National History of Poland in a Magnificent Neo-Renaissance Mosaic Binding\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMartin Cromer. \u003cem\u003eDe origine et rebus gestis polonorum libri XXX.\u003c\/em\u003e Basel, Johannes Oporinus, 1555.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first edition of one of the foundational works of Polish historiography, magnificently preserved in an exuberant nineteenth-century Renaissance-style pastiche binding by the legendary binder and imitator Louis Hagué. Combining royal French iconography, the symbols of Diane de Poitiers, and elaborate painted mosaic decoration, the volume stands among the most theatrical historicist bindings of the nineteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEdition \u0026amp; Bibliographic Information\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eΑ4 a–z4 A–Z4 Aa–Xx4 Yy6 Zz4 Aaa–Ddd4 Eee–Fff2 Ggg–Yyy4 Zzz8 = 4 leaves, 702 [correct: 698] pp., 1 errata leaf, 19 [of 20] leaves. Last blank leaf removed. Printed with narrow marginal columns and three-column index. Ruled throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIllustrated with a large woodcut title device bearing the Polish eagle, two full-page portraits, and more than eighty historiated woodcut initials. Folio (329 × 215 mm).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMartin Cromer (1512–1589), diplomat, royal secretary, bishop, and historian, composed the work at the very centre of political power in Renaissance Poland. Dedicated to King Sigismund II Augustus, the book sought to establish the dignity, independence, and historical legitimacy of the Polish crown through a rigorously humanist national history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePhysical Description \u0026amp; Binding\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRichly painted nineteenth-century pastiche mosaic binding by Louis Hagué in Renaissance style, executed in brown calf over wooden boards. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and compartments bearing the intertwined monogram “DHD,” crescent moons, and ornamental tooling. Covers centred with recessed gilt portrait medallions of King Henry II of France within densely gilt pointillé fields, surrounded by elaborate strapwork and black title cartouches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe surrounding decoration incorporates the famous symbols of Diane de Poitiers: interlaced crescents, monograms formed from opposing “D”s enclosing an “H,” and the motto \u003cem\u003e“omnium victorem vici”\u003c\/em\u003e (“I have conquered the conqueror of all”). Gilt edges, decorative bosses, and clasp fittings further enhance the illusion of a luxurious sixteenth-century royal binding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePreserved in a modern dark blue half morocco case lined with velvet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe “Polish Livy”\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCromer’s \u003cem\u003eDe origine et rebus gestis polonorum\u003c\/em\u003e became one of the defining narratives of early Polish national consciousness. Written in elegant classical Latin and structured around the succession of Polish rulers, the work consciously positioned Poland as an independent and historically sovereign European power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnlike purely dynastic chronicles, Cromer’s history pursued what scholars later described as an early national historiographical project. German and Bohemian historians were sharply criticized; Lithuania was largely omitted; and the glory and autonomy of the Polish crown remained central throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe work quickly achieved international success. A second edition appeared already in 1558, followed by a German translation in 1562, while its influence within Poland expanded steadily over the following century. By the seventeenth century Cromer had acquired the title of the “Polish Livy,” and his history remained influential well into the nineteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLouis Hagué and the Art of the Perfect Renaissance Illusion\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe binding was created around the late nineteenth century by Louis Hagué, one of the most famous and technically brilliant imitators of Renaissance bindings. Born in France, Hagué worked for Zaehnsdorf in London, restored bindings for Firmin-Didot in Paris, and later settled in Brussels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHagué specialized in creating sumptuous neo-Renaissance bindings incorporating the devices of kings, queens, collectors, and famous historical libraries. Here he constructed an elaborate “association copy” linking Cromer’s Renaissance history with the courtly world of Henry II and Diane de Poitiers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe decorative programme is extraordinarily sophisticated. The intertwined crescents and “DHD” monograms directly evoke the symbolic language found on authentic bindings associated with Diane de Poitiers and the royal court of Fontainebleau. The central portrait medallions imitate contemporary Renaissance medallic portraiture, while the bosses and clasps create the illusion of an object intended for ceremonial display rather than shelving.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndeed, Hagué’s imitations were so convincing that collectors initially accepted them as authentic sixteenth-century bindings. Only after the death of the English collector John Blacker did Sotheby’s publicly reveal the truth when dispersing his library under the title \u003cem\u003eA Remarkable Collection of Books in Magnificent Modern Bindings\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProvenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBound by Louis Hagué for the English collector John Blacker; Sotheby’s, Wilkinson \u0026amp; Hodge, London, 11 November 1897, lot 37 (£31 to Sotheran).\u003cbr\u003eBookplate of the Sheffield industrialist William Crampton (1843–1910).\u003cbr\u003eLater owned by the bookseller Emil Offenbacher, who emigrated from Frankfurt to Paris and later New York.\u003cbr\u003eCornelius John Hauck (1893–1967); Christie’s, New York, 26–28 June 2006, lot 179.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLiterature\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdams C 2976; BM STC German 478; Ebert 5467; Graesse II, 303; VD16 K 2425; VD16 K 2418.\u003cbr\u003eBinding literature: Dubois d’Enghien 173; Hamanovà; Nixon 1971, nos. 36–37; Thomas 250.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a fuller scholarly description and illustrations, see \u003cem\u003eWunderkammer\u003c\/em\u003e Catalogue 90, lot 87:\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/heribert-tenschert\/docs\/katalog_90_vol_2_web?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"\u003eWunderkammer Catalogue 90, Volume II\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Atelier Zweig Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46830039466172,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0736\/1285\/3436\/files\/Louis-Hague-1.png?v=1778886800","url":"https:\/\/atelierzweig.com\/products\/the-first-edition-of-the-polish-livy-in-a-spectacular-pastiche-binding-by-louis-hague","provider":"Atelier Zweig Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}