COUSIN Jean-Antoine-Joseph Livre de Pourtraicture de Maistre Jean Cousin.

Brunet II, 339; Choulant, p. 359 (“the cuts are supposed to have been drawn on the block by Cousin and cut by Leclerc”); cf. Berlin cat. 4611 for a 19th century edition, Harvard 158 for the edition of 1600 and Brun, 161.

All early editions of this book are rare.

“The volume consists of thirty-six woodcuts of heads, parts of the body, and full figures, printed one to a leaf with explanatory text of the facing page… The earliest known Leclerc edition is one printed by David Le Clerc for Jean in 1595, and after at least seven Le Clerc editions of blocks passed to Guillaume Le Bé” (Harvard, French).

Brun insists on the rarity of the book and indicates that “on ne rencontre guère de cet ouvrage que les rééditions du XVIIe siècle”. The title page indicates that this guide on drawings is very useful for draughtsmen, sculptors, architects, goldsmiths, embroiderers, carpenters, and all those who love paintings and sculpture (“Fort utile & nécessaire aux Peintres, Statuaires, Architectes, Orfèvres, Brodeurs, Menuisiers & généralement à tous ceux qui ayment l’art de Peinture & Sculpture”.

Small restored tears touching image on leaf 30 and 32, last two leaves with some wear in outer margins, some occasional browning towards the end. From the library of Vic. Dauphin with his bookplate.