Renaissance Medals and Armor, Pair of Antique French Chromolithographs, 1882

A set of two original antique chromolithographs of Renaissance medals, armor and a cannon from Paul Lacroix's Louis XII et Anne de Bretagne, published in Paris by Georges Hurtrel in 1882, sold together as one set of two sheets. The first sheet reproduces five French Renaissance medals drawn in silver, bronze and gilt, among them the great medal of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany struck at Lyon, with the profiles of Charles VIII, Marguerite of Valois, Louise of Savoy and the young Francis, Count of Angouleme, later Francis I. Below them stands a carved, iron bound casket of the early sixteenth century with its hasp and handle. The second sheet reproduces a trophy of French arms of the reign: two full suits of plate armor, one with a crimson tabard sewn with fleurs de lis, a plumed royal helmet, a round shield, halberds and pikes, a white standard with a crown, and in front a field cannon of 1490 on its wheeled carriage, given by Charles VIII to the captain of his artillery, all against a striped hanging.

The plates come from Louis XII et Anne de Bretagne, Chronique de l'Histoire de France, by Paul Lacroix, the prolific historian who wrote as the Bibliophile Jacob, published in Paris in 1882 by Georges Hurtrel, artiste-editeur, of 35 rue d'Assas. The title page announces fourteen chromolithographs, fifteen large plates outside the text and about two hundred drawings in the text, all taken from originals of the period, and the work was produced under Hurtrel's own direction. The plates were printed in many colors with gold by the Imprimerie Lemercier et Cie of Paris, whose imprint appears at the lower right of each, and lithographed by Ad. Levie. The color is printed throughout, not applied by hand.

Both are the object plates of the book, lithographed by Adolphe Levie, and together they will appeal to collectors of arms and armor, medals and Renaissance decorative art. The reign of Louis XII, 1498 to 1515, sits at the turn from the Gothic to the French Renaissance, and the plates of this book catch that moment in costume, ornament and ceremony. Framed alike in gilt or dark wood, the sheets make a rich group for a library, a dining room or a stair.

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along the edges of both sheets. Light foxing in the margins of both sheets. Slight wear at the corners of one of the two sheets. Brown marks on one of the two sheets.

These are original antique prints, not modern reproductions. They are two original sheets sold together as one lot, and the set is never split. This item is sold unframed.