Disappointing from the point of view of the main collecting focus here at ZHQ, but I did buy some useful and attractive reference books at the PBFA fair, all on bookbinding, including a set of books that I have wanted for quite some time , Beraldi’s La Reliure Du XIX Siecle, published in 1895, limited to two hundred and ninety five copies, in four volumes, each with lovely illustrations.

It is an essential reference for nineteenth century French bookbindings and this copy came in an attractive binding by S. David (it is signed at the foot of the spine), though I haven’t been able to find out anything about him/her so far…

I particularly like the small black leather onlaid ‘book’

Footnote:

Initially S. David was unknown to us – he was S.[alvador] David (1859-1929), the son of Bernard David, a noted binder who had worked for Gruel and employed some of the best finishers available at the time. A few of his bindings are illustrated in Uzanne’s La Reliure Moderne and one appears in the book Fine and Historic Bookbindings From the Folger Shakespeare Library

Salvador took over from his father in 1890