£495.00
An early French edition of La Vie du Père Paul, preserved in period red-brown cloth with gilt spine lettering and bearing the contemporary manuscript signature “Paul Treguier” to the rear endpaper.
La Vie du Père Paul, a French biographical or religious work preserved in an attractive compact volume, bound in dark red-brown cloth with gilt lettering to the spine.
Of particular interest is the contemporary manuscript signature “Paul Treguier” to the rear endpaper, providing the volume with an individual provenance association. The signature is clearly written in brown ink and appears entirely consistent with the age of the book.
The binding shows moderate rubbing and wear, particularly at the extremities, while the text block displays the expected toning and occasional spotting of an early volume. The book nevertheless remains an appealing historical object, its small format and ownership inscription adding considerable character.Title: La Vie du Père Paul
Author: To be confirmed from title-page/bibliographical evidence
Year: To be confirmed
Edition: Early edition
Publisher: To be confirmed
Language: French
Provenance: Signed “Paul Treguier” on the rear endpaper
Binding: Contemporary or early dark red/brown cloth, spine lettered in gilt
Books such as La Vie du Père Paul belong to a long European tradition of biographical and devotional literature in which individual religious lives were presented as examples of faith, discipline and moral conduct.
Yet this copy has acquired another layer of history through the simple handwritten name Paul Treguier.
An ownership signature transforms an otherwise anonymous surviving book into an object that can be connected with an individual reader. It reminds us that these volumes were not merely printed, bound and placed upon shelves: they were carried, read, retained and sometimes passed through generations.
The restrained nineteenth-century-style binding and well-aged leaves give the volume precisely the appearance one hopes to find in a genuinely used historical book.
The principal appeal lies in the combination of French historical religious literature, attractive period character and signed provenance.
The manuscript Paul Treguier signature gives the copy an individuality absent from an unsigned example and offers scope for further provenance research. Its compact format and understated gilt-lettered binding also make it an appealing physical object for a collection devoted to French history, Catholic literature, biography or association copies.
Good antiquarian condition. Binding rubbed and worn at extremities, with some surface wear. Contents age-toned with occasional spotting and handling marks. Manuscript “Paul Treguier” signature to rear endpaper. Please refer to the photographs for the condition and appearance of this copy.
