Part 5 (2/2)

All three plates are nameless; the arms are irregularly emblazoned, whilst the helmet and supporters are drawn in such an antique style as to give the plates the appearance of even greater age than they possess.

Possibly they may have been copied from some very old painting. Later on this Bigot has another suite of armorial book-plates engraved with his name, _Johannes Bigot_. In these the tinctures are indicated on the s.h.i.+eld by their initial letters. As a collector his son Emeric was even more famous, and added greatly to the library he inherited from his father. He had three armorial ex-libris, one large, and two small, on which the tinctures are correctly shown, with the name, _L. E. Bigot_.

These are all signed with a monogram formed of B and D entwined.

Emeric Bigot was born in 1626, so that it is possible that his plates were engraved a little later than 1650.

He was certainly the leading bibliophile of his day, at once the most cultivated and the most liberal in the acquisition of rare books.

Contemporary writers mention his literary taste and his fine library, which at the time of his death contained about 40,000 volumes. These he left to a member of his family, Robert Bigot (who also had a book-plate), but eventually they were sold in Paris in 1706.

The following ex-libris have also been identified as belonging to this period, either by the names, the arms, the mottoes, or by the signatures of the artists affixed to them:

Charles de Lorraine, Eveque de Verdun (1592-1631). Fine armorial plate, without the owner's name.

Alexandre Bouchart, Sieur de Blosseville. Engraved by Leonard Gaultier, dated 1611, and already described on page 12.

Melchior de la Vallee, dated 1613, an armorial plate of extreme rarity.

The inscription reads thus: ”Melchior a Valle protonotarius Insignis Ecclae Sancti Georgi Naceis Cantor et Canonicus Henr II. D. Lotharin. et Barri eleemosinarius.” On account of its extreme rarity this ex-libris had long been the subject of doubt and curiosity to collectors, even Mons. Poulet-Mala.s.sis had not seen it, and blundered in his notes upon it.

At length Dr. Bouland gave a _facsimile_ of it in the _Archives de la Societe Francaise_ for February, 1895.

The actual engraving measures exactly six inches by four, and in the lower portion the date (1613) is boldly engraved. Dr. Bouland, in his notes upon it, says that this _facsimile_ is taken from the only original copy that is now known to exist, in the possession of Mons.

Lucien Wiener, Curator of the Lorraine Museum in Nancy. One other example was discovered some time since, but was unfortunately destroyed in a fire. The design (which it may be said is more curious than beautiful) was at first attributed to Callot, but it is now believed to have been the work of Jacques Bellange, a painter and engraver, who was born in Nancy in 1594, and died about 1638, consequently he might well have produced work of this description in 1613. Melchior de la Vallee was an ecclesiastic, with a pa.s.sion for collecting rare books and curiosities; unfortunately he incurred the displeasure of Charles IV., Duke of Lorraine, was accused of sorcery, and cruelly burnt alive in 1631.

Chanlecy. The nameless armorial plate of an ecclesiastic belonging to this Burgundian family, quartering the arms of Semur and Thiard.

Claude Sarrau. Armorial plate in two sizes; the larger one only is signed Briot, although it is probable the same artist, Isaac Briot, engraved both. The owner's name does not appear on either plate. Claude Sarrau, councillor to the parliament of Paris, died in 1651. His correspondence with the savants of the day was edited and published by his son Isaac in 1654.

De Chaponay. Prevot des Marchands de la Ville de Lyon in 1627. Two handsome armorial plates, quarto and octavo, without the owner's name.

The quarto plate has the arms of Chaponay imposed upon those of family connections; lions support the s.h.i.+eld, which rests on a platform composed of a mosaic pattern of all the princ.i.p.al charges found on the various s.h.i.+elds. This is a very fine decorative plate. Signed Joan Picart incidit.

”Ex Libris Alexandri Petavii in Francorum curia consiliarii. Pauli filii.” This is the fine armorial plate of Alexandre Petau, who inherited a splendid library from his father, Paul Petau, conseiller au parlement de Paris, born in 1568, died in 1613. On the death of Alexandre his ma.n.u.scripts were purchased by Christina of Sweden, who bequeathed them to the Vatican. The printed books were sold at the Hague in 1722, along with those of Mansart, the famous architect. On the plate the s.h.i.+eld rests on a mosaic platform, composed of the princ.i.p.al charges in alternate squares correctly tinctured. Motto: ”Moribus antiquis.”

This plate is reproduced by Poulet-Mala.s.sis.

Louis Brasdefer. In two sizes, each having the owner's name. Arms surrounded by two branches of laurel; the tinctures are indicated by their initial letters.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF ALEXANDRE PETAU.]

Ex-libris of Guillaume Grangier. _Guillelmus Grangierius_. Faict a Nancy par J. Valdor. An armorial plate, with six lines of Latin verse. The artist, Jean Valdor, a Liegeois, was residing in Nancy in 1630, which approximately fixes the date of this plate; he afterwards went to Paris, where he was living in 1642.

Auzoles, Sieur de la Peyre, of a family of Auvergne, author of ”La Sainte Chronologie” (1571-1642). A quarto armorial plate without owner's name, but signed Picart ft. The s.h.i.+eld hangs from the neck of a lion.

Motto: ”Sub zodiaco vales.” This plate is reproduced by Poulet-Mala.s.sis.

Brinon. Norman family. A nameless armorial plate.

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