Handworks 2017 Countdown – Original Roubo Print # 222

As I blogged earlier I will be selling many original First Edition 1772/1774 Roubo l’art du Menuisier prints at the upcoming Handworks 2017.    I bought these prints at an auction featuring a huge inventory from an antiquarian bibliophile who had mutilated scores of exquisite ancient books by cutting out the print images from the bindings. As unfortunate as this act of barbarism was, it did bring these masterpieces to the marketplace.

The only other option for me to examine them closely would have been to purchase a complete set of First Edition l’art du Menuisier for perhaps $10-15k or travel to Ft. Mitchell KY to see Chris Schwarz’ excellent set.  Since the latter remains an option to me for the foreseeable future, I’m jettisoning most of mine.

If you have ever wanted to own a genuine piece of Rouboiana, this is your chance.   I will be selling my prints to Handworks attendees on a first-come basis, with terms being cash, check, or Paypal if you have a smart phone and can do that at the time of the transaction.

Roubo was the draftsman for all the prints, and the engraver for a large number of them.  All these were hand-printed intaglio prints on hand made rag paper, almost certainly personally overseen by Roubo himself.

This is the first of the prints which I will be presenting in the order of their print numbers,  Plate 222, “Illustrations of Many Ancient Chairs.”  This image of chairs from the 7th Century through the 15th Century was both drawn and engraved by Roubo himself.  The print is one of the rougher of those I purchase, with the left edge being pretty irregular as the removal from the binding was, shall we say, inelegant, and the page itself stained especially around the perimeter, reflected in the price of $100.

If you have any questions about this print you can contact me here.