Royalty

Royalty, in the antiquarian book trade, can be traced through many forms: autograph letters of sovereigns, acts and diplomas bearing seals, court memoirs, editions devoted to reigns and dynasties, engraved portraits or armorial bindings that signal a princely provenance. This theme encompasses political correspondence as much as the objects of power (ordinances, royal almanacs, ceremonial compendia), each bearing the tangible trace of an authority and an age.

The collector's interest here rarely rests on a single criterion: illustrious provenance, a preserved seal, an armorial binding, an inscription or dedication, the rarity of a printing destined for the court. It is through such details that a collection takes shape, one in which the history of kings and queens is read as much in the margins as in the text itself.