Egyptiens et Semites: L'Evolution des Lettres et des Arts (Egyptians and Semites) 1/25 BINDING Libraire L. Borel

***VERY RARE, ONE OF ONLY 25 COPIES PUBLISHED ON HIGH QUALITY CHINESE AND JAPANESE RICE PAPER. IN *MAGNIFICENT* FINE ORANGE FULL MOROCCO WITH A BEAUTIFUL, MULTI-COLORED FRONT COVER ART DECO INLAY OF THE EGYPTIAN GODDESS ISIS*** Egyptiens et Semites: L'Evolution des Lettres et des Arts (Egyptians and Semites: The Evolution of Letters and Arts) The book is divided into three parts: Hebrew literature, Egyptian literature, and Assyrian literature. Published in 1895 by Librairie L. Borel in Paris. Written in French. First limited edition of 25 copies printed on beautiful Chinese/Japanese rice paper. 6.75" x 3.75" Collated and complete. [12], 318, [2] pp. Beautifully illustrated throughout by French artist Antoine Calbet. Double title page separated by preliminaries. Condition: VERY GOOD+ ANTIQUARIAN CONDITION In orange full morocco exceptional fine binding. Front cover with a gorgeous brown, gold, blue and silver inlay of the winged Egyptian goddess Isis. Five raised spine bands, gilt spine lettering. Top edge gilt. Sewn-in satin ribbon placeholder. Exceptional, ornate gilt dentelles. Stunningly radiant pink moiré silk doublures with a gilt flamingo delicately tooled into the FFEP silk. Marbled endpapers. High-quality imported Chinese and Japanese rice paper. Beautifully illustrated. This is a master class in antiquarian late 19th century-early 20th century fine binding and craftsmanship! Stunning! ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR Antoine Calbet was a realist French painter, engraver, illustrator, lithographer and decorator born in 1860. He made his public exhibition debut at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français in 1880 and continued to take part in the Paris Salons until 1940. A gifted watercolorist as well as a portrait and genre painter, Calbet had a particular penchant for studies of languid female nudes. Condition: VERY GOOD+ Externally & binding - firm hinges and joints, no spine lean, tight pages. Minimal rubbing. Colorful, unfaded orange morocco with very light rubbing. Just some soiling to the leather. Internally - the pages are exceptionally bright white. The occasional smudge or page margin chip or other sign of handling. Evidence of pencil erasure on several of the blank flyleaves. The occasional spot or two of light foxing. Some spots of soiling on rear doublures. No bookplates or stamps. All in all, an exquisite very fine binding of a rare limited first edition of only 25 copies. Please note: I know what it's like to receive items not matching the seller's descriptions or that were poorly packaged and damaged in transit. That is why I offer a 100% satisfaction, money back guarantee, and go to great lengths to accurately describe my rare, signed and collectible books and post pictures of the "actual book." I carefully package and ship your newly acquired treasure(s) and usually ship within 1 business day of receiving your order.