Antique Illustrated Book City and Village Louis Énault, 19th-century color cover

AFW - Antique France Worldwide

Description

This antique book, "Ville et Village," attributed to Louis Énault based on keywords, is presented as a large, illustrated hardcover volume. The front cover, clearly visible in the photo, features a carefully crafted composition combining a central black and white illustration of a rural or village scene (people, mountainous landscape) and a richly ornate frame with colorful floral motifs. The white daisies, blue flowers, and stylized vegetation are finely drawn, typical of editorial illustrations from the late 19th century. The title "Ville et Village" appears in elegant red handwritten letters, enhanced with decorative volutes, perfectly legible in the lower part of the cover.

The overall appearance of the book reveals a cardboard binding with rounded corners, with the upper edge slightly damaged and dog-eared, characteristic of old use. The color printing of the cover, combined with the central engraving, attests to a meticulous edition, probably intended to highlight the illustrated or literary content of the work. The floral decor, typography, and visual scenography are fully in line with the editorial style of the second half of the 19th century, or even the very beginning of the 20th, a period when large illustrated books were prized for their aesthetics and their educational or picturesque content.

The book is photographed in a workshop or old library setting, placed on a patinated wooden table. This staging reinforces the authenticity and historical character of the work, without however allowing to see the spine, the back or the back cover. No other material details (such as the type of paper or the presence of gilding) are visible on this side. The condition of the book shows signs of wear, especially at the corners and the upper edge, with some folds and marks on the cover, but the whole remains consistent for a work of this era.

Among the remarkable elements are the richness of the floral ornamentation, the balance between illustration and typography, and the perfect legibility of the main title. The absence of format or dimension indication prohibits any estimation, but the object appears as a "large book" or "illustrated album" according to old editorial standards.

Condition

Used book sold as is. The cover shows visible signs of wear, blunted corners, folds and creases on the upper edge. The cover colors remain well preserved. Only the front face is visible, no details on the interior or the back are available.

Did you know? Louis Énault (1824-1900) was a French journalist, writer, and traveler, author of numerous popular works and illustrated accounts of rural life and landscapes in France. Books from the late 19th century were often published with richly illustrated covers, designed to attract a family audience and to highlight regional heritage through engravings and chromolithographs.

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Keywords: antique book, illustrated work, Louis Énault, Ville