Les Peintures Sacrées – Antoine Girard – 1656 | 68 Engravings of Bible Scenes

Les Peintures Sacrées 1656 Girard is an impressive, folio containing 68 engraved Bible scenes from iconic stories. Written by Jesuit Antoine Girard, this huge book includes not only the copper engravings, but descriptions of the scene and the Bible story itself. In fact, the engraving of David and Goliath is particularly desirable.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Les Peintures Sacrees sur la Bible
• Author(s): Antoine Girard
• Illustrator(s): Léonard Gaultier, Claude Vignon, Gilles Rousselet, Claude Mellan, and Jan Ziarnko
• Publisher: A Paris, Chez Antoine de Sommaville
• Edition: Seconde Edition, 1656.
• Format: Folio, single volume
• Binding: Leather, raised bands
• Size: 14.25 in x 9.5 in (36.2 cm x 24.1 cm)
• Collation: [42], 592 pp
• Illustrations: 68 full-page copperplate engravings plus engraved frontispiece
• Contents Include:
  • Engraved allegorical frontispiece
  • Dedication to the Queen of France
  • Sequentially numbered biblical scenes with captioned interpretations

Condition:

Full-calf binding with moderate wear to corners and edges. Spine shows raised bands; rope cords remain structurally intact despite surface rubbing. Gilt tooling is present though partially faded. Marbled endpapers are original and in stable condition. Internally, all 69 engravings (68 biblical tableaux and one allegorical frontispiece) are present. The pages are complete, with moderate toning and light foxing confined to margins.

Why Collect This?

• Full suite of 68 engravings plus frontispiece present
• Uncommon survival of an intact Jesuit pictorial scripture interpretation