VECELLIO (Cesare). Ancient and modern costumes. Habiti antichi et moderni di tutto il monde di Cesare Vecellio preceded by an essay on wood engraving by M. Amb. Firmin Didot. Paris: typographie de Firmin Didot frères fils & Cie, 1860. - 2 volumes in one in-8 volume, 217 x 138: Red morocco, triple gilt fillet framing and gilt coat of arms in center on covers, ornate ribbed spine, gilt lace inside, gilt edges (Allô). Only the fourth edition of this famous collection of late 16th-century costumes, the first to include a French translation by Armand Lacombe. Ambroise Firmin-Didot justifies this new edition with the revival of woodcutting in the mid-19th century: "Today, by the finesse of the cuts, by the equality of the paper, by the sharpness of the printing, the art of woodcutting, while retaining its own advantages, is coming closer and closer to intaglio. The time has therefore come when we can reproduce on wood, with an entirely new charm, the masterpieces drawn by the great masters of the art in the sixteenth century." The illustration consists of 513 superb figures of male and female costumes in a beautiful frame, all engraved on wood. The figures were redesigned and engraved by Gérard Seguin and Étienne Frédéric Huyot after the 1598 edition; the frames were engraved from drawings by Hercule Catenacci and Fellmann, based on the original frames and other models from the same period collected by Ambroise Firmin-Didot. Each figure is accompanied by a Latin and French text, also embellished with an engraved frame. The titles are beautifully framed in bistre, engraved by Huyot after a drawing by Catenacci. ONE OF THE RARE EXEMPLES ON CHINESE PAPER, superbly bound by Allô for the Marquis de Roualle, whose coat of arms adorns the boards. Cracks and restorations to the spines, traces of wax on the boards. Provenance: Marquis de Roualle, with his coat of arms on the boards.