HOLBEIN (Hans) L'Alphabet de la mort de Hans Holbein Entoure de bordures du XVIe siècle et suivi d'anciens poëmes français sur le sujet des trois mors et des trois vis Paris: Firmin Didot frères for Edwin Tross, 1856. In-8, black morocco, cold-stamped fillets framing the boards, ribbed spine, interior gilt roulette, gilt head, untrimmed, cover preserved (Comasso). Edition published by Anatole de Montaiglon, reproducing the alphabet of death drawn by Hans Holbein and engraved at the time by H. Lutzelburger. Each letter is accompanied by a short sentence on death taken from ancient authors, and the alphabet is followed by various Dits des Trois Mors et des Trois Vis taken from 13th-century manuscripts. The text is framed by borders taken from the Hours of Simon Vostre, engraved by Léon le Maire. A copy on laid paper, perfectly bound in the period by the Saint-Etienne bookbinder Comasso for the library of Claude Henri Palluat de Besset (1806-1886) at Château de La Salle, a member of one of Saint-Etienne's most important industrial families, who acquired the château in 1841. Provenance: Claude Henri Palluat de Besset, with stamp from the library of Château de La Salle.