COLLECTION DE CHIFFRES, Composés par H. Desnoyers, Graveur de S. A. I. Mgr. le Prince Louis, Roi de Hollande. 1e & 2e Livraison / [Collection of Ciphers, Composed by H. Desnoyers, Engraver to His Imperial Highness Prince Louis, King of Holland. 1st and 2nd installment]

Published by Chez l'Auteur Rue du Lycée M.on de l'Athénée N° 2, Pres le Palais Tribunat. Paris, n.d. circa 1806-1810, first editions. Two volumes, printed terracotta pink wrappers, 9" x 13.75", complete with a total of 31 copper engraved plates on watermarked laid paper including title pages, advertisements and 27 plates with decorative letterforms, volume 1: [2 leaves] 14 numbered pages; volume 2: [2 leaves] 13 numbered pages. VERY GOOD Condition: spines perished, gatherings loosened but holding, small oval German library ink stamp to front covers and title page versos, a few pencil marks, light edge chipping to covers, author's signature stamp to title pages, internally excellent. Scarce, only two copies in OCLC collections worldwide, both volumes found together at the Bibliothèque National de France, and just volume 2 at the Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, Paris.

Early French Empire typography was influenced by new styles of ornamental handwriting and their engraved reproductions. The engraved decorative letterforms (chiffres) that fill these two volumes include ornate monograms with lavishly curved scripts, ciphers, and rococo lettering with thinly sculpted lines. These books were used by artists, artisans, calligraphers, goldsmiths, and stamp carvers for their wealthy clients. Personalized ciphers, decorative letterforms, monograms and heraldic initials were major status symbols in 19th century France. During the Empire and Bourbon Restoration periods they were used to elevate ordinary possessions into extensions of identity. For the French elite, these bespoke interlaced initials were stamped onto stationery, silver, and wax seals, clearly broadcasting lineage and social standing in a rapidly shifting societal landscape.

H. Desnoyers (Auguste Gaspard Louis Hilaire Boucher Desnoyers; Baron Boucher Desnoyers) (French, 1779-1857) Born in Paris, he became one of the foremost engravers of his era, given the title of Baron and favored by the courts of Napoleon and Louis XVIII. He was the official draftsman and engraver of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon I), who became King of Holland in 1806.

In 1806, Napoleon appointed his brother, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, King of Holland. A short lived tactical decision which did not go according to plan. In 1810 Napoleon forced his brother to abdicate and annexed Holland to the kingdom of France. Louis was the Netherlands' first king, and it would be five years until they found another when William of Orange Nassau declared himself King of Holland in 1815, in direct response to Napoleon's return from Elba and the impending threat that reached its bloody climax at Waterloo.