Bernard Quaritch Ltd (London); Grinke (Paul), compiler

(28.5 cm), 144 pp. Orange paper-covered boards. - Short-title inventory of the book collection of the Belgian bibliophile Georges de Belder (1922-1982), now substantially in the Getty Research Institute. The catalogue is divided into three parts: the rediscovery, codification and interpretation of antiquity; the neo-classical book; and the reference collection. “The condition of the books was remarkable in itself, not only for the wealth of fine bindings (the collection figured prominently in Culot’s monograph on Bozerian in 1979) but also because almost everything not in a superb binding (including the celebrated set of the Encyclopédie) seemed to be uncut and in early boards… It will surely stand as the principal record of a subject still too little explored, and it was certainly no understatement for the introduction to close with the remark ‘It is unlikely that the opportunity to build such a collection will ever occur again.’” (from a review in The Book Collector, Spring 1985, p.97). The catalogue was not generally circulated and is rare. This is the unillustrated issue (a few copies were distributed with tipped-in colour plates). ¶ Light shelf-wear; otherwise an excellent, unmarked copy.