Schmidt-Künsemüller (Friedrich Adolf), 1910-1993

(35 cm), xvi, 304 pp., 209 plates. Publisher’s cloth binding (no dust jacket issued). - “A monument of patient, persevering, and painstaking scholarship” (from a review by Mirjam Foot, in The Book Collector, Spring 1982, pp.113-117). Schmidt-Künsemüller describes 464 German bindings embellished with decoration cut or drawn into the leather, of which he has located 373. The information provided for each binding consists of the present ownership and pressmark, short-title and description, an indication of provenance and bibliography; “The author makes it clear that the corpus is a summary of existing knowledge and does not embody original research… He has been entirely successful in achieving this aim. The exhaustive list of bindings and the admirable bibliography will be indispensable to all future students of the subject” (from a review by Anthony Hobson, in The Times Literary Supplement, 5 June 1981, p.650). Publisher’s retail price €140 (www.hiersemann.de). ¶ Two small spots on upper cover; otherwise a very good, unmarked copy.