Les Arts au Moyen Age et a l'époque de La Renaissance and Vie Militaire et Religieuse Au Moyen Age et a L`epoque De La Renaissance

Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot Frères, Fils et Cie, 1871-1873. Leather. Good. 11.5" by 8". None. Two bright volumes from Paul Lacroix's vastly comprehensive and beautifully illustrated Le Moyen Age et La Renaissance. Vie Militaire et Religieuse is a First Edition. Les Arts Au Moyen Age has 19 chromolithographs and over 400 illustrations. Vie Militaire et Religieuse has 14 chromolithographs and over 400 illustrations. There are 'Percival Pearse' booksellers labels on the front endpapers of both volumes. Paul Lacroix, 1806 – 1884, was a French author and journalist. Lacroix was an extremely prolific and varied writer. Over twenty historical romances alone came from his pen, and he also wrote a variety of serious historical works, including a history of Napoleon III, and the life and times of the Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. He is best known under his pseudonym of P.L. Jacob, bibliophile, or Bibliophile Jacob, suggested by the constant interest he took in public libraries and books generally. Lacroix was the author of Le moyen âge et la renaissance, a standard work on the manners, customs and dress of those times, the chief merit of which lies in the great number of illustrations it contains. He also wrote many monographs on phases of the history of culture, including Manners, Custom and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period. His works on bibliography were also extremely numerous. In 1885 he was appointed librarian of the Arsenal Library, Paris. in a half calf binding with gilt lettering. The front outer hinge of Vie Militaire is split and the front inner hinge has failed. There is a chance the front board could detach in the post, even after careful packaging. There is some wear to the extremities, including some bumping and rubbing, with slight discolouration to the boards. There are ink numbers on the spine of Vie Militaire. Internally the pages are bright with the occasional scattered spotting. There is a 'Percival Pearse' ink stamp on a front endpaper. Good