Exquisite Miniature Vellum Album with Four Watercolors and a Pencil Sketch, of Buildings and Their Surroundings: A wartime gift from Jean Jadot to Brigadier Tarleton, and British officer, in the newly liberated Brussels, presented on October 21, 1944

Full Morocco. Morocco slipcase. Calf box. Very Good. The four paintings of Lowland landscapes are rendered with extraordinary precision and capture the best of the miniaturist's art. Indeed, they justify the consideration of miniature painting as an art unto itself. The album itself has no date, but we would conjecture that the paintings date from the late eighteenth century, based on the dress of the tiny human figures depicted in them. It is conceivable, though, that the paintings are a little later, as fashion in country settings tended to lag behind that of the cities, or the artist could have chosen to depict people in the clothes of yesteryear. The album itself measures 53 by 34 mm. Marbled endpapers. Gilt ruling on the boards. The book and its slipcase are housed in a presentation box measuring 11.5 by 14 cm, with a snap button to open and secure. Jean Jadot was a well-known Belgian Roman Catholic prelate (1909-2009) who would later serve as an apostolic delegate to the United States, among other prominent postings. He hailed from an aristocratic family and was a life-long collector of antiquarian books and manuscripts throughout his life. Gerald Tarleton saw action on the Normandy beaches in 1944 before taking of the Brussels garrison. The book would appear to have been a gift in appreciation for the liberation of Brussels. Condition: the book itself has considerable surface wear on its leather, and is heavily rubbed especially on its spine. The red leather slipcase, which has its own separate well within the box, is well-preserved, with only minor light black soil spots. The box is rubbed and abraded here and there, but is structurally sound and attractive, with the gilt lettering on its top perhaps slightly faded but still easily legible. The interior of silk and velour has a few light, trivial stains.