A particularly beautiful and significantly larger 19th century French cartonnage book, L’Autriche sous Marie Thérèse by M. Todiére, published by Mégard et Cie in Rouen in 1863. The brilliant blue binding is richly decorated with elaborate gold detailing and a colorful inset scene to the front cover. This example is especially striking for its fully gilt page edges, which give the closed book a beautiful solid gold appearance.
The book is illustrated with engraved plates, including the dramatic scene shown of Maria Theresa presenting her son to the Hungarians.
A wonderful detail inside is the original 1868 school prize presentation label from the Pensionnat des Frères Maristes in Neuville sur Saône. It records the book being awarded as First Prize in Geography, giving this copy a lovely piece of documented 19th century provenance.
Significantly larger than the more commonly found cartonnage examples, making it especially impressive displayed upright or stacked with smaller volumes. Beautiful antique condition overall with age appropriate wear, light foxing and minor wear to the binding consistent with its age. The gilt decoration and blue coloring remain exceptionally vibrant.
