1754–1755 Folio Catalogue of Maria Theresa’s Roman Portrait Coins; The Duc de Luynes’s Copy

(Froelich, Erasmus, Valentin Duval, and Joseph Khell von Khellburg). NUMISMATA CIMELII CAESAREI REGII AUSTRIACI VINDOBONENSIS QUORUM RARIORA ICONISMIS CETERA CATALOGIS EXHIBITA IUSSU MARIAE THERESIAE, IMPERATRICIS ET REGINAE AUGUSTAE. PARS PRIOR & PARS ALTERA. Vindobonae (Vienna): Typis et Sumptibus Joannis Thomae Trattner, 1754–1755. Two volumes, bound in one. Folio [45.5 by 30.5 cm], contemporary olive quarter calf with marbled sides; spine ruled, lettered and decorated in gilt and black; marbled endpapers; speckled page edges. (10), clxxvii, (1) + (8), xxvii, (1) pages; titles printed in red and black; superbly engraved frontispiece by Salomon Kleiner bound before plates; finely engraved title vignettes, headpieces, tailpieces and initials; 137 (25 + 112) finely engraved plates of ancient coins within ornate borders, also by Kleiner. Binding moderately rubbed, with hinges a bit weak; internally near fine. A remarkably clean and fresh copy of the magnificently produced catalogue of Roman portrait coins in the cabinet of Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. Babelon 114–115: “Erasmus Froelich (1700–1758), librarian at the Theresianum at Vienna and Professor of Archaeology, valued numismatics above all else, and his writings, although since surpassed by Eckhel’s, were responsible for significant progress in the field.” Khell was a pupil of Froelich’s and succeeded him at the Theresianum. The quality of the engravings is very high; Salomon Kleiner (1700–1761) was an acclaimed artist and engraver in Vienna, who was well-known for his urban views and architectural renderings. Babelon 115. Brunet 29737. Dekesel F204. Hirsch 44. Lipsius 289. Ex Honoré Théodore Paul Joseph d’Albert, Duc de Luynes (1802–1867), with the engraved bookplate of the Château de Dampierre Library.