AN EARLY EMBOSSED NUMISMATIC ILLUSTRATION

Vergnaud-Romagnési, M. C. F. Fac-Simile de Médailles des Familles Romaines Consulaires et Impériales de la Collection de Mm. de Villevêque Fils; Obtenu Par un Procedé Découvert et Appliqué Pour la Premiere Fois à une Suite de Médailles. Paris, Roret, Libraire, Rue Hautefeuille Orleans, L’Auteur, Rue Royale, 1832. Octavo, pp. iv, 18 pages of plates depicting the embossed impressions of between 6 and 14 coins all on paper, with original tissue guard and an accompanying page of descriptive text. In the original printed boards, with a charming vignette on the upper cover. Original paper label to spine. From the libraries of Pierre Lambert and Ferdinando Bassoli and with their neat ex-libris on the front paste-down. Joints cracked and weak but still intact, boards a little discoloured. Contents clean with only minimal browning. A fine copy of an exceptionally rare and fascinating book. £2,650

Charles François Vergnaud-Romagnési (1785-1871) was a successful merchant, a member of a variety of historical and academic societies including the Society of Antiquaries of France and author of a number of books, most notably perhaps his history of the city of Orleans (1830). The present title is very rare and unrecorded in all the usual bibliographies with the only institutional copy found at the Bibliothèque Nationale.

It is very possibly one of the earliest examples of embossed numismatic illustration and is contemporaneous with Sir Edward Thomason’s ‘Enammelled Impressions struck off from the Splendid Series of Medal Dies’ (See Manville Vol. 3, 293) which was published (albeit without imprint) c. 1830-1840.

The embossed images on the plates are simple yet effective, having been spared the somewhat gauche treatment of later embossed plates with metallic tints which have a tendency to look clumsy. 224 Roman coins are depicted, starting with Roman Republican issues, through to the Imperatorial and Imperial issues and right down to the reign of Julian II, the Apostate.

The seventeenth plate depicts three Roman medallions but is interesting more for the explanation written in the Avertissement rather than the coins themselves, ‘Le XVIIe planche contient trois médallions de trois degrès différens de conservation. Le premiere, Antinoüs, est le mieux conservé; celui du dessous, de Lucius-Verus, l’est moins bien; et enfin le dernier, celui de Néron, l’est encore plus mal.’ Although not the purpose of the book itself, it would appear that this plate is very probably the earliest visual example of coin grading, something which would not have been possible with engraved or lithographic illustrations which were notoriously inaccurate.

The quality of these embossed images both in terms of their relief and accuracy, is remarkable, the method of production being achieved by direct impression with the coins rather than casts or sulphur impressions. The final two plates, the latter of which is unmentioned in the text, illustrate historical medals of Orleans. (For more information on embossed illustrations in numismatic books see also George Frederick Kolbe Auction 112, 13th May 2010).

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