Notebook bearing silver plates with the VOC.

almanac

HÉRISSANT, Ve. - Calendrier de la cour, tiré des éphémérides, pour l'Année bissextile.. / Notebook bearing silver plates with the VOC monogram. (Paris, 1787) Size of book block : 10.5 x 5.5 cm.
Almanac in-18°, contemp. red marocco, richly gilded, with a silver centerpiece on each cover, bearing the image of a Dutch East Indiaman in full sail, with a flag and the V.O.C. monogram. Containing 60 leaves and 2 leaves of wax-coated paper.

  € 4000 - $ 4500

A personal gift, only made for the trustees of the V.O.C. The silver plate was probably made by Drick van Hengel and Company because an entry in the diary of mintmaster Johann Georg Holtzhey for the years 1777-1784 reveals that silver work for book clasps for the Delft and Rotterdam chambers was to be supplied by Dirck van Hengel and Company on a yearly basis.
The almanac contains a list of the daily sunrise and sunset, the phases of the moon, etc. Jacques Collombat (Grenoble, circa 1668 - idem, 1744) was a printer, bookseller.
He established as a bookseller in Paris in 1695 and in 1700 he became the printer of the Duchess of Burgundy. He began and became well known with the publication of the Royal Calendar and was the official printer for the the King.