Antique French Almanach Dédié aux Demoiselles, Louis Janet, Paris, Early 19th Century

An almanac "dedicated to young ladies," published in Paris by Louis Janet, the leading maker of these pocket-sized keepsakes in the early nineteenth century. They were the fashionable New Year's gift of their day: part calendar, part poetry anthology, and entirely too charming to throw away when the year ran out. Evidently no one did. This one has even kept its original case, which is rarer still.

Inside is an engraved title page with a small Cupid perched on a cloud, and a rhyming preface explaining, with a wink, that the book is dedicated to the Graces, to Love, to Innocence, and above all to the Demoiselles. Engraved plates are bound in throughout, and the calendar pages follow, set out month by month with saints' days and the phases of the moon.

It's bound in rose-pink cloth with a gilt-stamped border and gilt page edges, and it's small enough for a reticule, a bedside table, or a stack of other pretty things.

Details

• Title: Almanach dédié aux Demoiselles
• Publisher: Louis Janet, Libraire, Rue St. Jacques No. 59, Paris
• Date: Early 19th century
• Language: French
• Engraved title page with vignette, plus engraved plates
• Binding: Pink cloth with gilt-stamped border, gilt edges
• Includes original slipcase
• Dimensions: 4.75" × 3"
• Condition: Antique, with some staining and wear consistent with age