GUILLAUME. Almanach dansant pour l'année 1770.

GUILLAUME [Simon]. Dancing almanac or Positions and attitudes of the German. With a preliminary speech on the origin and the utility of the dance dedicated to the beautiful sex. For the year 1770. Where is a collection of contredanse [sic] and new minuets. Paris, A.P. et A., chez l'auteur - [chez] Valade - et chez Dufour, [1769]. 16,5 x 10,5 cm, [2]-31-[1] p., 12 ff. of pl. (figures) and 12 p. (scores) + 1 free leaf. Bound in full garnet morocco, boards framed with triple gilt fillet, spine with 5 nerves decorated with fillets and fleurons, title, place and year gilt, double fillet along the edges and dotted on the headpieces, counter-plates lined with the same leather with gilt roulette, all edges gilt, midnight blue morocco slipcase. The binding and the slipcase are both signed Rivière & Son. Complete collection of the 12 black engraved plates and the 12 scores, also engraved, perfectly preserved. On p. 17 is a new title engraved as follows : Recueil de contredanses et menuets nouveaux et choisis, de la composition des Sieurs Sauton, Lahante & autres, avec la description des figures, et l'explication intelligible des mouvements usités dans toutes les contredanses, par le Sieur Guillaume, maître de danse. In Paris, at Dufour - [at] the Sieur Guillaume, M.DCC.LX. [1760]. The whole is remarkably precise and the combination of text-image-music gives quite substantial elements to reproduce these dances, a rather successful attempt at choreographic (proto-)notation, the writing of the dance (efficient!) having remained for a long time a huge challenge. Guillaume leaves here one of the very rare documents witnessing the evolution of the allemande towards faster and circular movements which announce by far the waltz. Very rare complete and in such a beautiful condition. A letter a.s. from the bookseller A.-Louis de Meuleneere in which he describes several copies of this Almanac (1 f. 18,5 x 21,5 cm, ms. recto-verso on the letterhead of his bookshop) is enclosed. Armorial bookplate of Sir David Lionel Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons. Grand-Carteret, 404 - Cohen 11 describes the edition for the year 1769 and mentions it.