Cours de dessin linéaire, cahier par Mlle Elise Martel (student drawing notebook)

8.25 x 7 inches, [68] pages. Saddle stitched single weight textblock, each leaf with the embossed seal of Pensionnat Notre-Dame à Issoire, a boarding school in central France. Ink and pencil manuscript with select titles in a shimmer effect. Occasional fingersoil and smudging, unsurprising given the nature of the book, but no particular damage or disfigurement. The last few pages appear to have been requisitioned by a cruder artist (like you might expect of a younger sibling), but the quality of the work is otherwise spectacular. The first section covers geometric shapes and surfaces, comprising 18 pages of text and 8 full pages of figures; the second relates those geometric foundations to creating artistic designs with naturalistic elements. The appropriately flourished 3 pages of text is followed by 17 pages of drawings, including some wonderful freehand illustrations of botanical and ornamental flourishes, plus a few great furniture designs. Very pleasing.