The Paris firm of Gruel and Engelmann was known for its deluxe bookbindings. In this Gothic Revival example, the celebrated Paris jeweler Alexis Falize (1811-98) has created a relief showing the Adoration of the Magi, surrounded by fantastic animals derived from the amusing, marginal decoration found in some medieval manuscripts. The filigree and granular work is of exceptional quality. Since the binding does not contain a book, it may have been produced solely for the firm's display at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1878.
<bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65560123" class="extiw" title="d:Q65560123"><span title="French bookbinding company">Gruel and Engelmann</span></a>
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1870<div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1870-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
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