Documenting in exhaustive detail the earliest and most interesting portion of the Grolier Club's renowned collection of French book auction catalogues, this book sheds new light on the twin phenomena of private collecting and the antiquarian book trade in France when it was at the height of its political power and cultural influence. It also reveals hitherto neglected physical aspects of this very interesting class of bibliography. Each of the 616 entries includes full title transcription, a detailed collation, and the number of lots, often followed by extensive comments on the circumstances of the sale, as well as the history and subsequent fate of the collection.