For the fiftieth anniversary of the Florence flood, the German luxury accessories company Montblanc has financed the restoration of three old books damaged in 1966, in collaboration with the city’s National Central Library.
The printed works include the second volume of the third edition of Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences by Diderot and D’Alembert, which was printed in Livorno in 1778; the second edition of the monk and founder of palaeography and diplomatics Jean Mabillon’s book De Re Diplomatica Book 6, printed in Paris in 1709; and Giovanni Battista Palatino’s “nel qual si insegna ogni sorte lettera, antica & moderna”, printed in 1535, at the time considered the best-known collection of calligraphic models ever published.
In a press release, CEO of Montblanc Italia Christian Rauch commented, “Montblanc strongly believes in the cultural development and conservation of the arts. The city of Florence, in addition to having unparalleled artistic heritage, which must be preserved thanks to public and private support, is also home to one of our most stylish boutiques and is also the headquarters of the Montblanc Leather Workshop, where local master artisans, thanks to experience handed down from generation to generation, make the refined collections that we sell all over the world.”
The three freshly restored books will be on display in the Florence Montblanc boutique in via Tornabuoni until December 4, 2016.
