Bidspirit auction | Pedro Batalha Reis

Pedro Batalha Reis - A Exposição do Ouro a Bordo da ”Nau Portuguesa” - Pedro Batalha Reis, 1947. Published in 1947 in Lisbon, as a rare and coveted offprint from the ”Revista Municipal” (Lisbon City Council), this valuable copy of ”The Gold Exhibition Aboard the 'Portuguese Ship'”, authored by the renowned numismatist and historian Pedro Batalha Reis, constitutes a detailed reflection and historical narrative about the sumptuous exhibition of national gold pieces and coins held aboard the Nau Portugal (built for the Portuguese World Exhibition in 1940). The work, comprising 10 pages, is illustrated with period photographs documenting the display cases and details of the exhibited collections, with particular emphasis on the superb collection of gold coins from the reign of King John V. Although originally a modest paperback edition, this copy has been given an exquisite and luxurious period half-binding in brown leather with corners, masterfully executed and signed in gold lettering on the back cover by the historic and prestigious Persil atelier - Porto (Guilherme Persil), displaying a richly ornamented ribbed spine with elegant gold tooling and rosettes, covers and endpapers in handmade marbled paper of a traditional pattern in perfect chromatic harmony, preserving the original paperback cover inside. The supreme element of value and absolute collector interest in this lot lies in its exceptional bibliographic and documentary pedigree, bearing on the title page a valuable and affectionate handwritten dedication signed by the author himself: ”To my illustrious friend Mr. Valdemar Cordeiro, an affectionate gift from Pedro Batalha Reis. Lisbon, December 1947.”, definitively sealing the shared provenance of this collection with the preceding lots from the same distinguished private library. The copy is in excellent condition, with perfectly clean pages, robust paper and impeccably firm binding, constituting an absolute rarity of high historical, numismatic and bibliophilic interest for any specialized catalog.