Palazzo della Permanente Milano, 11 marzo-4 aprile 1991. Text in French and English. Anthony Hobson and Paul Culot, two distinguisted scholars in the field of the history of bookbinding, comment on the exuberant variety of decoration on respectively Italian and French 16th century bindings, which evoked the intellectual enthusiasm of priviledged collectors as Apollonio Filareto, G.B. Grimaldi, Antoine Perenot de Granvelle, Marcus Fugger, Jeronimo Ruiz, Giacomo Boncompagni, Jean Grolier, Thomas Mahieu, Thomas Wotton, Jacques te Malenfant, Jacques-Auguste de Thou, kings and queens, royal favourites, courtesans, soldiers, lawyers, financiers, prelates, etc. All the bindings belong to the collections of the Bibliotheca Wittockiana and are acquired by Michel Wittock. This volume contains the reproductions of 74 16th century bindings and their descriptions, and several indexes.