Excerpt from Samuel Cooper and the English Miniature Painters of the XVII CenturyIt is true that in the case of portraits of Royalty, it was customary to give them as diplomatic presents; this practice was carried to great length in the days of Le Grand Monarque, for example, when portraits of Louis were painted by the dozen, and were mounted on snuff boxes with settings of diamonds and other precious stones of a value proportioned to the status of the recipient of the gift.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A catalog of the museum's collection of some 300 European portrait miniatures dating from the early 16th to the mid-19th centuries. Each piece is described in detail and illustrated with bandw and color photos. Includes an overview of the history of miniature painting, notes on artists, and indices of artists, collectors, makers, and sitters. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR