Selected · Described · Sold with care
Rare books · Manuscripts · Rare works of art · Switzerland
FOLIA MUNDI is a Swiss house born from a private library. Singular books, manuscripts and works of art are offered with precise descriptions and personal guidance, so they may continue to be studied, passed on and preserved.
FOLIA MUNDI · From one library to another
Edition, condition, provenance and defects are described with care.
Every item in La Réserve is offered after a personal exchange.
No payment is requested before our reply and a secure payment link.
Giving an antiquarian book
An antiquarian book or work of art can mark a birthday, an achievement, a family legacy or a corporate occasion. The choice begins with the recipient: a beloved author, a subject, a symbolic date, a provenance or the presence of a sculpted object.
For a collector, attribution, contents, provenance and actual condition matter as much as appearance. Every piece is photographed and described without concealing its defects.
Pieces from La Réserve may be examined by appointment in Switzerland. Specialist packing or transport, tracking, signature on delivery and insurance are agreed before dispatch.
Choose a piece to giveNew discoveries
Each book and object is studied, photographed and described individually before entering the catalogue. The FOLIA MUNDI website and catalogue will grow week after week with newly researched rare books and works of art.
Sought-after editions, distinguished copies and singular books.
Coherent groups kept together and studied before any separation.
Sculptures and historic fragments chosen for their presence and history.
Landmark texts chosen for their binding, presence or individual history.
New piece · La Réserve
Histoire de Babar, Le Voyage de Babar and Le Roi Babar. Three French original editions preserved as a family group and offered only as an indivisible set: Histoire in the first state of 1931, Voyage in a later issue of the 1932 edition, and Roi in the 1933 original edition, very probably an early printing.
Read the complete dossier
La Réserve · FM 0001
[Amsterdam, Elzevier], 1655. First duodecimo edition and second edition overall. Three texts in one contemporary vellum volume, with a folding map and manuscript provenance marks.
View the bookNew dossiers from La Réserve
Each entry distinguishes established information from points that still require caution, and describes fragilities precisely before any acquisition request.
Rare works of art
Architectural fragments, sculptures and collectors' objects are described with the same standards as the books: cautious attribution, visible condition, provenance stated without embellishment and suitable transport.
Rare works of art · FM OA 0001
South India · probably Tamil Nadu
A large carved-wood narrative frieze, probably made in the 19th century for an architectural setting or processional chariot. Its procession of divine figures, musicians and attendants probably evokes the sacred marriage of Shiva and Parvati.
CHF 4’850 · offers consideredLa Réserve FOLIA MUNDI
For certain pieces, a sale begins with a conversation about their destination. This is not a test of a reader's scholarship: a few sincere words about the project are enough.
Books made to be read, preserved and shared across generations.
Rare books, works of art, fragile pieces and notable groups are offered after a personal request.
Books are presented with a clear price, a precise description and a personal acquisition process.
Our choice
FOLIA MUNDI values the continuity of libraries and the material preservation of books. Readers, collectors, researchers and institutions may simply tell us what place the book would have in their project.
Before deciding
Prestigious books and objects may be viewed in Switzerland by appointment and without obligation, allowing you to examine condition, materials and individual features before deciding.
Protected transport
Condition is documented before departure. Packing is adapted to the object, and transport includes tracking, signature on delivery and insurance at the agreed value. Terms are confirmed before any payment.
Two or three sentences about what draws you to the piece.
Every request is read and receives a personal response.
Once accepted, the piece is reserved for 48 hours and a secure payment link is sent to you.
The request includes a commitment that the book will be read, studied or preserved with respect for its integrity, without destructive or industrial digitisation.
On every La Réserve dossier
Buy at the stated price or make an offerStated price · Offers considered · Personal reply
No immediate payment. After the piece and its availability have been checked, we will confirm the reservation, payment and delivery arrangements.Les Classiques
Books offered at the stated price, with the same attention to condition and the option to make an offer.
Les Classiques · FM S 0001
Plon, 1928. A reprint issued in the year the novel received the Grand Prix du roman of the Académie française, in an elegant tan half binding with raised bands and marbled boards.
Les Classiques · FM S 0002
Lausanne, Alonso Diez, 1945. A Swiss edition on fine white laid paper with generous margins, bearing the mark of its former school library.
Les Classiques · FM S 0003
Hachette, 1936. Large illustrated album in its publisher's binding, with yellow elephant-patterned endpapers and a family inscription dated Brussels, 1936. A fragile copy.
The bookshop
FOLIA MUNDI grew out of a private library assembled over time by a passionate collector. Every book and object is now photographed and described with care before being offered for sale.
The collection will grow week after week as our searches uncover rare books, works of art and coherent groups, presented one by one.
Discover the latest arrivalsPurchases by the bookshop
FOLIA MUNDI buys antiquarian books, collections, private libraries and selected works of art. A few photographs and the information available are enough for an initial review.
Proposals are currently reviewed by recommendation and from a photographic dossier. A dedicated form will open with the bookshop's official address.
The FOLIA MUNDI letter
A discreet note sent when new books join the selection.
The first issue will accompany the launch of the official FOLIA MUNDI domain and email address. Enquiries in English are welcome.
