In this letter to an English bibliographer, the French poet and bookbinder Lesné responds to the fierce criticism levelled at the art of French bookbinding by Thomas F. Dibdin (1776–1847) in his book A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany (1821). To complement the letter, in around 1823 the French bookbinder Joseph Thouvenin, one of the most notable during the Restoration period and also the target of Dibdin’s attacks, gave Lesné this binding for one of the copies of his work.

Made of brick-coloured morocco, it heralds the style called à la cathédrale that characterised the Romantic bindings of the early nineteenth century. Motifs inspired by Gothic architecture can be seen in the rosettes with inlays in the centre and corners of both covers, bordered by a decorative frame. Around the central decoration, four sections with arabesques, scrolls and foliage complete the surface of the gold-tooled binding.