Bibliotheca Brookeriana: A Renaissance Library Part VII

Bibliotheca Brookeriana: A Renaissance Library Part VII

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 1853. Thou, Historiarum sui temporis, pars prima, Paris, 1604, contemporary vellum gilt with arms of Henri IV of France, large-paper copy.

Thou, Historiarum sui temporis, pars prima, Paris, 1604, contemporary vellum gilt with arms of Henri IV of France, large-paper copy

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

THOU, JACQUES-AUGUSTE DE. Historiarum sui temporis. Pars prima. Paris: Denyse Barbé (Widow of Robert II Estienne and of Mamert Patisson), 1604


FIRST EDITION, LARGE-PAPER COPY, LIKELY BOUND FOR ROYAL PRESENTATION.


Jacques Auguste de Thou (1553-1617) was a noted bibliophile and French historian who served as president of the Parlement de Paris. His Historiarum sui temporis, composed in Latin, was his life's work, and drew on the plentiful sources in his library. The first 18 books were written from 1593 and cover the period between 1545 and 1560. They were first published in the present edition. The final 12 books were written between 1612 and 1614.


This first edition, and the octavo edition which followed shortly after, are the only editions to contain the full, uncensored text. The work was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books in 1609; despite initially granting permission for its printing, Henri IV, the dedicatee, ordered sales of the volume to cease. This volume may have been bound for presentation shortly after its publication.

Large folio (414 x 270 mm). Roman type, 56 lines plus headline. collation: [π]2 a8 A-Z6 Aa-Zz6 Aaa-Lll6 Mmm4: 352 leaves. Woodcut printer's device (Estienne) on title-page, title printed in red and black, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. (Dampstaining to upper margin of most leaves and outer margin of a few leaves, 1 small marginal wormhole through first half.)


binding: Contemporary armorial limp vellum (421 x 277 mm), triple gilt fillet around sides, central gilt arms of Henri IV [cf. Olivier 2492, fer 7], flat spine gilt, rule in compartments containing alternating crowned H [Olivier 2492, 9] and crowned fleur-de-lys, one compartment with early manuscript title, stubs from 2 pairs of ties, edges gilt, in a modern morocco-backed brown case. (Several stains on binding.)


provenance: Bound with the royal arms and initial of Henri IV, King of France presumably for presentation—"opus tamen perfectum ac utile", early inscription to title-page—"D. Lamy", ?eighteenth-century inscription to title-page—Le Bois Muralt, Switzerland, house sale, Christie's, South Kensington, 18 January 2000, lot 468—Jean A. Bonna, bookplate, his sale, Christie's, London, 16 June 2015, lot 93. acquisition: Purchased at the preceding sale. references: Renouard, Annales de l’imprimerie des Estienne, p. 194; USTC 6025806; En français dans le texte: dix siècles de lumières par le livre (Paris 1990), no. 81; S. Kinser, The Works of Jacques-Auguste de Thou (1966), pp. 7-10 ("printed in late 1603 and some few copies of it were available before the end of the year") 

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