Well-preserved Enlightenment-era edition of the Roman playwright — from the celebrated collection of the Duchess of Berry who famously sold her books after her failed coup in 1832.
Very good plus.
Price: $1,800.00
The Duchess of Berry was an important member of the House of Bourbon's royal family, After her husband's assassination in 1820, the Duchess's son became the heir apparent to the French throne. But when the July Revolution of 1830 deposed the Bourbons, the Duchess and her son went into exile. In 1832, however, the Duchess of Berry clandestinely returned to France to lead a rebellion, becoming "the most wanted woman in France" (Samuels). Her coup failed, and she was once again exiled; her story would later be dramatized in fiction by Alexandre Dumas as LES LOUVES DE MACHECOUL (1859).
Realizing she would never return to her beloved library of some 8000 volumes at Chateau Rosny, she made the decision to sell it. It was then one of the most famous libraries in France, with a tremendous range in philosophy, history, travel, science, law, theology, fiction, and theater. This copy's bookplates mark its provenance from the library of the Duchess, bearing the engraved bookplate of Rosny in all three volumes. An important translation from the era's great translator, Anne Dacier, from the library of a great book collector, the Duchess of Berry.
Amsterdam: R. & G. Wetstein, 1724. Three 12mo volumes, 6.25'' x 3.75'' each. Contemporary full calf, raised bands, elaborately gilt-tooled spines, red and tan goatskin spine labels. Marbled endpapers, red stained edges, blue silk ribbon markers. Illustrated with engraved allegorical frontispiece, engraved dedication headpiece, and 47 plates by Picart (2 folding). [10], v-lxxxviii, 511, [1]; 485, [1]; 431, [1] pages. Engraved bookplate of the Bibliothèque de Rosny on front pastedowns; ink shelf notations to early blanks. Light wear to hinges and corners. Some foxing. Largely bright and clean.
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