“Cette Édition, la plus belle, la plus complète et la meilleure”

THOU, Jacques August de.

Historiarum sui Temporis.

Fine engraved frontis. port. of the author, engraved vignettes on titles, & engraved headpieces. Titles printed in red & black. Seven vols. Large folio, cont. polished calf (a few corners a little worn or defective, a few head- or tail-caps a bit chipped), spines richly gilt, red & green morocco lettering pieces on spines. London: S. Buckley, 1733.

The best critical edition, and the most complete, of de Thou’s monumental and controversial History of his Own Times. De Thou (1553-1617), president of the Parlement de Paris and book collector, was deeply involved in the politics and religious wars of his time and negotiated the Edict of Nantes with the Protestants.

This history was the work of his whole life. The materials for writing it were drawn from his rich library, which he established in the Rue de Poitevins in the year 1587, with the two brothers Pierre and Jacques Dupuy, as librarians. His object was to produce a purely scientific and unbiased work. With the publication of each part, de Thou was attacked by various factions within France and the second part, dealing with the first wars of religion (1560-72) was put on the Index librorum prohibitorum.

This is the best critical edition, the material for which had been collected in France itself by Thomas Carte (d. 1754), while in exile. De Thou’s history is a model of exact research, drawn from the best sources, and presented in a style both elegant and animated. Dr. Richard Mead (1673-1754), supported Carte’s research and hired the printer Samuel Buckley to edit and print de Thou’s work.

The six and seventh volumes print a number of related and supplementary texts, important sources for the religious and literary history of the period.

Nice fresh set.

❧ Brunet, V, 841–“Cette édition, la plus belle, la plus complète et la la meilleure de cette histoire estimée, est aussi la seule qu’on recherche.”.

Price: $4,500.00

Item ID: 5857