PERRAULT, Charles (1628-1703) Lot n° 10

- Courses de testes et de bague, faittes par le Roy, et par les Princes et Seigneurs de sa Cour, en l'année 1662. Paris : Imprimerie Royale, 1670. A red morocco copy bearing the arms of this sumptuous political and artistic publication. This luxurious collection of engravings illustrates and relates the festivities given by Louis XIV in Paris on June 5 and 6, 1662. While the official reason for the festivities was to celebrate the birth of the Dauphin, the Sovereign's objective was to symbolically assert his authority over the nobility and population of Paris, after the end of the Fronde. He therefore organized great games of skill and equestrian competitions, the splendor of which was to dazzle participants and spectators alike. The king appeared "in the most advantageous manner possible, adorned in the costume of a Roman emperor. Equipped with the emblem of the sun, he seemed to shine in the midst of the other riders, charged with representing various parts of the world in five quadrilles. Considered the most beautiful in Europe, the costumes invented by Henri Gissey were astonishing in their richness and ingenuity of design" (de la Gorce). These were the last festivities of the reign to be held in Paris: the next ones would all take place in Versailles. This copy is in contemporary red morocco, and the arms stamped in the center of the boards are those of a member of the d'Espiard family, perhaps Claude Espiard de Clamerey (1623-1699), a member of the Burgundy Parliament. Images du Grand Siècle. L'estampe française au temps de Louis XIV (1660-1715), Exhibition catalog, BNF - Getty Research Institute, 2015, cat. 96; Graver pour le roi. Collections historiques de la chalcographie du Louvre. 2019, cat. 1; Jérôme de la Gorce "Les derniers carrousels à Versailles", in Fêtes et Divertissements à la Cour, 2016, pp. 65-79; Brunet, II, col. 337. In-folio (448 x 292 mm). Title with bust of the king engraved by Gilles Rousselet, 30 costume engravings by François Chauveau (including 29 full-page and a double depicting the king as a Roman emperor) and 55 engraved motto cartouches printed on 10 pages, after Henri Gissey. Each page with cartouche is accompanied by an explanatory text of the mottos by Perrault. The costume engravings are avant la lettre, and the phylacteries are adorned with handwritten legends of the period. The copy does not include the faux-title, nor the plates engraved by Israel Silvestre devoted to the site of the carrousel and the event itself (4 double plates with 7 engravings depicting the parade and a title band, 3 large double-page plates), nor the other pages of text. Brown stain on the fourth plate of mottos and on the facing explanatory text, wetness throughout the volume, repairs to the verso of the fold-out plate. Contemporary binding: red morocco, Espiard coat of arms in the center of the boards, decorated in the du Seuil style, ribbed spine, decorated boxes, midnight blue morocco stamped with the word ("[V]ILLETTE") at the foot of the spine, marbled paper endpapers, gilt edges (a few tears to the boards and corners). Provenance: binding with the arms of the Espiard family, possibly Claude Espiard de Clamerey (1623-1699) -- Alexis de Redé (ex-libris). A splendid volume, depicting the final public event commissioned by King Louis XIV to be held in Paris, before moving to Versailles. The present copy contains the engraved title, the 30 full-page costume engravings and the 55 engraved mottos with their accompanying explanatory text. It was bound at the time in red morocco, with the gilt arms of a member of the Espiard family. To bid, please go to the "Sales information" section.