Guillaume ALEXIS. Les faintises du monde. Plaquette... Lot 2

[Guillaume ALEXIS]. Les faintises du monde. Plaquette in-8, lemon morocco with central gilt medallion, 5-rib spine decorated with repeated flowers, interior lace, gilt edges ( Trautz-Bauzonnet). Baudrier, XI-34 // Bechtel, 19/A-135 // Brunet, II-1757 // De Backer, 203 // Tchemerzine-Scheler, I-64b. (19f. of 20, last blank missing here) / A8, B4, C8 / 24 long lines, goth. car. / 84 x 130 mm. Extremely rare edition of one of Alexis' best-known poems. It is sometimes wrongly attributed to Pierre Gringore. Guillaume Alexis, a Benedictine monk from the second half of the 15th century, seems to have been the "good monk" of Lyre Abbey, in the diocese of Évreux, then prior of Bussy (Bucy-le-Roi). His poem is dedicated to the deceptions (faintises) that are the appearances of things and beings (Bechtel). In it, Alexis describes countless situations in which men and women are merely reflections of their true selves: As much woman as man Moon seems to wear figure Destre woman tresque devote All the better to pursue lust So counterfeits the bigot Tchemerzine cites the first edition in 1486 or 1488 in Paris, and then describes fourteen editions published in Paris, Lyon, Rouen and Angoulême, up to ours published around 1520. All these editions are very rare. Bechtel lists only one known copy of this edition, ours. We have no reason to doubt this assertion. A very fine copy bound by Trautz-Bauzonnet. The upper margin has been skilfully restored throughout. Provenance: Baron Léopold Double (bookplate, March 24-27, 1863, no. 95), Ambroise Firmin-Didot (bookplate) and Hector De Backer (I, February 17-20, 1926, no. 203).