XÉNOPHON

Complete copy comprising two translations by Nicolas Perrot d'Ablancourt, whose works are commonly known as "belles infidèles" (beautiful but unfaithful translations). Between 1662 and 1795, no other translation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War was published. The privilege granted to the bookseller Clousier in 1712 was shared among several booksellers, including Michel-Étienne David, Nicolas Gosselin, and Jean-Geoffroy Nyon.

Contemporary full brown calf, gilt spines with five raised bands and four compartments decorated with plain and dotted fillets enclosing fleuron tools, tan morocco lettering-pieces, numbering-pieces within gilt borders, gilt rolls to board edges, red speckled edges, marbled pastedowns and endpapers.

Light scratches and rubbing, corners worn.

Volume I: marginal worm trail to lower right corner from front endpaper to p. 189, small stains to pp. 61 and 161, light browning to some leaves, short brown ink annotation to rear endpaper.

Volume II: tiny wormhole to foot of upper board, text slightly faded at foot of p. 7, pagination error from p. 312, old label mark to front pastedown.

Volume III: very slight chipping to lower board, spine and upper joints, small stain to p. 71, final leaf misnumbered 575 instead of 375, small wormhole to rear pastedown not affecting binding.

First bilingual edition, with French facing Greek, translated by Pierre Coste, with his footnotes. Title page printed in red and black. Extended preface by Pierre Coste.
Copy bearing the arms of Queen Elisabeth Farnese of Spain, Princess of Parma, queen from 1714 to 1746. A woman of power whose policies profoundly influenced Spain. Double coat of arms surmounted by a closed royal crown, encircled by the collars of the Orders of the Holy Spirit and the Golden Fleece. Dexter: Spain; sinister: Farnese ("or with six fleurs-de-lys azure, 3,2,1"). An intriguing feature of the queen’s arms: the collars of the Orders of the Holy Spirit and of the Golden Fleece, although these orders were never bestowed upon women.
Contemporary full speckled blond calf binding. Spine with raised bands richly gilt. Crimson morocco title-piece. Arms gilt-stamped at the centre of the covers. Triple fillet border on the covers. All edges gilt. Slight wear to headcaps. Upper joint largely split. Lower joint split at head.