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First edition illustrated with 47 charming emblematic figures arranged on 13 plates on fine paper and a title headpiece. Only the title vignette is signed Gaudier. Lacking the frontispiece. Each figure in a medallion features the sun in a dominant position and a symbolic element such as a musical instrument, a landscape, an animal, as well as a Latin motto. Rare printing from Aix-en-Provence.

Late 19th-century Bradel binding in half beige cloth. Smooth spine with dark red shagreen title label running lengthwise. The plates have slightly narrower outer margins than the leaves. Some foxing, particularly on the title page.

First edition

Contemporary full red morocco binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Triple fillet frame on boards. Gilt edges. Traces of rubbing. 2 corners slightly bumped.

Fine copy, precious in contemporary red morocco.

First edition, second issue. The first of 1784 contains only 212pp. against 403 for this one, which has been expanded with the translation of Price's work: "Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution". Turgot's letter and Price's book benefit from a half-title.

Later, modern binding. Pastiche blonde cardboard Bradel binding. Smooth spine with pink sheep title and volume labels. Spine lightly darkened. Rubbing. Uncut copy, bound directly from the original wrappers. The first 2 leaves browned. Scattered browning. Last leaf with lack to lower right corner.

New edition after the first published in 1678. Text in ancient Greek, with Latin translation facing. Commentary in Latin.
Contemporary full brown morocco binding. Smooth spine decorated with roulettes. Title and date labels in brown morocco. Double fillet frame on boards. Edges gilt. Head slightly worn, tail abraded. Part missing from the date label at tail. Rubbing. 2 corners bumped. Foxing. Handsome copy, rare in contemporary morocco.
Bookplate: Biblioteca Lamoniana.
Written by an anonymous Greek author, De Ulixis errroribus is an allegory of Ulysses' voyages. Columbus, a Swedish scholar and professor of Latin poetry, provided a translation followed by his commentary.

The rare first edition, illustrated with a handsome frontispiece by Van der Laan and engraved by Bernart. Title pages printed in red and black. Attribution to Bruys is sometimes contested by bibliographers. Two letters defending the work against criticism can be found in volumes I and III.

Contemporary mottled sheep binding. Richly decorated raised spine. Red morocco title labels, brown morocco volume labels. Head of volume I partly lacking, volumes III and IV torn away, same at tail of volume IV. Worming to boards, quite present on the boards of volume IV. Joints of volume IV cracked. Despite the defects, spines in good appearance.
The work became a constantly exploited reference on the history of the popes. The book was condemned at the time by both Catholics and Protestants. Even if according to Brunet it contains inaccuracies, which is quite normal in a work of such scope, we must praise today what was once severely criticized, even by Brunet who considered that the book was written as a charge against Rome. The work is eminently critical and in no way seeks to make an apology for the papacy, the author acting as a historian, and drawing contrasted portraits, noting as many faults as qualities, and always relating the life of the pope to history.

Handwritten manuscript signed by the choreographer Maurice Béjart. 

10 leaves written in blue pen. Handwritten pagination.
Maurice Béjart's handwritten proofs for his book Béjart-theâtre: A-6-Roc (éditions Plume, 1992), about his play A-6-Roc, first performed in the same year at the Vidy theatre in Lausanne.
After the foundation of “Béjart Ballet Lausanne” and his definitive departure from Belgium in 1987, Béjart continues to stage operas, produce films and publish several books (novel, memories, personal diary...). In addition, he wrote and directed his third play A-6-Roc performed in Lausanne in 1992, which he published with commentaries in a book entitled Béjart-theâtre: A-6-Roc. The play features seven characters in search of a lost paradise, and calls for a deep reflection on the choreographer's memory and childhood. Béjart takes the leading role and gives the lines to Gil Roman, his favourite dancer during the period in Lausanne, who will succeed him as the head of his company in 2007.
A-6-Roc was probably Béjart's favourite play and it will be the only one that he will agree to publish. Largely inspired by Jean Anouilh's theatre, and even more so by that of Eugène Ionesco, the play makes use of his childhood in the South of France. This manuscript, which provides valuable information on the staging and scenery, was published with the original play in 1992. The present, the past and the future come together in this play through three characters – a patriarchal figure played by Béjart himself, another embodying youth played by Gil Roman (“6 must be at least twice the age of Mr A. This generational difference creates their tension and also their bond.”) and a clown, called Roc, played by the actor Phillipe Olza. The influence of the theatre of the absurd is easily detected here, as much in the scenery choices as in the psychology of the characters: “the play's first scene, that can last from 3 to 6 or 7 minutes, is nothing but mechanical movement of the body [...] conjuring up the useless and empty activity of the world of concentration camps.”
The playwright Béjart nevertheless remains faithful to the “spectacle total” idea, for which he was well known as a choreographer. The play is inundated with dance and movement – particularly in the theatre choir (“four characters I should say, since nothing pleases me less than the uniformity of the Greek pseudo-choirs and other aestheticizing corps de ballet”) and Béjart devotes the last four leaves to the music (“it plays right through the play, like dolphins following a boat”) ranging from Nino Rota to the syrupy music of Jackie Gleason. Beyond the theatre, Béjart wanted, with A-6-ROC, to create a complete work of art, including all performance genres, and in this manuscript he demonstrates his talent as a playwright and a producer.
Invaluable manuscript on the last play that Béjart wrote, produced and performed. It features amongst the choreographer's very rare, privately owned documents, his archives being shared between his house in Brussels, the Béjart foundation in Lausanne and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie.
Provenance: Maurice Béjart's personal archives.