Gabriel Quinet

First edition. Rare. Bibliographie des recueils de poésies T. III, pp. 178 to 180.
Contemporary full speckled calf binding. Raised bands spine decorated. Various rubbing.
Bouts-rimés are imposed and whimsical rhymes, it was a highly prized game to compose them in the 17th century. The theme, here the praise of the king, and the rhymes, were chosen, and poets had to write pieces in verse. It was a real fever as it appeared that not only in society, but in private, everyone amused themselves with this exercise. This collection is one of the best examples, gathered by Mignon, the sonnets have for rhymes Pan, Grenuche, Satan, Pluche, then Fan, Ruche, Lan, Autruche...
Many sonnets among the 193 are signed, 3 anonymous ones are by Benserade.

A volume bringing together the first editions of the sole theatrical works, a tragedy and two tragicomedies, by the writer Marie-Catherine de Villedieu, the first theorist of the historical novel, celebrated in her own time and in the early eighteenth century in both France and England before being unjustly relegated to the second rank.

 

Several recent scholarly studies have shed light on the prolific career of the only woman to have lived by her pen in the Grand Siècle, whose works very likely influenced those of Madame de La Fayette and Molière, most notably Le Misanthrope.

 

The copy is ornamented with headpieces, initials, and tailpieces of elaborate design, some featuring fantastical creatures.

Later binding in full marbled brown sheep, spine with five raised bands tooled with circular floral ornaments, fillets, and the title, all three in gilt, gilt roll on the board edges, red edges, pastedowns and endpapers of marbled paper. Contemporary ownership inscription in brown ink on the title page.

Browning to the upper portion of the spine and boards, discrete worming to the joints and lower board edge, the fore-edge margins trimmed less evenly than head and tail, corners bumped, binding somewhat short in the margins.

Marginal browning to the pastedowns, endpapers, and text block, scattered light foxing throughout.

In Manlius, a paper flaw at p. 33 affecting a few letters, and a tear of 2.5 cm, partially restored at the extremities, to pp. 63–64.

 

For each of the three plays, the privilège was shared among several booksellers. Le Favori, like the edition published by Thomas Jolly, does not contain the epistle to Monseigneur de Lionne, which is present, however, in the Louis Billaine edition.