Les tombeaux des personnes illustres

First edition published by Antoine Le Bouc in 1642 and later reissued for sale in 1684, with a cancel slip pasted over the original imprint, bearing the updated address of Antoine Vuarin. This intriguing bibliographical feature suggests that a portion of the original printing remained unsold. Notably, the work was never reprinted. Epistle addressed to Cardinal Richelieu.
Fine allegorical frontispiece by Avice. The illustrations include a genealogical chart of the House of Orléans; two genealogical tables of the House of Luxembourg; four plates demonstrating the Marquis de Gesvre's descent from Charlemagne; a plate detailing the quarterings of the Marquis de Noirmoustier's arms; a genealogical table of the Bourbons; and 106 in-text heraldic shields (approximately 10x15 cm), all engraved by Pierre Nolin.
Contemporary full brown calf binding. Spine with raised bands, richly gilt. Surface abrasion to upper board, and three wormholes. One small wormhole at the upper inner margin, developing into a narrow gallery from p. 60, then gradually diminishing. Minor tear (1 cm) in the outer margin of the Luxembourg genealogical plate. Lacks the preliminary blank before the frontispiece.
A very attractive copy, remarkably well-preserved.

The Celestine convent, desecrated during the French Revolution, was the second royal necropolis after Saint-Denis. The tombs were distributed throughout the Orléans Chapel—where the hearts of illustrious members of the dynasty were interred, including Charles VI, Philippe d'Orléans, François II, and Charles IX—and throughout the church, choir, and nave, which housed the remains and tombs of the Luxembourg, Montmorency, Lusignan, and La Trémoille families. This study is especially valuable as it is the only work of its kind to document the tombs of the Celestine convent, long since vanished. Converted into a timber depot after the Revolution, then a barracks under the Consulate, the site was partially destroyed by the opening of Boulevard Henri IV in 1866 and eventually razed entirely to make way for the construction of the new Celestine barracks, sealing the fate of the monument and its precious tombs.