Traité de la noblesse, de ses differentes especes.

First edition, rare.
Contemporary full mottled brown calf. Spine with raised bands, gilt tooling. Gilt title. Loss at the head of the upper joint. Rubbing to joints, head of spine, and corners.

Seminal study intended as an exhaustive examination of the nobility, its origins, rules and laws, the various orders in France and in several European countries, and the different forms of nobility, whether of lineage or of rank. A major publication seeking to establish a precise legal framework for the noble estate. To this day, it remains the most thorough and authoritative study ever published on the subject. The majority of subsequent authors have drawn upon this work in their own writings. The book provides a clear response to the contemporary crisis experienced by the nobility in relation to royal authority, De La Roque striving to find a balance between the rights of the ancient nobility and the new monarchical regulations.
Armorial bookplate of Amedeo Delaunet, with a library label "Dela biblioteca de Launet N°2903." Manuscript note on the front free endpaper: Aquisido en Paris a G. Saffroy, en septiembra 1955. 1500 frcs. 180 pesetas. Two blue stamps on the title page: Pontecroix (Marquis de) and De la biblioteca d'Amedeo de Launet.