L'Astrée, pastorale allégorique, avec la clé

New and latest early edition corrected by Abbé Souchay. It is illustrated with 60 figures including ten frontispieces, all engraved by Guelard after drawings by Gravelot and Rigot.
Contemporary bindings in full brown grained calf, spines with five raised bands decorated with red morocco title and volume labels as well as gilt compartments and fleurons, gilt arms of Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon stamped at the foot of the spines, endpapers and pastedowns of combed paper, gilt roll on leading edges, all edges speckled red.
Head caps missing on three volumes (3, 5 and 10) and partially damaged on three others (1, 4 and 8), that of the tail of the first volume absent and those of volumes 6 and 10 partially missing. Some corners slightly bumped.
Two angular tears without loss to pages 1 and 35 of the first volume, one tear repaired with adhesive to page 30 of the same volume. One tear without loss to the edge of page 261 of volume 4, final endpapers slightly restored in this same volume.
Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon (1678-1737), comte de Toulouse, last of the legitimized children of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, formed an important library of more than 5,000 works in his château de Rambouillet.
"Le comte de Toulouse avait formé une nombreuse bibliothèque, dont les livres, très heureusement choisis, portent ses armes: de France, au bâton péri en barre de gueules, et quelquefois une ancre, emblème de grand amiral." ["The comte de Toulouse had formed a large library, whose books, very happily chosen, bear his arms: of France, with a bastard bend in red, and sometimes an anchor, emblem of grand admiral."] (Vicaire, Les Bourbons bibliophiles)