Histoire de la royauté, et du premier établissement de la grandeur royale

First edition, illustrated with an allegorical frontispiece and 34 half-page engravings by Sébastien Le Clerc.

Contemporary full red morocco binding with elaborate dentelle gilt decoration. Spine with raised bands, richly tooled in gilt with onion flower motifs. Red morocco title and volume labels. Wide gilt dentelle border on the covers, executed with small tools. Gilt edges. Headcaps, joints, and corners restored; gilt decoration on the headcaps renewed. Noteworthy: the engraving on p.125 has been printed in reverse.

Bookplate with the armorial bearings of Pierre de Laussat, apparently reaffixed to the front endpaper.

A novel portraying the early kings and the tyranny of King Nemrod (or Nemrot), who reigned over the city of Babel and ordered the construction of the legendary tower. In the Bible, Nemrod is depicted as the founder of the first kingdom. Jean de Pelisseri authored several historical novels, including L'escolle des Princes, Histoire royale de Philippe, roi de Macédoine, and Laodice, each presenting a heroic biography of a legendary figure. In the 17th century, historical writing remained shaped by the Aristotelian conception in which the aim was less to recount facts than to present them in an elevated manner. This approach provided fertile ground for the 17th-century novel, later embraced by writers such as Madame de Lafayette, Scudéry, Puget de la Serre, and others.