La Fayette, Marie Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, Comtesse de
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 4 May 2016 at 12:00 BST
Description
La Princesse de Monpensier. Paris: Louis Billaine, 1662. 8vo (141 x 79mm.), half-title (between preliminaries and start of text), woodcut emblem on title-page, remboitage of contemporary French red morocco gilt with arms of Louis XIV, spine richly gilt in compartments with lettering-piece, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, edges gilt, A1 soiled
Footnote
Note: First edition, published anonymously. Separated from her husband in 1659, Mme de La Fayette settled in Paris, where she enjoyed the friendship of Madame Henriette, sister of Charles II of England and wife of the duc d'Orléans, brother of Louis XIV. One of Mme de La Fayette's principal romances, La Princesse de Montpensier constitutes a study of a political marriage void of love, which ends tragically.
The privilege states that it was originally granted to Augustin Courbé, and was then passed by him to Thomas Jolly and Billaine, who were associated with de Sercy. Copies of this first edition are found with imprints mentioning just one of each of these three printers; Jolly and Billaine use the same device on the title-page, whereas de Sercy uses his own.