[MANUSCRIPT] [CRÉQUY (marquis de), Charles-Marie]. Vie de Nicolas de Catinat Maréchal de France.
France, c. 1770.

8vo (231 × 187 mm). (5) ff., 362 pp. Contemporary red morocco, triple gilt fillet with corner tools, spine richly gilt in compartments with raised bands, gilt turn-ins, gilt edges; a fine contemporary binding.

A precious biographical manuscript, illustrated with two original drawings.
Written in a clear, regular hand, this anonymous manuscript — attributable to Charles-Marie de Créquy — constitutes a rare source on the career of Marshal Nicolas de Catinat (1637–1712), one of Louis XIV’s most respected commanders, noted for his campaigns in Flanders, Alsace, and Italy.

The manuscript is enriched with two original pen-and-wash drawings, both unsigned:

– a frontispiece portrait of Catinat in armour, within an oval frame, accompanied by a quotation from Voltaire’s Henriade (Book VII, p. 147 of the 1746 edition);
– a military camp scene, depicting officers playing ninepins — a rare visual record of everyday life in wartime encampments.

In the introduction, the author notes that Catinat, valuing discretion, destroyed his personal papers late in life. The present biography was therefore composed from military correspondence, supported by testimonies from close contemporaries: Madame la Présidente de Montrevaux, the président d’Auneuil, M. de Fraguier, and his maître d’hôtel d’Estaing.

The manuscript served as the basis for two printed works issued shortly thereafter:

– Vie de M. de Catinat, Amsterdam, 1772;
– Mémoires pour servir à la vie de Nicolas de Catinat, Paris, Veuve Duchesne, 1775.

A superb copy, in an elegant contemporary red morocco binding, remarkably fresh.