COMMYNES (de), Philippe. Mémoires de Messire Philippe de Comines, seigneur d'Argenton, où l'on trouve l'histoire des rois de France Louis XI et Charles VIII.
London and Paris: Rollin fils, 1747.
4to (289 × 230 mm). Four volumes. Vol. I: (4) ff., CXVIII, (2) ff., 632 pp. Vol. II: (3) ff., X, 660 pp. Vol. III: (2) ff., XX, 650 pp. Vol. IV: (2) ff., VIII, 432, (1), 215 pp. Contemporary speckled havana calf, covers with gilt armorial cornerpieces, spines gilt in compartments with armorial tools, raised bands, red edges; an attractive period binding.
New edition, the first prepared by Nicolas Lenglet du Fresnoy (1674–1755). A precious copy bearing the arms of Henri-François d’Aguesseau (1668–1751), Chancellor of France.
Illustrated with an allegorical frontispiece by Duflos after Bernard Picart, four engraved portraits (Commynes, Louis XI, Charles the Bold, and Charles VIII), five engraved headpieces (some repeated), and two folding genealogical tables.
Commynes’ Mémoires remain one of the foundational historical sources for the reigns of Louis XI and Charles VIII, valued both for their political insight and for their early use of critical historical method. This eighteenth-century edition, supervised by Lenglet du Fresnoy, restored the text on a more rigorous basis and became the standard for decades.
Minor restorations to joints and a few corners; a very good set overall.
From the library of Henri-François d’Aguesseau, Chancellor of France, with his arms stamped on the covers and repeated in the spine compartments (OHR 594).
