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‎De custodia linguae et corde bene ruminanda. - [GERSON'S SEMINAL TREATISE ON RUMOR-MAKING, PRINTED BY ZELL CA. 1470]‎

‎(Cologne, Ulrich Zell, ca. 1470). Small 4to. Beautifully bound in a later (ca. 1900) full calf binding in Renaissance style with three raised bands and blindstamped ornamentation to spine. Boards with three wide ornamental blindstamped borders inside each other. A damp stain to inner margin and a bit of light brownspotting. Early marginal annotations (some of them slightly shaved) and underlinings. 6 ff. + first and last blank. 27 lines to a page. A large, four-line opening initial in red, a two-line initial in red, paragraph marks as well as capital strokes in red throughout, and red underlinings in beginning and end. A lovely copy. With the gilt red leather ex libris of John Pierpont Morgan to inside of front board. ‎

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‎Magnificent, early incunable edition, being the exceedingly scarce second edition (as a Zell-edition dated between 1467 and 1470 is considered the first - these two first editions are of equal scarcity) of this highly important tract on the moral implications of speaking ill of others in their absence, by one of the pioneers of natural right theory, Jean de Gerson, printed by the eminent first printer of Cologne, Ulrich Zell. The work, though having been overlooked for centuries, is of the utmost importance to the shaping of Western thought, both legal, religious, and moral, and it was extremely influential in its time. It appeared as many as four times around 1470 (the two first editions printed by Zell, who was the main printer of all of Gerson's works, followed by an edition by Fust and Schöffer shortly after and another one by Therhoernen) with editions following in both the 1480'ies and 90'ies. The two Zell-editions, which constitute the first appearances of the work, are distinguishable by the printing error in the first line of A1r, which says ""Intipit"" (the present copy - Hain 7683) instead of ""Incipit"" (Hain 7682). The number of early editions of Gerson's work bears witness to his tremendous popularity as a moral and spiritual authority in 15th-century Europe. In spite of being “[o]ne of the smallest and rarest of the many tracts by the Chancellor of Paris Jean Charlier de Gerson (1363-1429), which were printed by the earliest printer of Germany"" (Rhodes), the work nonetheless exercised great impact. The theme of the treatise is the morality of speaking ill of others behind their backs, which has implications for, not only morality philosophically speaking, but also legally, theologically, and religiously, tying together the most important themes of Gerson’s thought. Curiosity and vanity, which are at the heart of rumor-making and speaking ill of others behind their backs, are two main intellectual vices that must be warned about in all contexts. “The reflection on vices and sins, both from the moral and the intellectual point of view, is a “fil rouge” in Jean Gerson’s production. As a theologian constantly concerned with shaping a correct theology and driven by the necessity to pursue the safety and unity of the doctrine, the Parisian Chancellor often warns his students and colleagues about the dangers connected with this misuse of rationality. (Luciano Micali: The Consent of the Will…, p. 1). “Jean Gerson (b. 1363–d. 1429"" also Jean de Gerson, or, originally, Jean Charlier) was the most popular and influential theologian of his generation, the most important architect of the conciliar solution to the Great Schism (1378–1415), and the leading figure at the Council of Constance (1414–1418). He came from a family of modest means in the Champagne region of France. As a young student at the College of Navarre in Paris, he came in contact with humanist currents from Italy (he probably read Petrarch at this time), which left some traces in his writings. He first gained fame as a popular preacher in Paris in the early 1390s and then followed his master Pierre d’Ailly as the chancellor of the University of Paris in 1395. He gained international renown as a result of his leading role at the Council of Constance, which put an end to the Great Schism. ... Gerson’s wide-ranging interests extended well beyond the traditional limits of university masters, and his writings serve as a window into 15th-century life and thought. His complete works were first printed in 1483 and were frequently reprinted through the first quarter of the 16th century. Later humanists and university theologians alike claimed him as one of their intellectual fathers."" (Oxford Bibliographies in Medieval Studies: Daniel Hobbins: “Jean Gerson”). In spite of his enormous influence upon his contemporaries and near contemporaries of the following century, recent centuries have witnessed little insight into his vast importance. This, however, seems to be changing, as many scholars are now gaining increasing insight into the extension of his influence. “Researchers are familiar with seeing and examining the influence of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and other significant figures in Western intellectual history. The reception of Jean Gerson (1363-1429) — the late medieval French Church reformer, ecclesiastical leader, theologian, poet, educator and chancellor of the University of Paris — is, however, an understudied field. Gerson’s legacy had nevertheless an impact on late medieval and early modern movements and thinkers of great significance, paving the way for many developments, which still shape our existence today. He became a source of inspiration for all those involved in establishing new religious and national identities, and his name appears in both Protestant (of all branches) as well as in Catholic sources. Aside from the expected influence in theology and Church history, his ideas transformed law, jurisprudence, art, music, pedagogy, literature and even medicine. The topography of his legacy is just as broad and varied, spanning from Portugal to Scandinavia, and from Japan to Mexico. From a deeper perspective, Gerson is extremely important for understanding the religious evolution of Western civilization. Jean Gerson’s legacy provides a significant theological context where contemporary ideas such as, for example, the concept of individual right or need of palliative care, find their roots. Today, when the question of religion has retaken the central stage of our existence, an understanding of our theological background is no longer the fief of specialized researchers, but a social necessity.” (Introduction to: The Reception of Jean Gerson in Late Medieval and Early Modern Theology, Spirituality and Law. Roundtable Discussion at KU Leuven, 2018) Although commonly accepted as a seminal figure important in legal theory, even his role a a pioneer of natural right theory has been overlooked, as has his vast influence on thinkers like Thomas Moore. A 2018-conference at KU Leuven has contributed to the renewed understanding of his importance. As Yelena Mazour-Matuzevich (University of Alaska Fairbanks / Senior Fellow KU Leuven) concluded: “Before looking closely at Thomas More’s connection to the late medieval French theologian Jean Gerson (1363-1429), I could not imagine the breadth and depth of More’s dependency on his legacy as a source of scriptural narrative, moral theology or legal theory. More’s extensive knowledge of Gerson’s works is evident from the Englishman’s writings, and his admiration, already manifest in his early years, only increased as he aged, climaxing during his imprisonment in the Tower.” (The Very Special Case: Gerson & Thomas More). It was only with Richard Tuck and his ""Natural Rights Tradition"" from 1979 that Gerson was first really credited with his pioneering work in this field. Tuck argues that Jean Gerson was the first to describe the notion of ius as “a dispositional faculty or power, appropriated to so meone and in accordance with a right was understood in terms of an ability” and places him at the centre in the rights tradition. Thus, the guiding light of the Concillar Movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Council of Constance was also one of the first thinkers to develop what would later come to be called natural rights theory, and he was even one of the first individuals to defend Joan of Arc and proclaim her supernatural vocation as authentic. The celebrated devotional work traditionally ascribed to Thomas à Kempis, ""The Imitation of Crist"" has been considered by some scholars, to be the work of Gerson, although no conclusive evidence has yet been found. ""Gerson was a prolific writer, and a powerful intellectual force in a calamitous period in France’s history. A champion of his university, he strongly advocated the role of theologians in the debates which erupted when the Great Schism divided the catholic church between 1378 and 1417, as first two, and then three, claimants contended for the papacy. As a cleric, he had a strong sense of pastoral responsibility, often expressed in his more personal writings. He witnessed and bewailed France’s descent into political chaos, when the madness of King Charles VI allowed rival princes to jostle, and eventually murder, to gain their ends. In 1413 the civic and political disturbances in Paris almost cost him his life. That civic disorder, civil war, and then the Lancastrian takeover with King Henry VI of England as questionable heir to Charles VI, doubtless explains why Gerson, ever the Valois loyalist, spent his final years in a kind of exile in Lyons. Many of Gerson’s major writings deal with the Schism, and the debates over the Church’s structure which it provoked. These pushed him to argue for reform, a programme which challenged papalism by urging the authority of a general council as representative of the Church as a whole. Some of his most important work addresses such matters, and he was occasionally a key player in events, notably at Constance in March–April 1415. ” (Swanson: Review of Patrick McGuire's Jean Gerson and the Last Medieval Reformation). Hain: 7683" BMC: I:184 Goff: 219.‎

‎De la demonomanie des sorciers. - [THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK ON WITCHCRAFT OF THE ERA]‎

‎Paris, J. du Puys, 1580. 4to. Contemporary full vellum wih contemporary handwritten title to spine. Binding somewhat warped, but unrestored and tight. A (mostly very faint) damp stain to upper blak margin of some leaves (not affecting text), but otherwise internally very nice clean and fresh. Old owner's name to title-page (Dufault) and old acquisition note to front free end-paper. Woodcut title-vignette, woodcut headpieces, woodcut end-vignette, and a few woodcut initials. A large copy with good margins. (14), 252 (recte: 256) ff.‎

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‎Scarce first edition of Bodin's seminal ""Demon-Mania"", the most important book on witchcraft of the era. The work profoundly influenced the position on witchcraft of the following half century and directly influenced the course of witch trials of this period. The work is furthermore of fundamental importance to the understanding of Bodin's tripartite world picture and constitutes an invaluable supplement to his ""Six livres de la république"".""Jean Bodin's ""On the Demon-Mania of Witches"" (De la démonomanie des sorciers) appeared in 1580 and rapidly became a major publishing success. It underwent at least twenty-three editions and was translated from its original French into German, Italian and Latin. It was surely the most published work of the era on the subject of demons and witches. Because of its wide distribution, it has been considered by generations of historians to have been an extremely influential book, responsible in itself for large-scale prosecutions of witches in the four or five decades following its appearance."" (Pearl, p. 9).The present first edition constitutes not only the original version of the work, but also the model for all French editions that followed (as well as the later translations) - as many as 11 between 1581 and 1616. Bodin edited an edition in 1587, which contained some additions"" that edition is considered very flawed, however, and no subsequent editions were based upon it. Jean Bodin (1529/30 - 1596), ""one of the towering figures in the history of French thought"" (Scott), was a lawyer, economist, natural philosopher, historian, and one of the major political theorists of the sixteenth century. His main work, the ""Six livres de la république"" is one of the most important works of modern political thought. Here Bodin gave the first systematic statement of sovereignty and coined the term ""political science"". With his theory of the State and statement of Sovereignty, he fundamentally changed the history of political thought in the West. The ""Six livres de la république"" is Bodin's most famous and frequently read work. Due to the seemingly ""supernatural"" contents of the ""Démonomanie"", scholars have had difficulties recognizing the Bodin of the ""Six livres"" in this work, which, within its domain, was just as influential. There has been, however, increasing recognition of the political contents of the ""Démonomanie"", and a tendency towards reconciliation of the great works by this towering figure of early modern French thought. First of all, the work is written with the same impressive thoroughness and style as Bodin's other works. Second, although based upon a concrete sorcery case, the ""Démonomanie"" is of the utmost importance to the understanding of Bodin's tripartite world picture and his attempts at maintaining a clear line of separation between the world of nature and the supernatural. His monumental conception of ""Theatrum Naturae"" is just as dominant as a thematical background in his ""Démonomanie"" as it is in his ""Six livres"" and there ought to be no doubt about the fact that the basic features of his system of thought are dominant in the present work, which due to its concrete matter of investigation is all the more interesting. In fact, the ""Démonomanie"" is now considered an invaluable source for the general thought of the great political thinker. With its two-fold turn of focus on social problems and questions of natural-philosophical and theological character, the ""Démonomanie"", in accordance with Bodin's scientific plan of life, marks the transition from ""human sciences"" to ""the science of natural and divine things"". ""Contrary to the judgment of the Enlightenment thinkers, this midway-position does not reduce its value in the Bodin corpus"" on the contrary: Precisely this work is suitable for clarifying and illustrating the unity of his works."" (Own translation from the German. Lange, p. 162). Concerning himself with witchcraft and demonology, it is in this work that we find an emphasized statement of Bodin's thoughts on women, on punishing and sentencing, and on the general threats of state and society. Having experienced severe criticism of his earlier works, Bodin's critics became more serious and dangerous with regard to his ""Démonimanie"". In his letter of dedication (December 20, 1579) to Christophle de Thou, the first president of the Parlement of Paris, Bodin explained his motives for writing the work. ""First, he hoped to denounce the mania, the spiritual errors, and distraction, as well as the ""fury"" that sorcerers possess as they ""chase after the devil."" He wrote this treaty with two purposes in mind: on the one hand, ""to use it as a warning to all who will see him [the devil],"" and on the other hand, ""to alert readers that there is no crime that could be more atrocious or deserve more serious punishment."" Bodin wished to speak out against those who ""try by all means to rescue the sorcerers through printed books."" He reminded all that ""Satan has men in his grasp who write, publish, and speak claiming that nothing that is said about sorcerers is true."" It was essential to provide the tools to magistrates and judges, who were confronted by the accused sorcerers, in order to face this formidable problem. The work was bold and perilous for its author. Many wondered if Bodin, so curious about this topic, such an expert, so convinced of the devil's existence, may not himself have been involved with witchcraft. These suspicions alarmed the authorities, and on June 3, 1587, the general prosecutor to the Parlement of Paris ordered the general lieutenant of the baillage of Laon to proceed with a search of Bodin's home, on suspicion of witchcraft. This inspection brought no results due to the intervention of eight prominent citizens and two priests who registered their support of Bodin."" (SEP).""The conclusions of the proceedings against a witch, to which I was summoned on the last day of April, 1578, gave me occasion to take up my pen in order to throw some light on the subject of witches, which seems marvelously strange to everyone and unbelievable to many... And because there were some who found the case strange and almost unbelievable, I decided to write this treatise which I have entitled ""The Demon-Mania of Witches"", on account of the madness which makes them chase after devils: to serve as a warning to all those who read it, in order to make it clearly known that there are no crimes which are nearly as vile as this one, or which deserve more serious penealties. Also partly to respond to those who in printed books try to save witches by every means, so that it seems Satan has inspired them and drawn them to his line in order to publish these fine books."" (Bodin's Preface).A feature which clearly distinguishes Bodin's theories on witchcraft from late medieval and early Renaissance demonology is his struggle against skepticism, and the gender strategies that he deploys in the present work to thwart Skeptics, constitute a central feature of his modern demonology - a demonology that came to be dominating for more than half a century. The ""Démonomanie"" is a work designed to update a vast corpus concerned with the identification and punishment of witches. It provides us quite clearly with Bodin's thoughts on divinity, punishment, practice of law, and not least on women - women in general and women in society. ""[W]omen generally serve as means to an end in Bodin's thought. The wife's natural inferiority to the husband provides an analogy for a nonreciprocal relation of command and obedience that he establishes between the sovereign and his subjects in ""De la république"". In ""De la démonomanie"", Bodin's portrayal of women as the possessors of unsavory secrets and his characterization of the confessions of witches as fragments of a grandly devilish design create the need for hermeneutical expertise - expertise that he claimed to have. In using women to ""think with"", the author of ""De la démonomanie"" had much in common with his opponent, the Lutharen physician Johann Weyer, who protested against the witch trials in ""De praestigiis daemonum"" (1563)."" (Wilkin p. 53).An important part of Bodin's defence of the existence of witchcraft lies in the latter part of the present work, namely the pages 218-252, which constitute the famous refutation of the opinions of Johann Weyer (""Refutation des opinions de Jean Wier""). In his ""De praestigiis daemonum"" from 1563, Weyer had argued that that which we call witchcraft are actually manifestations caused by mental illness of the women in question. It is interesting to see how much Bodin actually drew on Weyer, while at the same time attacking him on both scholarly and legal grounds. As the thorough and classically bred scholar that he was, he cited both classical, Arab, and Christian authorities on witchcraft against Weyer. He arrays the authority of all philosophers, prophets, theologians, lawgivers, jurists, rulers, etc. Ultimately, Bodin here became the first to challenge Weyer's denial of the right to judge and punish the mentally ill, making the work of foundational importance to the following development of legal theory specifically targeted on the punishment of insane men and women. ""As a major Renaissance scholar, Bodin based his work on an extensive and varied group of sources. He depended heavily on the Old Testament, classical and patristic authorities and a large number of medieval scholastic works. He was immersed in the late medieval legal and canon law traditions. He also cited a large number of recent and contemporary texts like the ""Malleus meleficarum"", as well as accounts told by friends and acquaintances. Interestingly, while Bodin condemned the work of Johann Weyer, he mined this book for anecdotes and accounts when they could be useful."" (Pearl).The refutation of Weyer shows Bodin as a formidable controversialist. The reason why the ""Démonomanie"" is published two years after the trial of Jeanne Harvillier, which is constitutes the concrete basis of the work, is that Bodin needed time to carefully prepare the most effective resonse to Weyer's works and attach it to his own. Bodin seeks total demolishment of his opponent - and, as time will tell, he succeeds. Despite some modern disciples, Weyer's position was largely traditional. His aim is not to deny the existence of Satan, nor of satanic practitioners, but rather to contend that those suspected of witchcraft are delusional and victims of mental illness. ""Weyer's characterization of women replicated the views of the ""Malleus Maleficarum"" (1487), or ""witches hammer"", one of the first and certainly the most influential manual for identifying and prosecuting witches... Weyer draws from the same sources as Kramer to argue that women cannot be held accountable for the crimes for which they stand accused and to which they often confess... Vying with the author of the ""Malleus"", weyer inscribes in etymology the correspondence between the soft female body and her persuasive mind... Weyer's portrayal of women diverges from that of Kramer only in his assessment of the witch's responsibility."" (Wilkin, pp. 13-14).""The essentially melancholic imagination of women, he argues, makes them incapable of the sense perception to which he assigned pride of place in the search for truth. The madness with which Weyer diagnosed witches thus masked the contradiction that vitiated his plea. Identifying the susceptibility to demonic illusion as a feminine trait was to compartmentalize it, to limit implicitly the damage that the Devil could inflict elsewhere - for instance, on the perception of learned physicians. Those who refuted ""De praestigiis daemonum"" rejected the hermeneutical advantage that Weyer claimed for himself. To the gender strategy by which he claimed his advantage, however, they did not object. Weyer's vociferous adversary, Jean Bodin, decried the physician's medical diagnosis of witches"" nevertheless, he called upon woman to embody his opposing hermeneutics. The phenomenon that Clark has felicitously termed ""thinking with demons"" was thus, I argue, inseparable from another thought process: ""Thinking with women""."" (Wilkin, pp. 9-10).The ""Démonomanie"" also constitutes a seminal exercise in jurisprudence, which came to set the standard for following decades. Bodin's aim was not only to make sure that witches were judged and punished, he also aimed at fair trial rules according to principles of law developed over centuries in the secular and ecclesiastical courts. Also in this way, the work differs profoundly from other works on demonology and witchcraft and shows us the author as a profound political and legal thinker, whose aim was to alter society for the better. Because this interesting work places itself amidst the divine and the earthly, between the supernatural and the natural, we find in it a wealth of themes that go beyond the actual witch trial with which Bodin begins his work. It is also for these reasons that the work provides us with an even more thorough knowledge of the foundational thoughts of the great legal and political thinker that is its author. See: Rebecca May Wilkin: Women, Imagination and the Search for Truth in Early Modern France, 2008.Jean Bodin: On the Demon-Mania of Witches. Translated by Randy A. Scott with an Introduction by Jonathan L. Pearl, 1995. Ursula Lange: Untersuchungen zu Bodins Demonomanie, 1970.‎

‎BALLETS RUSSES. PROGRAMME. PARIS 1917. Les Ballets Russes a Paris. Représentations Exceptionelles avec le gracieux Concours des Artistes de M. Serge de Diaghilew. - Programme des Ballets Russes. Les Ballets Russes à Paris. Saison - Mai 1917. [Guillau... - [HAND-PAINTED BY PICASSO - COINING ""SURREALISM""]‎

‎Paris, Mai 1917. Folio. Original illustrated extra wrappers (with a picture by Picasso on the front and the décor for ""Baba Iaga"" on the back)"" original illustrated wrappers for ""Théatre du Chatelet"" (drawing by André Marty on front, and advertisements on back) in grey and red"" original illustrated coloured wrappers for ""Programme des Ballets Russes"" (front wrapper illustrated by Picasso with the Chinaman-costume from ""Parade""). A bit of soiling to the extra-wrappers and small professional restorations to upper front cover and top of spine (this barely noticeable) as well as to blank margin of back wrapper. Apart from that, an excellent and very well perserved copy with only slight browning to some leaves. Apart from the described wrappers and extra-wrappers, there are, in all, 24 leaves with -mostly photographic- illustrations (four of them with original hand-colouring on top) and 6 leaves of text.With the original errata-leaf laid in loose, stating also that the illustrations ""Femmes de bonne humeaur"" and ""Parade"" have been hand-painted by Carlos Socrate, after the designs of Bakst and Picasso, and that the front wrapper for ""Parade"" (the Chinaman) has been handpainted by Picasso himself.‎

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‎Scarce original printing of this seminal avantgarde-publication, the May 1917 ""Théatre du Chatelet""- publication that presents Diaghilev's ""Ballets Russes"" in Paris - here containing the entire separate publication mainly devoted to Jean Cocteau's groundbreaking ballet ""Parade"" - being one of the most important publications in the history of modern art. It is here, in his presentation-article to ""Parade"" that Apollinaire coins the term ""surrealism"" and thus lays the foundation for the seminal cultural movement that Bréton came to lead. Furthermore, the ballet ""Parade"" represents a historical collaboration between several of the leading artistic minds of the early twentieth century: Erik Satie, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Léonide Massine, and Serge Diaghilev, and is famous, not only for its contents and its music, but also for its magnificent costumes designed by Picasso, the drawings of which are presented in the present publication for the first time - most famously the front cover for the ""Parade""-programme, which depicts the ""Costume de Chinois du ballet ""PARADE""/ Aquarelle de Picasso"", an etching with original, stunning pochoir-colouring (hand-painted by Picasso himself!).It is the 1917 ballet ""Parade"" - the first of the modern ballets - originally presented for the first time in the present publication, that marks Picasso's entry into the public and bourgeois institutions of ballet and theatre and presents Cubism on the stage for the first time. The present publication constitutes an outright revolution in the history of art, theatre, and ballet.Several variants of this spectacular publication exist, but the one we have here is as original and complete as it comes, containing the entire contents of the different variants. We not only have the extremely scarce and fragile dust-wrapper and the equally scarce illustrated coloured double-wrappers (front: ""Peinture de Picasso"""" back: Décor de Larionow pour le ballet ""BABA IAGA""""), but also the entire 1917 ""Théatre du Chatelet""-programme (in original illustrated wrappers) with the entire separate ""parade""-issue -also entitled ""Programme des Ballets Russes""- (also in original illustrated wrappers), with more than 20 leaves of photographic illustrations containing pictures of the actors and actresses, also in their spectacular avant-garde-costumes, Bakst's portrait of Leonide Massine, Picasso's portrait of Stavinski, Bakst's portrait of Picasso, Picasso and Massine in the ruins of Pompei, Picasso's drawings of a scene from ""Parade"" and of Massine, as well as several (mostly humorous) advertisements. But more importantly, we have, apart from the above-mentioned famous Chinaman by Picasso, in original pochoir-colouring, the other famous etching by Picasso ""Costume d'acrobate du ballet ""Parade""/ Aquarelle de Picasso"", also in original pochoir-colouring (bright blue), the seminal presentation-article by Apollinaire, which coins the term ""surrealism"" (see bottom of description for full translation of this groundbreaking preface), the two ""Les Femmes de Bonne Humeur""-figures by Bakst, Constanza and Battista, printed and heightened in gold (pochoir), the printed costume by Larionow, ""Les contes russes"", which is with original bright red and blue pochoir-colouring, and the ""Le Mendiant""-costume by Bakst for ""Parade"", and, of course, the texts by Bakst (on choreography and décor), Georges-Michel (Ballets Russes after the War), as well as the texts for the various ballets (listing the actors and their rôles as well as a resume of the plot). "" ""Tact in audacity consists in knowing how far we may go too far."" Jean Cocteau, poet, writer, and arts advocate, made this statement in his 1918 manifesto, The Cock and Harlequin. Cocteau, in collaboration with Erik Satie and Pablo Picasso, discovered ""how far"" to ""go too far"" in the circus-like ballet Parade-one of the most revolutionary works of the twentieth century. Parade incorporates elements of popular entertainment and uses extra-musical sounds, such as the typewriter, lottery wheel, and pistol, combining them with the art of ballet. Cocteau wrote the scenario for the one-act ballet and contracted the other artists. Satie wrote the score to the ballet, first in a piano four-hands version and then in full orchestration, while Picasso designed the curtain, set, and costumes. Later, Léonide Massine, a dancer with the Ballet Russes, was brought in as the choreographer. Serge Diaghilev's Ballet Russes premiered the ballet Parade on May 18, 1917. The program notes for the ballet were written by the poet Apollinaire. They became a manifesto of l'esprit nouveau or ""the new spirit"" which was taking hold in Paris during the early twentieth-century. Apollinaire described the ballet Parade as ""surrealistic,"" and in doing so created a term which would develop into an important artistic school."" (Tracy A. Doyle, Erik Satie's ballet PARADE, p. 1).When the French poet and army officer Guillaume Apollinaire wrote the program notes For ""Parade"", he created the manifesto of the ""l'esprit nouveau"" - ""the new spirit"". Cocteau had called the ballet ""realistic"", but Apollinaire took it an important step further and described it as ""surrealistic"", thus coining a term that would soon develop into an important artistic movement. With Picasso, Apollinaire had established the aesthetic principals of Cubism and was considered a leader in the European avant-garde. ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF APOLLINAIRE'S PROGRAMME NOTES TO ""PARADE"": ""Definitions of Parade are blossoming everywhere, like the lilac bushes of this tardy spring...It is a scenic poem transposed by the innovative musician Erik Satie into astonishingly expressive music, so clear and simple that it seems to reflect the marvelously lucid spirit of France. The cubist painter Picasso and the most daring of today's choreographers, Léonide Massine, have here consummately achieved, for the first time, that alliance between painting and dance, between the plastic and mimetic arts, that is a herald of the more comprehensive art to come. There is nothing paradoxical about this. The Ancients, in whose lives music played such an important role, were totally unaware of harmony, which constitutes the very basis of modern music. This new alliance - I say new, because until now scenery and costumes were linked only by factitious bonds - has given rise, in Parade, to a kind of surrealism, which I consider to be the point of departure for a whole series of Manifestations of the New Spirit that is making itself felt today and that will certainly appeal to our best minds. We may expect it to bring about profound changes in our arts and manners through universal joyfulness, for it is only natural, after all, that they keep pace with scientific and industrial progress. Having broken with the choreographic tradition cherished by those who used to be known, in Russia, under the strange name 'balletomanes', Massine has been careful not to yield to the temptation of pantomime. He has produced something totally new-a marvelously appealing kind of dance, so true, so lyrical, so human, and so joyful that it would even be capable (if it were worth the trouble) of illuminating the terrible black sun of Dürer's Melancholy. Jean Cocteau has called this a realistic ballet. Picasso's cubist costumes and scenery bear witness to the realism of his art. This realism - or this cubism, if you will - is the influence that has most stirred the arts over the past ten years. The costumes and scenery in Parade show clearly that its chief aim has been to draw the greatest possible amount of aesthetic emotion from objects. Attempts have often been made to return painting to its barest elements. In most of the Dutch painters, in Chardin, in the impressionists, one finds hardly anything but painting. Picasso goes further than any of them. This is clearly evident in Parade, a work in which one's initial astonishment is soon replaced by admiration. Here the aim is, above all, to express reality. However, the motif is not reproduced but represented-more precisely, it is not represented but rather suggested by means of an analytic synthesis that embraces all the visible elements of an object and, if possible, something else as well: an integral schematization that aims to reconcile contradictions by deliberately renouncing any attempt to render the immediate appearance of an object. Massine has Adapted himself astonishingly well to the discipline of Picasso's art. He has identified himself with it, and his art has become enriched with delightful inventions, such as the realistic steps of the horse in Parade, Formed by two dancers, one of whom does the steps of the forelegs and the other those of the hind legs. The fantastic constructions representing the gigantic and surprising features of The Managers, far from presenting an obstacle to Massine's imagination, have, one might say, served to give it a liberating impetus. All in all, Parade will change the ideas of a great many spectators. They will be surprised, that is certain" but in a most agreeable way, and charmed as well Parade will reveal to them all the gracefulness of the Modern movements, a gracefulness they never suspected. A magnificent vaudeville Chinaman will make their imaginations soar" the American Girl cranking up her imaginary car will express the magic of their daily lives, whose wordless rites are celebrated with exquisite and astonishing agility by the acrobatin blue and white tights.""‎

‎Les belles heures du Duc de Berry: MS. du Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection, New York. (Facsimile - 2 VOLUMES - COMMENTAIRES EN Français).‎

‎Lucerne, Faksimile Verlag Luzern, 2003, n° 83 d'un tirage unique limité à 980 ex., 2 vol. in-8°, 1 vol. de commentaires de 220 pp. en FRANCAIS et 1 vol. fac-similé de 225 ff., 172 miniatures. Reliure plein maroquin richement orné doré, roulettes dorées sur les coupes et remplis, toutes tranches dorées, volume de commentaires en demi-cuir, les 2 vol. dans leur emboîtage en plexi d'origine. Proche du neuf.‎

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‎ Les Belles Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry ou Belles Heures de Jean de Berry est un livre d'heures enluminé du début du XVe siècle consacré à la prière privée et, en particulier, aux dévotions à la Vierge Marie. Les Belles Heures sont l'un des manuscrits les plus célèbres du Moyen Âge et très peu de livres d'heures sont aussi richement décorés que lui. Chaque section des Belles Heures est personnalisée selon les souhaits personnels de son commanditaire. Les Belles Heures consistent en une série de cycles ressemblant à des histoires qui se lisent comme des livres d'images. Avec les Très Riches Heures, également réalisées pour Jean de Berry, les Belles Heures comptent parmi les grands chefs-d'uvre du Moyen Âge.‎

‎XXXIII Sonnets. Composés au Secret. Accompagnée de XXXIII Lithographies de Jean Piaubert. No Place, Editions de Minuit, 1950.‎

‎Folio. Uncut, loose as issued in publisher's clothbox. No 94 of 200. With 33 original lithographs by Piaubert.‎

‎Souvenir de jean Giraudoux. Paris, Jacques Haumont, 1946.‎

‎Orig. wrappers. No 706 of 1000 ""sur vélin blanc du Marais"". With 1 plate.‎

‎First edition.‎

‎Beschreibung Der Kronung Solimanni Des dritten dieses Nahmens Konigs in Persien Und Desjenigen. - [EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE CORONATION OF THE EIGHTH SAHA OF SAFAVID IRAN]‎

‎Genff, Widerhold, 1681. Folio (340 x 210 mm). Recently bound in a magnificent pastiche-binding of brown half calf with gilt red leather title-label to elaborately gilt spine. Vellum corners. Title-page with stains. A few marginal repairs, not affecting text. (8), 82 pp. ‎

‎Exceedingly rare first German translation of Chardin’s “Le Couronnement de Soleimaan troisieme” (1671) - his report on the coronation of the new Persian king and what happened during the first years of his reign. Returning to Persia on the way home to Europe, Chardin witnessed the coronation of Suleiman III in 1669. Chardin’s works are considered some of the finest works of early Western scholarship on Iran and the Subcontinent in general, and the present work offered Europe a rare glimpse into the customs of the Royal house of Persia. “Chardin details the ceremonies in [the present work], with a preface that laid out the parallels between the French and Persian monarchies. Chardin portrays a filial bond between the two monarchies. The Persian shah, he declares, calls “Your Majesty [Louis XIV] his brother” due to their shared grandeur. Chardin proclaims, “The Kind of France is the greatest Emperor in Europe as he [the shah] is the most powerful Prince in Asia.” He emphasizes his admiration for Persia and its likeness to France: “Of all the vast Empires of the Orient … there is not one that should not yield to Persia, for the temperature of the air, for genius that is more reasonable than other places and is closest to our own, and for all the excellent and rare things that are found there in abundance.” (Mokhberi, The Persian Mirror) Born in Paris in a Hugenot (Protestant) family, Jean Chardin (1643-1713) undertook his travels to Persia because of his father's position as a jeweler and shareholder in the French East India Company. Chardin set out in 1664, traveling through Turkey, the Black Sea, Georgia and Armenia. Soon after his arrival in Persia he received a commission to create jewelry for Shah Abbas II, who died in 1666 and was succeeded by Shah Safi. After witnessing the latter's coronation [Described here], Chardin went on India and finally returned to Paris in 1670. In 1671, he published an account of the coronation and in the same year set off for Persia again, arriving in Isfahan in 1673 and remaining there for several years, before once more visiting India and returning home in 1677. With the persecution of the Hugenots in France, he moved to England in 1680. ""Travel restarted with 17th-century missionaries, whose medical and pedagogical expertise helped counterbalance Orthodox (or pagan) reservations. Dominican Prefects Dortelli D'Ascoli and Giovanni da Lucca (1630s) extended Giorgio Interiano's description of Circassia (and Abkhazia). Theatine proselytisers targeted Mingrelia/western Georgia (Capuchins the eastern provinces) - the Vatican's Fide Press further contributed by printing the first Georgian books (Chikobava/Vateishvili). Many, including mission-head Don Pietro Avitabile (1626-1638), recounted their experiences. Prefect to Mingrelia, Joseph Marie Zampi, a 23-year denizen from approximately 1645, contributed a third significant source in his description of Mingrelian religious practice. This he handed to Jean Chardin (1643-1713) in 1672. A French traveller who became English(!) ambassador in Holland, Chardin translated and incorporated it as a substantial part of his own description of a sometimes perilous journey through Transcaucasia (1672-3), which reflects Ottoman and Persian influence in western and eastern parts, respectively - a Turkish organized slave-trade flourished from various Mingrelian ports. Linguistically, Zampi revealingly observed that the ecclesiastical language, Georgian, was as difficult for even the Mingrelian priesthood to understand as Latin was for Italian peasants!"" (Speake, The Literature of Travel and Exploration, 1, 199-202). (Brunet I, 1802 – A later French edition). (Graesse II, P. 121). ‎

‎Jean-Qui-Pleure et Jean-Qui-Rit. Illustrè par Dignimont. Paris, Bordas, (1949).‎

‎Royal8vo. All orig. wrappers, uncut. With dedic: ""á Karin et John Drumm, entout amitié. J.V. Pellerin"". No 157 of 300 ""exemplaires sur papier fil Lama"", total of 330. With 7 original lithographs in colour.‎

‎Bazaine. Estève. Lapique.‎

‎Paris, Louis Carré, (1945). Small 4to. Orig. wrappers. Uncut. 84 pp., 30 fine full-page illustrations and 3 beautiful lithographed colourplates. Printed by Mourlot Freres et Geoges Duval. Exemplaire H.C. sur Velin du Marais (750 copies).‎

‎(Exposition 18 Mars 1945).‎

‎Études critiques sur les Mollusques fossiles (contenant les Trigonies et les Myes du Jura et de la Craie Suisses). (4 Parts).‎

‎Neuchatel, (Aux frais de L'Auteur Imprimerie de Petitpierre, 1840 - (1845). Folio. Bound uncut in one later full blue cloth w. gilt back. A faint stamp to title-page. (6), II, 58 pp. XXII, 141, (3) pp. 143-230, (1) pp." 231-287 pp., 105 lithographed plates with numerous figures. Internally fine, with only a few scattered brownspots and a bit of foxing to a few quires.‎

‎The scarce first edition of Agassiz' important work on the fossil mollusks, which helped change the study of fossils and the understanding of natural history.The famous Swiss-American paleontologist and geologist, Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807-1873), counts as one of the most important contributors to the understanding of the natural history of the earth and the creatures on it. ""By 1873, despite Darwin, Agassiz' name was synonymous with the study of natural history."" (D.S.B. I:74).Agassiz was born in Fribourg in Switzerland in 1807. He originally studied medicine but went on to also study philosophy and biology at the universities of Zürich, Heidelberg and Munich. In Erlangen he received the doctorate of both philosophy (1829) and medicine (1830). After that, he moved to Paris, where he got personally acquainted with Humboldt and Cuvier, who put him on the track of geology and zoology, the two disciplines that later came to be so closely connected to his name. Initially, the study of ichthyology was that brought him worldwide fame. In 1846 Agassiz travelled to America in order to give a lecture at the Lowell Institute in Boston and in order to study the natural history and geology of North America. Agassiz ended up staying in America, where he was became professor at the University of Harvard. ""Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, a Swiss naturalist, was appointed in 1848 professor of zoology at Harvard University where he founded the museum of comparative Zoology and became one of the greatest teachers of biology and natural sciences of the nineteenth century."" (Printing and the Mind of Man 309 (main reference: Agassiz' ""Études sur les Glaciers, 1840).Agassiz was a hugely influential but later also controversial scientist. His discoveries in many branches of natural history, from that of mollusks and fish to that of glaciers were of groundbreaking character and they greatly influenced the biologists, zoologists and geologists of his time"" however, he did not himself subscribe to the ideas that his discoveries prompted and he was later viewed quite critically as a supporter of radical racial theories, causing his work to be termed ""scientific racism"". ""Ironically his many important discoveries provided much material for men such as Darwin and Lyell, while his conservative philosophical assumptions led him to resist dogmatically the great changes in the interpretation of nature that they were bringing about."" (PMM 309). The present work constitutes an excellent example of Agassiz' amazing desire to record data and present it accurately and precisely described, which led him to become one of the most important naturalists of classical biology at a time when it faced the transition to evolutionary biology. ""Agassiz (1807-1873) was born in Switzerland, and rose to distinction by his scientific work in Europe, but he went to the United States when he was still only forty-two years of age, and spent the last twenty-seven years of his life as an energetic and successful leader of science in his adopted home. His fame is thus both European and American, and the geologists of New England, not less than those of Switzerland, may claim him as one of their most distinguished worthies."" (Archibald Geike in The Founders of Geology). Nissen ZBI:39 - BMC (NH) I:p.17.‎

‎L'anneau d'homologie d'une représentation. (+) Structure de l'anneau d'homologie d'une représentation. (2 papers).‎

‎(Paris, Gauthier-Villars), 1946). 4to. No wrappers. In: ""Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de L'Academie des Sciences"", Tome 222, No 24 a. 25. Pp. (1361-) 1416 a. pp. (1417-) 1464. (2 entire issues offered). Leray's papers: pp. 1366-1368 a. pp. 1419-1422.‎

‎First printing of these two landmark papers in topology. Dieudonné later wrote ""undoubtly rank (the papers) at the same level in the history of mathematics as the methods invented by Poincaré and Brouwer"".""These two Comptes Rendus notes of Leray from 1946 introduced the novel concepts of sheafs, sheaf cohomology, and spectral sequences, which he had developed during his years of captivity as a prisoner of war. Leray's announcements and applications (published in other Comptes Rendus notes from 1946) drew immediate attention from other mathematicians. Subsequent clarification, development, and generalization by Henri Cartan, Jean-Louis Koszul, Armand Borel, Jean-Pierre Serre, and Leray himself allowed these concepts to be understood and applied to many other areas of mathematics....."" (List of importent publications in mathematics).‎

‎Galgenfrist. Frihedens Veje. [i.e. ""Le Sursis"" - in Danish]. - [PRESENTATION-COPY FOR HIS LOVER]‎

‎København [Copenhagen], 1964. 8vo. Original printed yellow wrappers with green and black lettering. Minor soiling and minor creasing to wrappers. Internally near mint condition. Uncut and unopened. 371 pp.‎

‎Signed presentation-copy for Michelle Léglise (A Michell/ 11 Janvier 66/ Jean Pauls S"") of the first edition of the first Danish translation of ""Le Sursis"". This is a higly interesting presentation-copy, since Michelle Léglise (or Michelle Vian as she was named at the time), was both the wife of a close friend of Sartre, herself a close friend, and eventually - around the time of this presentation - his lover.In 1940 Michelle Léglise had met the French multi-artist and author Boris Vian, whom she married already in 1941. Boris Vian (1920-1959) is best known today for his novels (many of which were published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan). He was also of great importance to the French jazz-scene and served as liason for Duke Ellington and Miles Davis in Paris. He was also a popular musician in his own time. When he met Michelle, she taught him English and introduced him to American literature. They had a son together in 1942. In the middle of the 40'ies, Vian was struggling to have his novels acknowledged, but those that he published in 1945 were not very successful. He did, however, in 1946 have the luck of meeting, and later befriending Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, as well as Albert Camus, and he began publishing in ""Les Temps Modernes"". Thus, also Michelle got acquainted with the most famous couple in France at the time - and very well acquainted with Sartre! In fact the two became lovers and began an affair that lasted throughout Sartre's life, in 1980. Michelle and Boris Vian thus divorced in 1951 under messy circumstances. Both Beauvoir and Sartre were very fond of Boris Vian and had promoted him often, but the messy divorce seems to have created spite between the different parties involved - Sartre sided with Michelle, and Simone de Beauvoir with Boris Vian. ""Le Sursis"" originally appeared in 1945 as part II of ""Chemins de la liberté"". When the first Danish edition appeared in 1965, Sartre and Michelle were still lovers.‎

‎Apologia Philosophica et Christiana, pro Animi libertate.‎

‎Paris, Apud Michaëlum de Roigny, 1569. Small 8vo. Very nice recent half calf with five raised bands and gilt title to spine. Old owner's name to title-page (discreet). A nice and clean copy with only minor, very light soiling. Nice woodcut initials. 51 ff.‎

‎Very rare first edition of this work on the freedom and immortality of the soul, by the father of the famous physicist and anatomist, Jean Riolan the Younger. Jean Riolan the Elder (1539-1605) was also himself a noted French anatomist and a leading member of the medical faculty of Paris. He fought against the novelties that entered the faculty due to Paracelsus and authored a number of works attacking the most famous of the scientists who were in favour of chemical means. Works by him are of great scarcity.The work, which is divided into three parts attacks the theories on the soul of Pomponazzi, Portius, Sepulveda, and Cardano, and as such it is an important document in the seminal controversy about the immortality odf the soul which dominated most philosohical thought of the Renaissance.We have been unable to find the work in any bibliographies.‎

‎Universae Naturae Theatrum, In quo rerum omnium effectrices causae, & fines contemplantur, & continuae series quinque libris discutiuntur. - [THE FINAL EXPRESSION OF BODIN'S PHILOSOPHY]‎

‎Lyon, Jacob Roussin, 1596. 8vo. Contemporary limp vellum. Title-page printed in red and black. A fine copy. (16), 633 pp.‎

‎The rare first edition of Bodin's great final work, his main contribution to the field of natural philosophy, ""The Theatre of Nature"", which was written in 1590, but published for the first time in the year of his death, 1596. In spite of the fact that the ""Theatrum"" has been somewhat neglected by modern scholars and has for instance never translated into English in 1997, it is in fact one of his most important works. It constitutes the most systematic exposition of Bodin's vision of the world and is the culmination point of his systematic examination of things, revealing to us the full extent of his entire philosophy.In this Bodin's magnum opus of natural history, a completely new type of natural philosophy is constructed, one which attempts to combine religion with philosophy. By combining philosophical research concerning causes with a pious recognition of divine providence and the greatness of God, Bodin constantly reminds us of the importance of reason and reasoning at the same time that he refers to the Holy Scripture. Jean Bodin (1529/30 - 1596), ""one of the towering figures in the history of French thought"" (Scott), was a lawyer, economist, natural philosopher, historian, and one of the major political theorists of the sixteenth century. His main work, the ""Six livres de la république"" is one of the most important works of modern political thought. Here Bodin gave the first systematic statement of sovereignty and coined the term ""political science"". With his theory of the State and statement of Sovereignty, he fundamentally changed the history of political thought in the West. The ""Six livres de la république"" is Bodin's most famous and frequently read work, and ever since the 18th century, it has completely overshadowed everything else that he wrote. In the 17th century, however, Bodin's ""Theatrum"" was considered very important to the understanding of Bodin's entire philosophical system, including the political. It is the only one of his works that attempts to actually do that which he ever since the beginning of his career set out to do: to methodologically study all things, human and divine.Bodin does this in a manner that made it universally understandable. ""While its erudition and philosophical originality suited it well to professors and scholars, Bodin's ""Theatrum"" was also designed to be pedagogical, with its question-and-answer format and its broad coverage of natural philosophy from first principles to metals and minerals, plants and animals, souls, angels, and the heavenly bodies."" (Ann Blair, The Theater of Nature: Jean Bodin and Renaissance Science, p. 17). Tchemerzine: II:250.‎

‎Oorlogskundige Beschryving van de Veldslagen, en Belegeringen. der drie doorluchtige en wydvermaarde Krygsoversten, hunne vorstelyke hoogheden, den Prins Eugenius van Savoye, den Prins en Hertog van Marlborough, en den Prins van Oranje- en Nassau-Vrie... - [THE WARS OF PRINCE EUGENE DE SAVOYE, THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH AND THE PRINCE OF NASSAU]‎

‎'s Gravenhaage, Isac van der Kloot, 1729. Large folio. (57 x 34 cm.). Bound uncut (!) in 2 contemp. hcalf. 6 raised bands. Titlelabels with gilt lettering. Wear to spine-ends. A small stamp on foot of title-pages. Title-pages printed in red/black. Engraved titlevignettes. Some engraved vignettes. (6 - incl. half-title),LX,147"(4),358 pp. With in all 90 engraved plates, mostly folded and double-page (or more), including 10 maps, 1 portrait (Eugene), 79 plates (including the 12 famous plates of battlescenes). 5 folded tables. As it is bound uncut the copy is wide-margined, clean and printed on good paper.‎

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‎First Dutch edition, published the same year as the French ""Histoire Militaire du Prince Eugene de Savoye... etc."", and with the same engravings. This fine and monumental work describes and depicts the wars of Prince Eugene de Savoye, the Duke of Marlborough and the Prince of Nassau, in Italy, Hungary, Germany, The Netherlands and against the Turcs. The 10 engraved maps are engraved by Hubert Iallot, Covens & Mortier, Guillaume de L'Isle etc. The very detailled panoramas of war scenes, include the fine and famous series made by Jan Huchtenberg (Huchtenberg, Pinxit et excudit). Prince Eugene's almost invariable success on the battle-field raised the reputation of the Austrian army to a point which it never reached either before or since his day. War was with him a passion. Always on march, in camps, or on the field of battle during more than fifty years, and under the reigns of three emperors, he had scarcely passed 2 years together without fighting.‎

‎Communauté des hommes. Initiation à l'Humanisme social.‎

‎Paris & Tournai, Casterman, 1950. In-8°, 330 pp. Br., bon état (rares petits défauts).‎

‎Commentaire sur l'évangile de Jean.‎

‎Paris, les éditions du cerf, 1972. In-8°, 475 pp., intérieur frais. Br. (couv. lég. us.). Bel exemplaire sinon.‎

‎Introduction, texte critique, traduction, notes et index de Édouard Jeauneau. ‎

‎L'Imaginaire décadent (1880-1900).‎

‎Paris, presses universitaire de France, 1977. In-8°, 340 pp., intérieur frais. ENVOI MANUSCRIT de l'AUTEUR : "A monsieur J. R. Respectueux hommage. Jean Pierrot". Br. (couv. lég. us., peite tache sur la 1ère de couv.). Bel exemplaire sinon.‎

‎Publication de l'université de Rouen. ‎

‎Vie d'Armand Jean, cardinal duc de Richelieu. Seconde edition. 2 vols. ‎

‎Cologne, 1696. 8vo. Uniformly bound in two nice contemporary Cambridge-style mirror bindings with four raised bands and richly gilt spine. Small paper-labels pasted on to top of spines. Worm-tracts to boards. Title-page with red underlinings in vol. 1. The folded plate of the siege of La Rochelle missing lower half, otherwise a nice and clean set. (22), 552 pp. + 1 frontispiece and 1 engraved plates (missing lower half) (3), 606, (53) pp. + 1 frontispiece. ‎

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‎Memoires pour servir a l'histoire des hommes illustres dans la republique des lettres avec un catalogue raisonne de leurs ouvrages. Vol. 1-37, 39-41.‎

‎Paris, Briasson, 1727 - 1740. 8vo. Uniformly bound in 41 nice contemporary Cambridge-style mirror bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. Boards with scratches, occassionally with loss of leather. Internally nice and clean. Vols. 1-37 (vol. 10 in two bindings), 39-41.‎

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‎First edition of this large and extensive bio-bibliography of European authors from the Renaissance to the 18th century. The earliest author is John Dee (d. 1607) and the latest being Guillaume Delisle (d. 1720). Jean-Pierre Nicéron was “A French lexicographer, born in Paris, 11 March, 1685, died there, 8 July, 1738. After his studies at the Collège Mazarin, he joined the Barnabites (August, 1702). He taught rhetoric in the college of Loches, and soon after at Montargis, where he remained ten years. While engaged in teaching, he made a thorough study of modern languages. In 1716 he went to Paris and devoted his time to literary work. His aim was to put together, in a logically arranged compendium, a series of biographical and bibliographical articles on the men who had distinguished themselves in literature and sciences since the time of the Renaissance. It required long research as well as great industry. After eleven years he published the first volume of his monumental work under the title of ""Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des hommes illustres de la république des lettres avec le catalogue raisonné de leurs ouvrages"" (Paris, 1727). Thirty-eight volumes followed from 1728 to 1738. The last volume from his pen was published two years after the author's death (Paris, 1740).”(Catholic Encyclopedi) “It has been often repeated that this work lacks method, ana that the length of many articles is out of proportion to the value of the men to whom they are devoted. This criticism, however true it may be, does not impair the genuine qualities and importance of the whole work. Even now, these ""Mémoires"" contain a great amount of information that could hardly be obtained elsewhere. Moreover, they refer to sources which, but for our author, would be easily overlooked or ignored.” (Ibid) A German translation was published in 1747-1777 Brunet IV, 55.‎

‎La Philosophie naturelle rétablie en sa pureté suivi de l'ouvrage secret de la philosophie d'Hermès.‎

‎Grez-Doiceau, Beya Editions, N°8 de la Collection Beya, 2007, 232 pp. Rel., livre neuf.‎

‎Préface de Didier Kahn. Cette édition est un hommage à Jean d'Espagnet (1564-après 1638), grande figure et auteur majeur de l'Alchimie. L'ouvrage que nous présentons ici méritait une réédition complète en langue française, la dernière fois qu'il ait fait l'objet d'une publication intégrale remontant à 1651. La dernière édition française de l'uvre de d'Espagnet (Denoël, Paris, 1972, introduction et traduction de J. Lebebvre - Desagues) non seulement est épuisée depuis longtemps, elle est aussi fort incomplète. Le lecteur appréciera ici de voir enfin comblées ces lacunes.‎

‎Bibliothèque des philosophes chimiques (2 vol).‎

‎Grez-Doiceau, Beya Editions, N°2 et 3 de la Collection Beya, 2003, 2 forts volumes de 16x23, 597, 672 pp., illustr. Br., couv. à rabats. Livres neufs.‎

‎ Voici, réédité pour la première fois depuis 1741, la Bibliothèque des philosophes chimique de Jean Mangin de Richebourg. Cet ouvrage est le dernier receuil en langue française de textes alchimiques publié en Europe : un monument d'une grandeur qui a servi, aux studieux et aux éditeurs, de source de référence dans l'élaboration de leurs travaux (33 traités présenté en 2 tomes)‎

‎Anecdotes du regne de Pierre premier dit le grand, czar de Moscovie. 2 part. ‎

‎(No place nor printer), 1745. 8vo. Two parts bound in one nice contemporary Cambridge-style mirror binding with five raised bands and richly gilt spine. Crowned super ex-libris to front board. Traces from old paper-label to upper part of spine. A nice and clean copy. (4), VIII, 137, (2), (22), 177, (3) pp. ‎

‎First edition of Léonor Jean Soulas d'Allainval’s (also referred to as abbé d'Allainval) work on Peter the Great.‎

‎Memoires de monsieur de La Colonie, marechal de camp des armees de l'Electeur de Baviere contenant les evenemens de la guerre (...). 3 vols. ‎

‎Utrecht, Neaulme, 1738. 8vo. Uniformly bound in three nice contemporary Cambridge-style mirror bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. All edges coloured in red. A few scratches to boards. Internally fine and clean, a nice set. 324 pp. 332 pp. (2), 274, 45 pp.‎

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‎Beautiful copy Jean-Martin de La Colonie's memoire, a detailed account of his experiences during the War of the Spanish Succession.‎

‎Betrachtungen uber die Auslachens-Wurdigkeit. 2 parts (+) (unidentified work, lacking title-page).‎

‎Leipzig, Gleditschen, 1708. 12mo. In contemporary full vellum with yapp edges. Light miscolouring to extremities. Small paper-label pasted on to spine. Internally with light occassional foxing, otherwise nice and clean. (22), 600, (10), 501, (1), (12), 536 pp. + 2 frontispieces. ‎

‎The rare first German translation of Jean-Baptiste Morvan de Bellegarde ""Réflexions sur le ridicule"" in which he reflects on the behaviors, attitudes and social customs of the that make people subject to ridicule or contempt.‎