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ALDE

20 - DU TILLET (Jean). A Compendium of the Kings of France, their…
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Estimate €3,000 - €4,000
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Description
DU TILLET (Jean). A Compendium of the Kings of France, their Crowns and Houses. Together with the Rank of the Nobles of France. Furthermore, an abridged chronicle containing all that has transpired, both in matters of war and otherwise, between kings and princes, republics and foreign potentates. – The Wars and Treaties of Peace, Truces and Alliances between the Kings of France and England. Paris, Jacques du Puys, 1586–1588. 2 volumes in a single folio volume, red morocco leather, compartments with braided bands, dotted gilding and a scattered pattern of fleurs-de-lis, double framing of braided bands, scrolls and fleurs-de-lis, large central medallion and spandrels with small ironwork motifs around an oval in reserve, plain spine decorated with the same scattered fleur-de-lis motif, gilt edges (contemporary binding). Second collected edition of the first volume and first edition of the second. The first volume brings together three works originally published separately and first compiled under this title in 1580 by the publisher Jacques Dupuys: the *Recueil des roys de France, leurs couronne et maison* and the *Recueil des rangs des Grands de France*, by Jean Du Tillet; followed by the *Chronique abrégée des roys de France* (Abridged Chronicle of the Kings of France), by his brother and namesake, the Bishop of Meaux. Jean Du Tillet (d. 1570), Lord of La Bussière, secretary to the king under Henry II and clerk of the Parliament of Paris, was one of the first historians to have written on the history of France based on archival documents. The second volume contains his posthumous treatise on Wars and Treaties of Peace, Truces and Alliances between the Kings of France and England, published by his son Hélie (1540–1608). The Du Tillet brothers left behind a significant body of legal and ceremonial compilations, ‘of the utmost importance for French royal symbolism’, writes Saffroy, who regards this volume as ‘a seminal work in terms of both text and illustration. ’ The illustrations consist of 70 wood-engraved figures and portraits of kings within the text. The titles of the two parts are adorned with the large mark of Jacques du Puys. A very fine copy set in a rich compartmentalised binding studded with fleurs-de-lis, a magnificent contemporary binding in a remarkably fresh condition. A few old handwritten annotations in the margins of the volume. On the title page, three handwritten notes establish its provenance in the 18th century: ‘I gave this collection by Mr du Tillet to Mr Hue (?) on 1 March 1759’, signed J. Du Bellay; ‘I gave this book to Mr Jacquinet as belonging to me’, signed M.R. Hue (?) and ‘Purchased by me at the Jacquinet sale’ (signature barely legible). From the Pierre Jacquinet library, with an 18th-century coat-of-arms bookplate. A previously repaired tear on one leaf (vol. I, p. 109), with no loss of text. Saffroy I, no. 10254 – Hauser, SHF II, I, 24 – Brunet, II, 923 and Suppl., I, 434.
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About the sale Fine antique books – A library in the Languedoc
Auction location
Auction time 10/20/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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