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an old book with a picture of a man on a boat surrounded by angelsan old book with a black and white title on ita set of five red books sitting on top of each othersix red leather books with gold trims and a lion emblem
ALDE

96 - Naturalis historiæ libri XXXVII.
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Estimate €10,000 - €12,000
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Description
Naturalis historiæ libri XXXVII. Paris, Fr. Muguet, 1685. 5 volumes in-4, red morocco, ‘à la Du Seuil’ decoration, coat of arms in the centre, decorated spine, interior lace, gilt edges on marbled paper (contemporary binding). AN IMPORTANT LATIN EDITION OF PLINY’S NATURAL HISTORY FROM THE ‘AD USUM DELPHINI’ COLLECTION, a collection of classical authors compiled for the education of the Grand Dauphin. In 1668, Charles de Sainte-Maure (1610–1690), Duke of Montausier – the man who, a few years earlier, had presented *La Guirlande de Julie* to Mademoiselle d’Angennes – was appointed tutor to Louis de France (1661–1711), the eldest son of Louis XIV and heir to the throne. Put in charge of the prince’s education, he was assisted by tutors, the principal of whom was Bossuet, who in turn was assisted by Pierre-Daniel Huet (1630–1721). With Huet’s help, Montausier, from the early 1670s onwards, began compiling a collection of classical authors. The guided reading of these authors was intended to help turn their readers – the Dauphin and others, as the collection was to be published – into model gentlemen. The texts, carefully selected and edited, were published in Latin. They were, moreover, accompanied by an extensive set of notes. These notes, also in Latin, were intended both to perfect the reader’s command of the language and to broaden their knowledge of history, geography and other subjects… The publication of the *ad usum delphini* books, numbering around 70, continued until 1698. The collection comprises mainly Latin authors, with history featuring prominently – as befits a series designed for the education of a prince; however, poetry, rhetoric, philosophy and natural history are also represented. Pliny’s *Natural History*, edited by the Jesuit Jean Hardouin (1646–1729), is regarded as one of the finest titles to have appeared in this collection. The first volume is adorned with a frontispiece engraved by L. Moreau. A PRESTIGIOUS COPY IN HEAVY PAPER, BONDED IN PERIOD FOR JACQUES-BENIGNE BOSSUET (1627–1704), TUTOR TO THE DAUPHIN FROM 1670 TO 1680. In September 1670, Bossuet, who had just been consecrated Bishop of Condom, renounced his bishopric to become tutor to the Dauphin. In this role, he reserved for himself the teaching of history, which he considered essential to the education of a prince. From the history of the kings, whose succession he slowly recounted, he drew political, psychological and moral lessons. Bossuet held the post of tutor until his pupil’s marriage, in March 1680, to Marie-Anne of Bavaria (1660–1690). Louis XIV then appointed him chief chaplain to the Dauphine. The following year, he became Bishop of Meaux, then, in 1695, headmaster of the Royal College of Navarre, where he himself had studied. His history lessons to the Dauphin had, in 1681, provided the material for his *Discourse on Universal History*, dedicated to the young man whose education he had guided for nearly ten years. Comprising largely works on theology and canon law, Bossuet’s library passed to his nephew, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1664–1743), Bishop of Troyes, who continued to expand it. It was dispersed in 1742. This volume does not appear in the catalogue of that sale. The copy subsequently belonged to Antoine Moriau (1699–1759), King’s Procurator in Paris from 1722 to 1755, bearing his red-ink wet stamp repeated on the title page of each volume. Antoine Moriau assembled a significant collection of books and historical documents relating to Paris. This collection, housed in the Hôtel d’Angoulême-Lamoignon, comprised, at the time of his death, 14,000 volumes, 2,000 manuscripts and some 20,000 historical artefacts. Moriau bequeathed this collection to the city, on condition that it be turned into a public library. This library, which opened in 1763 in the Hôtel Lamoignon and remained there until the Revolution, was the first institution of its kind in Paris. The titles bear a wet cancellation stamp reading ‘Duplicates from the town library’. A fine copy, with wide margins, very well preserved. Slight scattered foxing; small ink stains on the edge of the first volume. Brunet, IV, 715 – C. Volpilhac-Auger (ed.), *La Collection Ad usum Delphini*, Grenoble, 2000 – OHR, 2298/1.
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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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