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an old leather book with gold trim and a crest on the covera black and white drawing of a woman holding a bookan old book with a picture of a coat of armsan old book with a black and red title on it
ALDE

135 - BEAUCHATEAU (François CHASTELET de).
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Estimate €2,000 - €2,500
Sale commission
Description
BEAUCHATEAU (François CHASTELET de). *The Lyre of Young Apollo, or The Muse in the Making by the Young Beauchasteau*. Dedicated to the King. Paris, Charles de Sercy and Guillaume de Luynes, 1657. 2 parts in one quarto volume, brown calfskin, double border of gilt fillet, gilt fleurons at the corners, coat of arms on the covers, decorated spine (contemporary binding). Ornate engraved title page, portrait of the author, printed title page, 42 folios (approval of the Muses), 1 folio (title of the first part), 262 pages – Title of the second part, 3 folios (dedication to Mazarin), 127 pp., 9 ff. (privilege and table of contents). First edition of the collection of verses by the ‘young Beauchateau’, the most famous child prodigy of the 17th century. Born in 1645, the son of actors in the King’s company, he was a brilliant child, exceptionally gifted in languages; it was his poetic talents that brought him to the attention of the court. He was introduced to the Queen Mother and then to the King through the intercession of Christina of Sweden. “The volume opens with the ‘Approbation des Muses’, in which more than eighty poets and courtiers celebrate the child’s glory. This is followed by a series of flattering poems addressed to the most illustrious members of the clergy and the nobility by the young Apollo, sometimes accompanied by their portraits. Through Beauchâteau, the court praises itself, and everyone hails it as a miracle. Loret devoted several articles to him in his *Muse historique*, a sort of rhymed court gazette. In February 1658, the Académie française received the book with ‘signs of great esteem’ and serious consideration was given to admitting ‘little François’ to its ranks. *Le Printemps des Génies*. *Les enfants prodiges*, pp. 106–107. A bound copy containing, in addition to the portrait of the author aged 11, 20 portraits (out of a possible 26). Virtually no copies are known to exist with all the portraits. It also contains the very rare (impromptu) card between pages 10 and 11, as well as the eight end-paper leaves, which are exceedingly rare. According to Lachèvre, ‘A perfect copy of *La Lyre du jeune Apollon* is highly unlikely to exist’.  Unidentified coat of arms on the covers (a band bearing three bezants and a crown).  Restored binding. Brunet I, 715 – Viollet Le Duc 484 – Lachèvre. Glanes bibliographiques I, pp. 51–57.
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About the sale Xavier de Planhol Library – The Origins of the Novel
Auction location
Auction time 09/30/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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