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a black book with gold trims and a gold star on the coveran old book with a picture of a coat of arms on it
ALDE

149 - [COTIN (Charles)]. A Collection of Riddles of the Present Da…
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Estimate €600 - €800
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Description
[COTIN (Charles)]. A Collection of Riddles of the Present Day. Paris, Toussaint Quinet, 1646. 3 parts in one in-12 volume, blue morocco, crowned monogram at the corners, ribbed spine with the same monogram repeated, gilt interior edging, gilt edges (Capé). 1 blank folio, 115 pp., (4 pp. table of contents and privilege) – 103 pp. (including title page), (4 pp.) – 93 pp., (2 pp.).  First edition. Abbé Cotin had launched the fashion for riddles at the Hôtel de Rambouillet. He devotes a section of this book to defining and justifying them. The collection contains 244 riddles in verse followed by their solutions; only three riddles are left unexplained. The fart, the kiss, the shirt, the flea, the nipples and virginity are the usual themes of the genre.  This first edition is extremely rare. Cioranescu cites only the first part of a 1655 edition. The exhibition *Literary Salons in the Seventeenth Century* at the National Library in 1968 featured only a 1659 edition. A fine copy bound by Capé, bearing an unidentified crowned numeral 12 times. From the E. Délicourt library (1937, no. 127), with bookplate. Cioranescu 22026.
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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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