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an old brown book sitting on top of a white surfacean old book with a black and white image of a coat of arms
ALDE

173 - MONTREUX (Nicolas de). *The Work of Chastity*, which recount…
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Estimate €200 - €300
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Description
MONTREUX (Nicolas de). *The Work of Chastity*, which recounts the various fortunes, adventures and faithful loves of Criniton and Lydie. Book One. Together with the Tragedy of Cleopatra, the whole of which is the invention of Ollenix Du Mont-Sacré, a gentleman from Maine. Paris, Guillaume Des Rues, 1595. In-16, fawn calfskin, embossed with a cold-stamped border, decorated spine, red edges (18th-century binding). 4 folios, 611 pages, 4 pages (Privilege and ‘printed in Lyon by Pierre Dauphin on 25 February 1595’).  First edition? Cioranescu describes, under the same date, an 8vo edition comprising 624 pp. and 118 pp. The *Tragedy of Cleopatra* mentioned in the title is missing from this copy. Hauréau. *Hist. litt. du Maine*, vol. VII, pp. 181–202: “Whether out of excessive modesty or excessive vanity, Nicolas de Montreux published almost all his works under the pseudonym Olenix du Mont Sacré. This is an anagram of his name. These works are extremely rare; only a small number can be found even in the most extensive libraries …” According to Hauréau, a second part is said to have appeared in 1598 and a third in 1599. These are undoubtedly: *Les Amours de Cléandre et de Domiphille* (1597) and *Les Chastes et délectables jardins d’Amour* (1599), according to Cioranescu.  Cioranescu 16084 and 16085.
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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
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