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OGER-BLANCHET

95 - PONTIS, Louis de – Memoirs of Sieur de Pontis, Officer in th…
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Estimate €80
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Description
PONTIS, Louis de – Memoirs of Sieur de Pontis, Officer in the King’s Armies. Paris: Guillaume Desprez, 1676. 2 vols. in-12, (5) folios, 551 pp.; (1) fol., 444 pp., a few faint water stains in vol. II, marbled fawn half-leather, plain decorated spine. SHF 689. First edition. Memoirs covering the period from 1596 to 1652. Disillusioned with his military career, Pontis retired to Port-Royal around 1653. These memoirs were written by another Solitaire, Thomas Du Fossé, based on conversations which the latter constantly sought to elicit. Madame de Sévigné held them in high regard: “He recounts his life and the reign of Louis XIII with such truth, candour and common sense that I cannot put them down.” Sainte-Beuve defended him against those who, questioning his sincerity, described his memoirs as a historical novel in the style of Courtilz de Sandras: “Let us not accuse him of lying, nor of falsifying the facts, nor of deliberately exaggerating them to amuse the reader: he speaks, he becomes animated, he is at the centre of his own stories; like any old soldier, he abounds in recounting his services and the injustices of fate.” (Port-Royal II, Appendix)
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About the sale The Jean Demaux Collection – Part 2
Auction location
Auction time 09/16/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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