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Ader

54 - [MANUSCRIPT - PHILIPPE V]. Calendar for the Year 1702. For t…
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Estimate €5,000 - €7,000
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Description
[MANUSCRIPT - PHILIPPE V]. Calendar for the Year 1702. For the use of His Catholic Majesty Philip V. S.l., 1702. - Manuscript in-8, 189 x 126 : 63 pp. Red morocco, framed with a gilt dotted fillet, gilt fleur-de-lys at the corners, and gilt arms in the centre of the boards, decorated ribbed spine, dark blue morocco lining decorated with gilt lace framing, paper endpapers with gilt foliage motifs, gilt edges (period binding). Precious handwritten calendar, written in red and black for Philip V (1683-1746), son of the Grand Dauphin and grandson of Louis XIV, who became King of Spain in 1700. It was drawn up by the geometer Joseph Sauveur (1653-1716), a learned physicist and inventor of the science of acoustics, who was elected to the Académie des Sciences on 29 February 1696 and taught at the Collège de France (1686-1716), where he held the chair of mathematics. It is a complex and multifunctional work, combining religious, political and astronomical precision, beginning with an epistle to the king and then a page of remarks for the year 1702. Each month is then detailed on four pages, providing a wealth of methodically organised information. The first page shows the days of the month and week, with information on saints' days, specific religious events and the King's activities. Non-working days in Madrid are highlighted, as are ceremonies and days when there is no Royal Council. The second page compares different calendars: the New Style (Gregorian) for Catholics, the Old Style (Julian) for Protestants, and the Hegira calendar for Muslims. It also includes information on the reigning years of sovereigns, their marriages and royal festivals. The third and fourth pages focus on astronomical aspects. They detail the times of day and night, the phases of the moon, and the rising and setting times of the moon and sun. Specific symbols indicate the different phases of the moon, and coloured lines distinguish between dawn, dusk, day and night. Instructions are provided for calculating the exact time using the position of the moon. At the end is a 10-page "Explanation of what is contained in the months of this Calendar". A precious copy in a contemporary lined binding bearing the arms of Philip V. In 1711, Philip V founded two separate libraries: the Real Biblioteca Particular, reserved for the royal family, and the Real Biblioteca Pública, open to the public. The latter, set up in 1712 in a passageway linking the royal palace to the Monastery of the Incarnation, became the cultural heart of the Bourbons. It centralised the collections of the House of Austria, books brought back from France by Philip V, and confiscated volumes, initially totalling 8,000 works. In 1836, it became the Biblioteca Nacional, under State control. The private library was initially housed in the east wing of the palace, but was moved to the northwest wing in 1832. This copy was acquired in the early 20th century by the banker and great bibliophile Mortimer L. Schiff (1877-1931). "Mortimer L. Schiff owned one of the most important libraries of the interwar period. The beginnings of his collection date back to 1911-1912, when he took part in successive sales of the library of another great American collector, Robert Hoe III (1839-1909), acquiring around a hundred items representing the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1920, he added to his collection of large illustrated books, notably from the library of the collector Robert Schuman. In addition to a remarkable collection of first editions of French classics, calligraphic manuscripts and eighteenth-century French engravings, Mortimer L. Schiff's library was particularly renowned for its collection of French bindings, bringing together great Parisian decorations from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and, above all, a unique collection of mosaic bindings from the eighteenth century. In 1935 two catalogues of the signed bindings in his library were published, written by Seymour de Ricci: one devoted to French bindings (three volumes) and the second to English and other bindings (one volume). This library was dispersed in 1938 by the heirs of Mortimer L. Schiff, at three successive sales held in London on 23-25 March 1938, 5-7 July 1938 and 6-9 December 1938" (Bnf website). Used rubbing to binding, corners slightly dulled. Provenance : Philippe V. - Mortimer L Schiff, with bookplate (cat. III, 1432).
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About the sale ENLUMINATIONS, ANCIENT and MODERN BOOKS
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Auction time 06/17/2026 at 2:00 PM
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