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26 - ATHÉNÉE. Les Quinze livres des Deipnosophistes d'Athénée de …
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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ATHÉNÉE. Les Quinze livres des Deipnosophistes d'Athénée de la ville de Naucrate d'Égypte, écrivain d'une érudition consommée, & presque le plus sçavant des Grecs. Paris, Jacques Langlois, 1680. in-4, green half-chagrin, smooth spine decorated with faux-nerfs, initials L.P. gilt at the foot (19th century binding). A very rare first edition of the first French translation of Athénée, by Michel de Marolles. It is decorated with his copper-engraved portrait by Nanteuil and 2 wood-engraved figures in the text, representing Nestor's cup and the game of cottabe. Marolles explains in his dedicatory epistle to the Duc de Montausier that, unable to find a publisher for his work, he had to finance the edition himself for only 25 copies. De Bure gave a more convincing explanation, according to which "Marolles, disappointed by the unfavourable reception it received, had all the copies in his bookseller's possession withdrawn and deleted most of them" (cf. Bibliographie instructive, no. 3916). This Banquet des savants is a veritable encyclopaedia of ancient gastronomy, full of valuable insights that would be hard to find elsewhere. Michel de Marolles (1600-1681) is known for having built up a collection of 123,000 prints, which Colbert bought for Louis XIV in 1667. From the Léon Penchinat library, with bookplate and gilt initials at foot.
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About the sale Gastronomy - A collection of menus
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Auction time 06/09/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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