ALDE
98
-
GIRARD-CADIÈRE (Case). – [Fictitious collection of documents…
See original version (French)
98
-
GIRARD-CADIÈRE (Case). – [Fictitious collection of documents…
See original version (French)
Estimate €800 - €1,000
Voluntary lot
Description
GIRARD-CADIÈRE (Case). – [Fictitious collection of documents from the trial of Catherine Cadière and Father Girard]. Aix, René Adibert, Joseph David; Marseille, Dominique Sibié, 1731. 2 small folio volumes, bound in speckled ochre paper (late 18th-century binding). An interesting and rare mock collection comprising 29 original documents from the most scandalous trial of the era.
A famous case that has aroused the curiosity of numerous historians and novelists from 1731 to the present day. Catherine Cadière, then aged 19, was seduced by the 48-year-old Jesuit Girard. Manipulated by her brothers, and described as mad and hysterical, she was accused of witchcraft in 1731. Her convulsions, which were partly staged, attracted the attention of the courts. An initial judgement sentenced her to the gallows; she was acquitted by a second judgement.
The documents were reprinted and compiled in the same year in a volume entitled *Recueil général des pièces concernant le procès entre la demoiselle Cadière, de la ville de Toulon, et le P. Girard, à La Haye*. This collection, comprising the original documents published separately, is rare.
From the library of Jean-Armand Tronchin (1736–1813), resident of the Republic of Geneva in Paris, with bookplate. It is duly listed in the catalogue of the Tronchin Library (1987, no. 182).
Discreet restoration to the cardboard covers; a few scattered foxing spots and areas of discolouration.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Antique books – Alchemy & the occult sciences
Auction location
Auction time
11/04/2026 at 2:00 PM
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