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ALDE

134 - CHOISY (François-Timoléon de). Ouvrages de M. l'Abbé de Choi…
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Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
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Description
CHOISY (François-Timoléon de). Ouvrages de M. l'Abbé de Choisy non imprimés des choses les plus remarquables sur la vie de Louis 14 et sous son reigne. Manuscript from the beginning of the 18th century. 2 volumes in-4 of 414 and 529 pp, fawn calf, spine decorated, inner lace, red edges (Binding of the period). Precious manuscript of the memoirs and anecdotes of the eccentric abbé de Choisy, prior to the edition prepared by the abbé d'Olivet on the manuscript of the marquis d'Argenson, which appeared in Utrecht in 1727 under the title Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de Louis XIV. The second volume contains many passages that have not been published. Historian, theologian and memoirist, Abbé de Choisy (1644-1724) was initially a worldly ecclesiastic who caused a scandal with his habit of dressing up as a woman, his debauchery and his taste for gambling. He made amends from 1683, accompanied the French embassy to Siam, was ordained a priest on his return, and from then on devoted himself to foreign missions. He was elected to the Académie française in 1687. His memoirs are as lively as they are entertaining: "Papotages, anecdotes, bon mots, all this is presented with vivacity, lightness and wit. One should not look to Choisy for an exact chronology or a methodical account of events [...]. He has a taste only for the little fact, the amusing word [...]. This amiable and witty abbé endeavoured to maintain absolute impartiality and to record complete physiognomies for posterity: since, before writing, he drew on various excellent sources, and was himself gifted with great sense, he succeeded in this respect" (Bourgeois & André). In addition to that of the Marquis d'Argenson, kept in the Arsenal library, another manuscript copy of Les Ouvrages de M. l'abbé de Choisy was in the Pierre Leroy collection (2007, no. 57). Copy of the abbé Morellet (1727-1819), the famous encyclopaedist, economist, friend of philosophers and academician, with bookplate. From the library of the Marquis des Roys, with bookplate. Two headpieces missing, minor damage to binding, some foxing. Bourgeois & André, SHF, XVIIe siècle, II, n°832.
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About the sale Antiquarian books from the 15th to the 19th century - Astronomy
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Auction time 06/24/2026 at 2:00 PM
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