FR EN
1 / 21
an old leather book with a decorative design on the coveran open book with a picture of a man on a horsean open book with a drawing of a city on itan open book with a drawing of a city on itan open book with a drawing of a man sitting at a tablean open book with a piece of paper on top of itan open book with a picture of a ship on itan open book with a picture of a coat of arms and a coat of arms on itan open book with a drawing of a man and a woman on itan open book with a picture of a man and a woman on itan open book with a drawing of a medieval scene on itan open book with a page in it sitting on top of a tablean open book with a drawing of a man on itan open book with a picture of a sea horse on itan open book sitting on top of a table next to a white tablean open book on a table with a white backgroundan open book with a picture of a man and a woman on ita book open on a table with a drawing on itan old book with writing on it sitting in a person ' s handan old leather book sitting on top of a white surfacean old book with a wooden cover sitting on a white surface
Premium VALOIR POUSSE-CORNET Maison de ventes

208 - FILLASTRE (Guillaume). The first [– second] volume of *La To…
See original version (French)

Estimate €5,000 - €6,000
Sale commission
Description
FILLASTRE (Guillaume). The first [– second] volume of *La Toison dor*. Paris, François Regnault, 1516. 2 parts in one Gothic in-4 volume, brown calfskin with blind-stamped decoration, frame ornamented with fillets and scrolls, edges speckled with red (modern binding). A very rare first edition of this great chivalric romance. It is printed in two columns for the bookseller François Regnault, whose typographical mark featuring an elephant adorns the title pages (see Renouard, no. 941). Remarkable woodcut illustrations, comprising some 75 engravings within the text in various formats, including around ten full-page illustrations: the most famous of which depicts Jason fighting monsters in his quest for the Golden Fleece, a copy of an engraving by Guillaume le Rouge for the edition of the *Bible des poètes* published by Vérard in 1498. (Bechtel, F-94; Brun, p. 188.) Guillaume Fillastre, Bishop of Tournai and adviser to the Dukes of Burgundy, served as Chancellor of the Order of the Golden Fleece—newly established in 1430—from 1461 until his death in 1473. His work, which he dedicated to Charles the Bold, blends mythology and history and explores the various moral qualities that constitute the nobility of a good knight or prince, chiefly the virtues of magnanimity and justice. In it, the author briefly recounts the story of Jason and the Argonauts, narrates the tale of Jacob, and discusses the ‘haulx’—virtuous and magnanimous deeds—of both the Christian houses of France, Burgundy and Flanders, as well as other kings and princes from the Old and New Testaments. Among the figures mentioned are Alexander the Great, Seneca, Diogenes, Scipio Africanus, Plato, Darius, Charlemagne, Pepin the Short and Charles V. Copy cited by Bechtel, from the Barbet Library (ex-libris label) (1932, no. 83). Old handwritten note on the title page of the second volume. Repairs to the title page and a few leaves (with loss of a few letters in the text and running title on leaves PP4–5–6 and QQ1; the last leaf has been entirely re-bound). Water damage to the upper margins of the quires; the first six are badly affected and have been restored. Text is missing (rewritten in pen) down to the wood on the reverse of folio PP5. The title folio of the first part is shorter and appears to come from another copy. Restored binding with a re-made spine and reused 16th-century covers. Expert: Mr Dominique Courvoisier
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale TREASURES OF THE LOIRE VALLEY: books and archaeology
Auction location
Auction time 11/23/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like