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KÂ- MONDO / KAPANDJI MORHANGE
87
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DESMARETS DE SAINT-SORLIN (Jean).
See original version (French)
87
-
DESMARETS DE SAINT-SORLIN (Jean).
See original version (French)
Estimate €200 - €400
Voluntary lot
Description
DESMARETS DE SAINT-SORLIN (Jean). *Les Visionnaires*.
A rare edition of Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin’s masterpiece.
Paris, n.p., 1648.
In-12 (120x70mm), full red morocco, spine with 5 raised bands, panels decorated with small ironwork, covers framed by a triple gilt border, gilt edges (Chambolle-Duru).
91 pp.
Mentioned as the ‘latest edition’, printed on laid paper.
Description of the work (source: TNP): ‘Alcidon, a simple-minded and easily influenced bourgeois, intends to marry off his three daughters. How
is he to go about it when the three young ladies have little desire to do so? Hespérie, the eldest, believes that men are vying for her favours; Mélisse, the second, dreams of Alexander the Great; Sestiane is in love with the theatre. The suitors are hardly any better! A cowardly braggart, a penniless man hoping for an unlikely inheritance, a narcissistic poet and a lovesick idealist who swoons at the mere mention of a beautiful woman: the suitors are anti-heroes who outdo one another in ridiculousness. Four cowards, four zany characters, then, who have visions – hence the magnificent title given to this comedy in 1637.”
Jean Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin (1595–1676) is one of the great forgotten figures of literary history, unjustly overshadowed by the three great authors: Molière, Corneille and Racine. A few decades their senior, he championed the classical conventions of the Grand Siècle. As a founding member of the Académie Française, he sought, particularly in the realm of comedy, to apply the rule of the three unities. Whilst a champion of the emerging classical movement, he nevertheless remained a figure of the Baroque era.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Collectors’ books for sale – First editions – Illustrated editions – Varia IV
Auction location
Auction time
11/02/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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