MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE) (1533-1592) Lot n° 48

Essays of Messire Michel Seigneur de Montaigne, knight of the order of the King, & Gentleman of his chamber. Book one & two. In Bourdeaus, by S. Millanges Ordinary printer of the King, 1580 2 vols. in-8, t.1: portrait, 4 ff. and 496 pp, (collation: portrait, π4, A-Z8; Aa-Hh8); t. 2: 2 ff., 650 pp. (actually 653 pp.), 1 f. errata (collation: π π2, AAa-ZZz8-AAaa-SSss8). Irregular pagination. Small arabesque ornament to first title; woodcut Millanges mark to second title, of errata, 2 pp state before addition of noted fault on page 646. Bound in full cherry morocco, spine with 5 nerves, gilt author and tomaison, gilt and marbled edges, red morocco doubled back covers, cold fillet in frame, combed marbled paper endpapers (Some spotting but a very good copy). Dimensions : 100 x 160 mm. First edition of the first two books of the Essays. Title page of vol. I in second state with the mention of the dignities : Essais de Messire Michel Seigneur de Montaigne, chevalier de l'ordre du Roy, & Gentil-homme ordinaire de sa chambre. Contents : I : π1r: title, π2r: To the reader, π2v : The chapters of the first book, π4r: privilege, π4v : The most distinguished faults occurred in the printing of the first book, A1r: Essays of Michel de Montaigne. Book one - II : π π 1r: title, π π2r: Les chpitres (sic) du livre second, 3A1r: Essais de Michel de Montaigne. Book second, 4S7v-4S8r: The greater faults, which were made in the printing of the second book. 4S8v: blank The added portrait is the one that appears in the 1608 edition, which is the first with a portrait of the author, engraved by Thomas de Leu (for the 1608 edition, see Sayce and Maskell, no. 14). Half of the Essays were published on a self-publishing basis, Montaigne having taken charge of the paper supply. The print run was thus shared between the publisher and the author. Thus, the copies belonging to the publisher were put on sale, while those reserved for the author were distributed to friends. Montaigne published a second edition of his work in 1582, enriched with several quotations, but which also took into account the Roman censorship and included at the beginning of the chapter Des prières a clarification accepting in advance the condemnation by the Church. A royal privilege allowed Simon Millanges "to print all new books: provided that they are approved by Monseigneur l'Archevesque de Bourdeaux, or his Vicar, & one or two Doctors in theology", and expressly forbidding any other to print these works during eight years from their first printing (Paris, May 7, 1579). See Blum, C. "Dans l'atelier de Millanges : les conditions de fabrication des éditions bordelaises des Essais (1580, 1582), in Editer les Essais de Montaigne (Paris, 1997, pp. 79-97) A very rare copy of the 1580 edition of the Essais is kept in the Bordeaux-Mériadeck Library under the name of "Lalanne" (S 4754 Rés. C): it contains in its margins, handwritten corrections and additions, unfortunately a little trimmed and probably incomplete (the first pages of book I are deteriorated), which were used to prepare the following edition of 1582 (see lot no. 42 of this catalog). REFERENCES Brunet III-1835: "The copies are rare and highly sought after". - Tchemerzine IV, 870. - Sayce and Maskell, A Descriptive Bibliography of Montaigne's Essais, 1580-1700 (London, 1963), no. 1. - Catalog En français dans le texte, no. 73 - Montaigne, Essais de 1580, facsimile presented and edited by D. Martin from the Yale copy, Geneva-Paris, 1976 (the pagination errors of the copy are corrected by the editor). - Dictionnaire de Michel de Montaigne, dir. P. Desan, Paris, 2008: "Edition of 1580" (P. Desan) and "Edition of 1582" (A. Legros). - Diesbach-Soultrait, V. de, [Bibliothèque Jean Bonna]. Six centuries of French literature. XVIe siècle. Second part (M-Z), Geneva, Paris, 2017, no. 225.