AVAUX (count d'). Négociations de Monsieur le... Lot 2

AVAUX (count d'). Négociations de Monsieur le Comte d'Avaux en Hollande, depuis 1679; jusqu'en 1684. Paris, Durand et Pissot, 1752-1754, 6 vol. in-12, contemporary brown half calf, decorated spine. A fine copy despite some wear. Jean-Antoine de Mesmes, known as Comte d'Avaux (1640-1709), was French ambassador to Holland. The work tells in detail, in a diplomatic and rather neutral way, the relations between France and Holland since the peace of Nijmegen. The account is written in the first person, making it seem like an authentic memoir. Jean-Antoine de Mesmes, the diplomat, was never a count. The title passed from his father (died 1673) to his older brother Jean-Jacques (died 1688) and then to Jean-Jacques' older son, another Jean-Antoine (died 1723), who survived the diplomat (died 1709). However, he liked to pass himself off as "Count d'Avaux" when he was abroad on his embassies to enhance his precedence. Saint-Simon alludes to this pretension in his memoirs.