Malta. VERTOT (Abbot of). History of the Knights... Lot 45

[Malta]. VERTOT (Abbot of). History of the Knights Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, called since then the Knights of Rhodes and today the Knights of Malta. Paris, Rollin, Quillau, Desaint, 1726. 4 volumes in-4°, marbled calf, triple gilt fillet on the covers, very ornate spine, gilt edges, modern cases (period binding). FIRST EDITION. It is decorated with a portrait of the author, 6 maps and plans, 5 of which are folding, and 70 portraits of knights. Among these, the only portrait of a woman, that of the reformer Galiote de Saint-Anne de Genouillac de Vaillac, prioress of the convent of Les Fieux, near Miers, a convent under the Order of Malta, is to be noted. Small defects to the headpieces, dark halos on 3 boards, some foxing and rings, light wetness on several leaves. Provenance: Library of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French revolutionary general and winner of the battles of Wattignies and Fleurus, he rallied Napoleon and became marshal of the Empire in 1804 (armorial bookplate).