CHAPPUYS (G.). L'Histoire du royaume de Navarre,... Lot 5

CHAPPUYS (G.). L'Histoire du royaume de Navarre, contenant de Roy en Roy, tout ce qui y est advenu de remarquable dès son origine et depuis que les Roys d'Espagne l'ont usurpé... Tirée des meilleurs Historiens, Latins, François, Espagnols, & Italiens, et dédiée au Roy par l'un des Secrétaires Interprètes de Sa Majesté. À Paris, chez Nicolas Gilles, 1596, in-8°, olive-green morocco, gilt framing around the boards, on the boards sown with fleurs-de-lis, in the center, the arms of France and Navarre together, H crowned in the corner, smooth spine decorated with the same decoration, H crowned in the center, gilt edges, traces of lace (period binding). Collation: 8 ff. n. ch. sign. ã4and ?4, 458 ff. ch. 1 to 876, sign. A-Z8, Aa-Zz8, Aaa-Kkk8, L4, M2,*4 (*4 blc). ORIGINAL EDITION, dedicated to Henri IV (1553-1610). Orphaned at an early age, Gabriel Chappuys (1546-1613) was raised by Claude Chappuys, or Chappuis, the ordinary bookseller to the chamber of François I, who entrusted him with the task of building up his Italian library, which we know was intended for his personal use. He succeeded François de Belleforest as historiographer of France in 1585. Through his numerous translations, Chappuys played a central role in literature and the transmission of knowledge in France under Henri III and Henri IV. In 1596, Henri IV made him his secretary interpreter in Spanish. With his Histoire du royaume de Navarre, a work that forms part of his historiographical program, Chappuys reaffirms his loyalty to Henri IV, recalling that he was one of those who supported him with his pen during the League, and who followed him to Tours in the wake of the parliament between 1589 and 1594. A precious dedication copy bearing the arms of Henri IV, the first king of France from the Capetian house of Bourbon. In our collective memory, Henri IV remains the king who put an end to the Wars of Religion (1562-1598). Robust and intuitive, he combined firmness of purpose with tactical skill to achieve his ends. The editors of the Esmerian catalog emphasized the importance and rarity of this provenance for a work concerning Navarre. The volume bears the author's autograph signature at the end of the dedication, and has been delicately ruled in red ink. Its ornamental vocabulary, the fleur-de-lys semé accompanied by a crowned numeral in the corners, makes this binding similar to those used for the Thevet d'Henri III et Louise de Lorraine from the Fürstenberg-Beaumesnil foundation, which were donated to the workshop of Clovis Ève. Appointed royal bookbinder from 1584, Clovis took over the family workshop in 1581 and worked until 1633. Heads and spines discreetly, skilfully and anciently restored. The volume is housed in a black chagrin slipcase lined with the same leather. Dimensions: 175 x 105 mm. Exhibition : Baltimore, 1957, n° 374. Provenances: Ripault (Cat. I, 1924, no. 293, reproduction), with his bookplate; Cortland Bishop (Cat., 1948, no. 70, reproduction), with his bookplate; Esmerian (Cat. I, 1972, no. 47, reproduction), with his bookplate. Dechaud (J.-M.), Bibliographie critique des ouvrages et traductions de Gabriel Chappuys, p. 453, C06a; Hobson (A.R.A.), French and Italian Collectors and their Bindings..., 1953, p. 53; Courvoisier (D.), Fondation Fürstenberg-Beaumesnil, 2013, no. 161 for the Thevet; [...], Burrus: la bibliothèque d'un homme de goût, 2015, no. 51 for the Del Rio bound for Henri IV.