COUSIN: Histoire de l'Eglise écrite par Eusèbe...... Lot 1

COUSIN: Histoire de l'Eglise écrite par Eusèbe... Paris, Rocolet, 1775. 4 vol. in-4, full glazed basane, covers with lace, handsomely decorated spines. Minor rubbing and spotting to T 4. Wet stamp "Bibliothèque de la Malmaison" on each title page, Monogram PB (for Pagerie Bonaparte) at the foot of each spine, fresh interior. Contemporary binding. Complete with volumes. Beautiful set from Josephine de Beauharnais' library at Malmaison. Josephine bought the Château de La Malmaison in 1799, where she installed a large and varied library. Repudiated by Napoleon, she kept Malmaison and its library. After her death, the library became the property of Eugène de Beauharnais, and was auctioned off in 1829. The books presented here were part of this auction, and it was at this sale that the seal was affixed to the books. Last but not least, the granite calf bindings are the work of Charle-Pierre Bizouard, a bookbinder based on rue des Carmes in Paris, who worked constantly for Joséphine (information collected in Bibliothèque Gérard Souham, n°21, 22 and 23, Fontainebleau December 7, 2008).