Paris, Pierre Lamy, 1634.
8vo [167 x 109 mm] of 1 frontispiece, 1 l. of title, 2 added portraits, (15) ll., 186 pp., (13) ll. Bound in full black morocco, covers and spine entirely decorated with a silver-stamped crowned monogram, large silver arms in the center of the covers, border around the covers, spine ribbed. Black morocco case. Contemporary binding.
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An exceptional mourning binding made for the queen Anne of Austria on Louis XIII’s death.
This binding covers the first edition of l’Histoire de Notre-Dame de Boulogne written by Father Alphonse de Monfort, a Capuchin religious of the convent of Boulogne (Barbier, Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes, II, 679). This edition invokes the church and the confraternity founded in tribute and memory to the church Notre-Dame in Boulogne-sur-Mer devoted to the Virgin. It is the creation of this confraternity that gave the name of Boulogne to the town that developed around. The church of Boulogne-sur-Mer held a miraculous statue of the Virgin and was always particularly honored by the kings of France. Louis XIII, who had placed the kingdom of France under the Marian protection, and Anne of Austria made important donations to this church. The work encloses much information on the history of the mother church of Notre-Dame in Boulogne-sur-Mer. This first edition is decorated with a nice frontispiece and engraved patterns. Precious royal copy enriched with two portraits of the Queen Anne of Austria and her son Louis XIV. A superb copy covered on the death of king Louis XIII of a mourning binding with the silver arms of Anne of Austria, his widow. “Anne of Austria, eldest daughter of Philipp II, king of Spain, and queen of France by her wedding with Louis XIII, had a remarkable library that was worthy of the illustrious woman who, with her delightful politeness and her high character, contributed the most to lay the basis of this French gallantry that is still a model for other nations”. (Ernest Quentin Bauchart. Les Femmes bibliophiles de France).
Provenance: many handwritten ex libris on the endleaves and on the title.
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