Paris, [1745].
Large folio with 1 engraved title, 1 fine equestrian portrait of Louis XV, 11 large double plates, 20 pages of engraved text.
Blue morocco, fleur-de-lys lace around the covers, armorial cartouche at the corners, arms in the center, ribbed spine decorated with the royal cipher, gilt inner border, gilt edges. Contemporary binding.
624 x 470 mm.
First edition of the most beautiful celebrations book published in Paris for the convalescence of King Louis XV and his stay in the city of Strasbourg in 1744.
Cohen 870; Vinet 520; Ruggieri 574.
It is illustrated with an engraved title, a portrait painted by Parrocel representing Louis XV on a horse, 11 superb double plates drawn by Weis and engraved by Le Bas, 2 beautiful head pieces and 20 engraved pages of text with rocaille framing and various flowers.
The King, who on August 8th was so dangerously ill in Metz that he was thought to be lost, by his return to health caused the whole of France to burst into the most lively joy.
The 11 large double engravings depict:
1°) The King’s arrival at the gates of Strasbourg; 2°) The King’s entry through the Faubourg de Saverne; 3°) A view of a square in Strasbourg, on the Faubourg de Saverne side; 4°) The King in front of the cathedral’s main door; 5°) Fireworks fired on the Ill river in front of the bishop’s palace; 6°) Celebrations in the Hôtel de Ville square; 7°) A view of the cathedral’s illumination, particularly the spire; 8°) illumination of the façade of the bishop’s palace; 9°) offering of the wine of honor to His Majesty by the corps of coopers of Strasbourg, their exercises and games on the terrace of the bishop’s palace; 10°) ring and goose exercises by the boatmen and fishermen of Strasbourg; 11°) sword exercises and dances on the bishop’s terrace by the city’s bakers.
The municipalities of Paris and a number of other major cities frequently issued publications at their own expense, recalling the festivities held in honor of the king and his family.
“Perhaps the most famous of these was the Representation des fêtes données par la ville de Strasbourg pour la convalescence du Roi et à l’arrivée et pendant le séjour de Sa Majesté dans cette ville (1748). (History of the Edition).
This book of the city of Strasbourg’s festivities, the most sumptuous published under the reign of king Louis XV, was the object of all the court’s care, and the most illustrious bookbinder of the reign was commissioned to design and create a specific binding model.
Padeloup le jeune produced the finest French rocaille binding, combining the arms and cipher of King Louis XV with the arms of the city of Strasbourg.
These decorated volumes were intended for the most distinguished members of the French state.
A precious copy preserved in its contemporary blue-night morocco binding, bearing the arms of king Louis XV in the center of the covers and those of the city of Strasbourg in the corners.
Provenance: Château de Vaux le Vicomte (ex libris).
