A Paris, chez Vente et Patas, 1775.
4to, xii pp. including an engraved title, pp. 1-92, (2) ll, pp. 95-147, (18) ll, 91 pp, (1) p., 9 double-page plates, 39 full-page costume plates, 1 large folding map, 1 folding plate of coats of arms, some slight browning.
Red morocco, triple gilt fillet around the covers, ribbed spine decorated with gilt fleurons, inner gilt border, gilt edges. Contemporary binding.
251 x 183 mm.
First edition and first issue of the Coronation of Louis XVI.
Copy of the deluxe issue, in the 4to format, on large Holland paper.
The abundant illustration includes an engraved title, a frontispiece, a large plan of Reims (470 x 335 mm) with medallion portraits of Clovis and Louis XVI, the Baptism of Clovis and the Coronation of King Louis XVI, 9 double-page plates in armorial frames, 250 x 193 mm, depicting the various phases of the Ceremony:
– The king’s rise.
– The King going to Church.
– The arrival of the Holy Bulb.
– The King prostrate before the Altar.
– The Anointing Ceremony.
– The Coronation of the King.
– The King led to the Throne.
– The offering ceremony.
– The Royal Feast,
a plate of coats of arms, 39 beautiful engravings illustrating the “Différens Habillemens pour le sacre de Louis XVI“, 195 x 120 mm, and 14 head pieces (122 x 85 mm).
The coronation of Louis XVI was often depicted, more so than that of Charles X, particularly in Patas’s Sacre et couronnement de Louis XVI, commissioned for the occasion, and in Nicolas Gobet’s Sacre et couronnement de Louis XVI à Rheims. These two books are accompanied by a historical study on the coronations of the kings of France, documented by Abbé Pichon, historiographer to Monsieur and cantor in dignity of the Sainte-Chapelle du Mans, author of the Journal Historique, and some fifteen illustrations by Desrais and Patas, which were also produced separately, an indication of their public success. The most famous of the engravings depicts the young royal couple among their subjects.
The first part of the book is devoted to a chronological presentation of the accession to the throne of the kings of France from Clovis to Louis XVI, followed by “Recherches sur quelques évènements de l’Histoire de France de 482 à 1774″.
A handsome volume in contemporary red morocco of one of the main celebrations books of Louis LVI’s reign.
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