DU BELLAY (Joachim).

Le Premier livre des antiquitez de Rome, contenant une générale description de sa grandeur, et comme une déploration de sa ruine: [...] Plus un Songe ou vision sur le mesme subiect. Paris, De l'Imprimerie de Fédéric Morel, 1558. Plaquette in-4 of 14 leaves, fawn morocco, triple gilt fillet, gilt coat of arms in the center, spine decorated with gilt fillets, double inner fillet, marbled edges, case (G. Plumelle). Second edition, published the same year as the original by the same publisher: these two editions differ only in minor spelling corrections. Poem written by Du Bellay (1522-1560) during a stay in Rome from 1553 to 1557, where he had followed his relative Cardinal Jean du Bellay, called upon to defend France's interests as ambassador to the Holy See. These include a series of 32 sonnets in memory of ancient Rome and its illustrious past, and a series of 15 sonnets entitled Songe. Elegant impression by Frédéric Morel, in italic type. A fine copy, bound in the collector's coat of arms. J. P. Barbier-Mueller, III, n°15. - Dumoulin, n°19. - Diane Barbier-Mueller, Inventaire..., n°257.