[ALCAFORADA (or Alcaforado, Mariana); GUILLERAGUES (Gabriel de)]. Portuguese letters translated into French. A Paris, chez Claude Barbin, 1669. In-12, [3] f. (title, notice to reader), 182 p., 1 f. (privilege), contemporary red morocco, spine with 5 ornate nerves, gilt title, small-iron decorated caissons, triple fillet and small angular fleurons on the boards, all gilt, gilt roulette on the necks and chasses, gilt edges (minor defects including rubbing at the corners and edges of the nerves, worm sting at the tail of one bit; browning, a few stains and traces of dust without seriousness). Very rare first edition of this famous collection, justly appreciated for the literary and emotional quality of the five letters it contains. This moving text is attributed to Mariana Alcaforado, a Franciscan nun from the convent of Beja in Portugal, who is said to have sent these passionate letters to her French lover, the Marquis de Chamilly. The success was prodigious, and numerous editions, counterfeits and other supplements immediately appeared and spread throughout the 18th century. It has also been assumed that these letters were forged by a French writer, Gabriel de Guilleragues, and this opinion seems to have convinced a large number of specialists. Nevertheless, the attribution to the Portuguese nun still finds its defenders today, the latest being the writer Philippe Sollers, who supports this thesis in his preface to one of the most recent editions published. A remarkable copy, ruled in red ink and bound in contemporary red morocco. Height 139 mm. excluding binding. Sign. 3] f. unsigned; A8, B4, etc., N8, O4, P 8. (Gay II, 847-848, "rare"; Barbier, II, 1286. Brunet III, 1030-1031, does not cite any copies sold of this first edition, but only of the second edition).