26 - HUCHET de CINTRÉ (Alphonse, Viscount)

HUCHET de CINTRÉ (Alphonse, Viscount) Rennes, no publisher, 1885. A historical genealogy of the Huchet family, who came from England around 1350. Quarto booklet (26.5 x 21 cm), green marbled half-percaline Bradel binding, smooth spine, front cover preserved (modern binding). A rare and interesting autographed edition of this genealogical work on the Huchet family—an important surviving family of the French nobility—compiled by a member of the family belonging to the Cintré branch. Probably of Irish origin, the family settled in Brittany during the War of the Two Joans, or the War of the Breton Succession, between 1341 and 1364. Well-established and recognized as part of the ancient nobility of chivalric descent, the family appeared in nine censuses and tax rolls from 1418 to 1668. In addition to the Cintré branch, the family is divided into two other branches: the Bédoyère branch and the Quénetin branch. Included is a letter from the author, Viscount Alphonse Huchet de Cintré, to Curator Duplessis, dated 1886. 3 pp. on a double-leaf folio in-8 (20.8 x 13.4 cm), mounted on a tab. Huchet de Cintré sent the work to Duplessis in order to obtain information about the Norman nobility and his family. In particular, he sought to establish a genealogy predating their Irish roots: “Although we came from Ireland, we believe ourselves to be Bretons, of French origin, and that we accompanied William the Conqueror to England more than eight hundred years ago (in 1066), who granted us estates recorded in the Domesday Book.” To this end, he asks the curator for any documents that might help trace the history of his family. He specifies that he will pay for this work, and if the price is too high, he would at least like to have “the names of all those who accompanied William the Conqueror, or who subsequently returned to England before the fourteenth century, and to find out on what date our ancestors settled there?” ”. He concludes by inquiring about the origin of his name. “Is the name Huchet a war nickname replacing an original family name, and what was that name and coat of arms?” A slight tear on the front cover, some foxing and water stains on the cover, slight foxing on the pages, and an ink stain at the top of the first page of the letter, which does not affect the text.