91 - MORERI (Louis).

MORERI (Louis). The Great Historical Dictionary, or A Curious Blend of Sacred and Secular History, containing a summary of the legendary history of the gods and heroes of pagan antiquity, the lives and remarkable deeds of the patriarchs, the judges, the kings of the Jews, the popes, the holy martyrs and confessors, the Church Fathers, and the orthodox doctors, the bishops, the cardinals, and other famous prelates, the heresiarchs and schismatics, along with their principal dogmas. Of emperors, kings, illustrious princes, and great generals […] Paris, Coignard, 1732. 6 vols. folio, marbled calfskin, spine with richly decorated raised bands featuring a special bird-shaped iron stamp in the center of each panel, triple gilt fillet framing the covers with gilt coats of arms in their centers, gilt roulette on the edges and endpapers (contemporary binding). A new, revised, corrected, and expanded edition of this reference encyclopedia, considered the first major French dictionary of proper names. It is illustrated with a beautiful portrait of Moreri by De Troye, engraved by Duflos, 7 large vignettes (one featuring a coat of arms), and 7 initial letters. A precious and rare copy bearing the coat of arms of Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, known as Mademoiselle de Nantes, the illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan (1673–1743). After her marriage to the grandson of the great Condé, Louis III de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, she bore the titles of Madame the Duchess of Bourbon, and later Madame the Dowager Duchess. This princess possessed, within the magnificent residence of the Palais-Bourbon, a library remarkable for the splendor of its bindings, crafted by Derôme and Pasdeloup. (O.H.R. No. 2628, stamp No. 3.) Some older restorations or minor wear, a few minor paper defects.