171 - FAULCONNIER, Pierre. ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT: The Most Notable Notes from the Historical Description of the City of Dunkirk, a Maritime City and Very Famous Seaport in Gallican Flanders, detailing its origin and development, the conversion of its inhabitants to Christianity; the appointment of its first magistrates; its sieges; the revolutions to which it was subjected; and the transfers of ownership made in favor of various princes. No place, no date (ca. 1720). In-8. 3 blank folios, title page, 340 pp., 1 folio, 2 fold-out maps, drawn and painted in watercolor.

FAULCONNIER, Pierre. ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT: The Most Notable Notes from the Historical Description of the City of Dunkirk, a Maritime City and Very Famous Seaport in Gallican Flanders, detailing its origin and development, the conversion of its inhabitants to Christianity; the appointment of its first magistrates; its sieges; the revolutions to which it was subjected; and the transfers of ownership made in favor of various princes. No place, no date (ca. 1720). In-8. 3 blank folios, title page, 340 pp., 1 folio, 2 fold-out maps, drawn and painted in watercolor. Full vellum Bradel binding with overlapping flaps, coat of arms of the city of Dunkirk painted on the upper cover. (Binding signed Lavaux). Ex libris from the Château de Montaren. A major historical document. Original preparatory manuscript or copy of the manuscript by Pierre Faulconnier, the first great historian of Dunkirk and Grand Bailiff of the city, who published in 1730 in Bruges, in two volumes, a monumental work tracing the history of Dunkirk from its origins (the year 646) to the end of the great era of Louis XIV and the Treaty of Utrecht (a period ending around 1717–1719). This preparatory manuscript for the work details Dunkirk’s transformation: the mythical founding of the city by Saint Eloi and the construction of the first church in the dunes (Dunkercke) around 646; Successive periods of rule: the Flemish, Burgundian, Spanish, and English periods before Louis XIV’s definitive purchase of the city in 1662; The golden age and the decline: The exploits of the privateers (including Jean Bart), Vauban’s major fortification works, followed by the disastrous Treaty of Utrecht (1713) and the Treaty of The Hague (1717), which forced France to completely demolish its fortifications and fill in the harbor. The tragic fate of this original manuscript of Pierre Faulconnier’s work: the 37 original manuscripts bequeathed by Pierre Faulconnier to his city were almost entirely destroyed in the great fire at the Dunkirk municipal library on April 23, 1929. This manuscript is likely one of the few to have survived that disaster. A very beautiful manuscript, perfectly written, clean, and legible. EXPERT: Mr. GIARD