73 - [GOTHA ALMANAC]

[GOTHA ALMANAC] Set of 7 Gotha almanacs, in-32°: 1821, 1839, 1840, 1843, 1845, 1846, 1848. Some volumes are missing their covers. Included: - ZELLER, Count of The Nobility of the Past and the Nobility of the Present, followed by an appendix on sovereignty Paris, H. Delloye, 1841 In-8°. Brown glossy half-calf. Spine with 4 raised bands decorated with gilt dots. Title label in light morocco and author’s label in red morocco. Scuffing and wear. Foxing. First edition of this seminal sociological, historical, and legal study, published during the July Monarchy. In this essay tinged with Legitimist nostalgia, the author presents a thorough comparative analysis of the various strata of the French nobility of the Ancien Régime (the high nobility, the court nobility, the provincial nobility, and the nobility of the robes) and the new aristocracies created by the Empire and the Restoration. The extensive final appendix explores the philosophical and constitutional foundations of sovereignty in the face of the political upheavals of the 19th century. References: Saffroy, Bibliographie généalogique, I, 7335. Provenance: Provenance: from the library of Philippe Kervyn de Volkaersbeke (ex-libris) - ANONYMOUS Le Trésor Lille, Librairie de L. Lefort, 1861 In-32°. Embossed percaline cardboard binding with the publisher’s romantic decoration. Scuff marks. Red monogram on the front cover. This edition was published in the mid-19th century by the Lille-based publisher Louis Lefort, a leading specialist in educational and devotional libraries, as well as in hardcover editions featuring Épinal-style illustrations for young readers. This short moral tale, often published anonymously, presents a moral and Christian parable about the search for true wealth, contrasting material greed with the virtues of work, family, and faith. References: Quérard, *La France littéraire*, IX, 210; Gumuchian, *Les Livres d’enfance*, I, 1420.