ROYAL ALMANAC, Leap Year M.DCC.LXXXVIII [1788]. Paris: the w - Lot 87

ROYAL ALMANAC, Leap Year M.DCC.LXXXVIII [1788]. Paris: the widow of Houry and Debure, n.d. (1787). Large 8vo, contemporary red morocco binding, covers framed by a thick fillet and two thin fillets with large fleurs-de-lis in the corners and a coat of arms in the center; smooth spine divided into panels by gilt scrolls and decorated with fleurs-de-lis; inner scroll; blue tabis endpapers; gilt edges. A SUPERB AND EXTREMELY RARE COPY ON LARGE-FORMAT PAPER FEATURING THE COAT OF ARMS OF LOUIS-CHARLES OF FRANCE, SECOND SON OF LOUIS XVI AND MARIE-ANTOINETTE, KNOWN AS THE DAUPHIN DU TEMPLE (1785–1795). This precious volume bears his coat of arms as Duke of Normandy, a title he held until the death of his elder brother on June 4, 1789, at which time he became Dauphin of France. He was granted the title of Prince Royal when the title of Dauphin was abolished on August 4 of that same year. “Imprisoned in the Temple with his family in 1792, he was proclaimed king by his supporters under the name Louis XVII after his father’s execution (January 21, 1793) and recognized by England and Russia; but his imprisonment and the mistreatment he endured ruined his health. Louis XVII died at the Temple on June 8, 1795, an innocent martyr for the royal cause” (OHR). Book bindings bearing the coat of arms of this child with a tragic fate are known only in a few extremely rare copies.¹ OHR (2544) cites only this volume, noting: “metal, of the utmost rarity.” As sometimes happens, the word “Royal” on the title page has been partially scraped off. From the Lebeuf de Montgermont Library (VII, 1914, no. 564). This copy appeared in the catalog of the Rahir Bookstore (1920, no. 20). 1- At public auction, we can cite only the inscribed copy of Messance’s *Essays on Religious, Moral, and Political Arithmetic*, bearing the prince’s coat of arms as Dauphin, from the Adolphe Bordes and Jacques Guérin libraries (June 7, 1990, lot 42, sold at that time for 250,000 francs).

Stima:€15,000

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