LIVRE DE FETES (Paris, 1572). Bref et sommaire recueil de ce - Lot 27

LIVRE DE FETES (Paris, 1572). Bref et sommaire recueil de ce qui a été faict, et de l'ordre tenüe à la joyeuse et triumphante Entree de très-puissant, très-magnanime et très-chrestien prince Charles IX, de ce nom, Roy de France en sa bonne ville et cité de Paris, capitale de son royaume, le mardi sixiesme jour de mars... Avec le couronnement de tres-haute tres illustre & tres excellente Princesse Madame Elizabet d'Autriche son espouse, le Dimanche vingt cinquième. et entrée de ladicte dame en icelle ville... Paris, de l'impr. de Denis du Pré, 1572. 4 parts in one vol. in-4° (235x160) of 53, [2 pl. and 1] ff. ; 10 ff. ; 26, [2 dern. bl.] ff. ; 9, [un bl.] ff., olive morocco, 5-rib spine finely ornamented, boards surrounded by compart. thread with fleur. at corners and center, inner dent. gilt tr. (Lortic). This account describes the festivities (entry and coronation) organized by the city of Paris from March 6 to 25, 1571, in honor of the royal couple, Charles IX and Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Emperor Maximilian II. Simon Bouquet's account of these events was printed the following year. These accounts are interspersed with a large number of plays by RONSARD, Baïf, Jamyn, Dorat... The 16th century was the golden age of royal entrances, which were a laboratory for experimentation, revealing the general evolution of art as much as an essential instrument for asserting monarchic power. Conceived in the style of ancient Roman triumphs, they were the object of long and costly preparations. These festivities took place in an ephemeral setting, using wooden structures on which were stretched canvases decorated with trompe-l'oeil figures. These creations were the work of a new breed of artists who were simultaneously architects, painters and sculptors. Poets composed verses for the occasion, which were either recited as the processions passed by, or inscribed on the buildings. The aldermen of Paris, headed by Simon Bouquet, entrusted Ronsard and Dorat with the responsibility of the two solemn entries into the capital. Ronsard, the main organizer, chose an iconographic program reflecting two themes: the union of two countries, France and Germany, secured by the marriage of Charles IX and Elisabeth, and the peace restored by the Treaty of Saint-Germain. More than six months were needed to prepare the work: Germain Pilon (ca 1528- 1590) was commissioned as sculptor, Le Conte for the carpentry; the perspectives and paintings were entrusted to Pierre d'Angers and Nicolo dell'Abbate (ca 1509-1571), Primaticcio's emulator at Fontainebleau. Although the entries took place three weeks apart, the King's on March 6 and Elisabeth's on March 25, four days after the coronation, it would appear that their program was the same. 16 full-page woodcuts form the iconographic cycle. They are by the engraver and lapidary Olivier Codoré. They depict the triumphal arches erected at the Porte Saint-Denis, the Porte aux Peintres and the end of the Pont Notre-Dame, the Ponceau and Saints Innocents fountains, the statue of Juno, the triumphal arch erected in front of the Châtelet at the Apport de Paris, the decoration of the Pont Notre-Dame, the vermeil surtout presented to the king by the aldermen of Paris... The fourth part, which is missing from most copies, is taken up by a long poem by Etienne Pasquier, in which the historian celebrates the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the end of a decade of wars that had postponed Charles IX's entry into his capital. The peace, signed in August 1570, offered a propitious moment for the ceremonies. A MAGNIFICENT COPY, WITH WITNESSES, IN A FINE LORTIC BINDING. From the library of A. Firmin-Didot library (cat. 1879, No. 510). Gourary, 342 ( First Edition of one of the finest French fête books of the 16th century ); Ruggieri, 276, for an ex. without part 4, bound by Lortic; Vinet, 474; Destailleur, 1891, no. 293; Mortimer, I, 205-206, for ex. bound in the 18th and 19th centuries; Fairfax-Murray, I, 152, for an ex. without part 4, bound by Niédrée; Barbier, Ma Bibliothèque poétique, II, Ronsard, 79; Tchemerzine, IX, 97-98; Veyrin-Forrer (J.), Ronsard, la trompette et la lyre, Bibliothèque nationale, pp. 173-174; Guignard (J.), Trésors de la bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, no. 158, for an ex. in vellum bound by Claude de Picques to be offered to the king.