Dernieres Annees du Regne et de la Vie de Louis XVI, par Francois Hue. A Londres, de l'imprimerie de Harper & Co, et. al. 1806.
The Last Years of the Reign and Life of Louis XVI by Francois Hue, Published in 1806 by Harper & Co and other publishers in London.
AN EXTREMELY RARE FIRST EDITION, HAVING PREVIOUSLY ACHIEVED £5,200 (EUR) AT PBA AUCTIONS.
[PBA Auctions Paris, Lot 31, March 14th 2008, realised 5,200 EUR excluding premium]
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This rare first edition was printed in London while the author was in exile from the French Revolution, yet the printing was still in the French language. Hue was imprisoned for two years in 1792 and was known to travel widely. He began writing this book while still in prison and it was subsequently printed in London during the French Empire. PBA Auctions in their description of the lot noted it as being "extremely rare" and drew particular attention to the "beautiful engraved portrait of King Louis XVI in the frontispiece by Schiavonetti, after the composition by Francois Hue himself".
This example is very finely bound in a beautiful French Empire style binding with the characteristic intricate gilt to the spine and board borders.
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Provenance:
With the bookplate of Alfred and Blanche Curzon covering an earlier unknown bookplate. Alfred Curzon was a British aristocrat and British foreign secretary. They had 11 children, most of which married into other aristocratic families such as the Montagu family, etc. They lived in a very large country manor covering over 11,000 acres of land called Kedleston Hall, now owned by the British National Trust. It is a beautiful house and a large number of films were filmed there, including Jane Eyre and War and Peace. The library is of particular note, where this book would have been kept.
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Size: 14 x 22 cm (approx.)
Condition:
Spine slightly sunned with some rubbing and wear at head and foot. Leather slightly dry and would benefit from the application of a leather conditioner for which we can provide recommendations if desired. Some minor wear to boards but they are generally very good. Joints with some rubbing but with both boards securely attached and the binding secure without any shelf lean. Collated as complete in 530pp including the scarce second plate depicting Marie Antoinette etc bound in at pp.348 verso. Text block very clean with some mild offsetting to pp.348 and title page and some foxing to pp.347, 349-350.
