CHOISY, François-Timoléon, dit abbé de

Lot 41
Go to lot
Estimation :
500 - 800 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 632EUR
CHOISY, François-Timoléon, dit abbé de
Histoire de l'église. Paris, Antoine Dezallier, then Christophe David, 1706-1721. 11 volumes in-4 (256 x 189 mm) of 8 ff.n.ch., 465 pp, 14 ff.n.c. (the last one blank) for volume I; 4 ff.n.c., 486 pp., 37 ff.n.c. for volume II; 6 ff.n.c., 477 pp., 29 ff.n.c. for volume III; 6 ff.n.c., 381 pp, 73 ff.n.c. for volume IV; 4 ff.n.c., 436 pp., 18 ff.n.c. for volume V; 2 ff.n.c., 440 pp., 20 ff.n.c. for volume VI; 4 ff.n.c., 447 pp., 16 ff.n.c. for volume VII; 6 ff.n.c., 433 pp, 15 ff.n.c. for volume VIII; 6 ff.n.c., 460 pp. 18 ff.n.c. for volume IX; 4 ff.n.c., 469 pp. 9 ff.n.c., 8 pp. of Addition for volume X; 6 ff.n.c., 433 pp. 4 ff.n.c. for volume XI. Speckled calf, central armoires of the dukes of Luynes (OHR 1846), spine ribbed and decorated, edges speckled (contemporary binding). First edition. Each volume is adorned with a beautiful engraved vignette. Complete copies in uniform binding are rare. The biography of the abbé de Choisy is astonishing from the beginning of his life. Some see him as the predecessor of the chevalier d'Eon. "It was as a girl that François-Timoléon was admitted and even desired in the intimate circle of the young Philippe d'Orléans" (curieuseshistoires.net). After a serious illness in 1683, Choisy drastically changed his life: he asked to be ordained a priest and left as a missionary to Siam from where he brought back his fascinating travelogue published in 1687. Admitted to the French Academy in 1687, he collaborated with Charles Perrault in writing Opuscules sur la langue française. "Speaking in a lively and easy language, Choisy proposes an honest popularization, within the reach of people of the world who were repulsed by the boring erudition of the ecclesiastical historians then in the process of publication. In the opinion of his first readers he succeeded perfectly" (Dirk van der Cruysse & Kris Peeters, De branche en branche : Études sur le XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, p. 209). White margin of 4 ff. of the table of vol. VII with tears without affecting the text, trace of wetness on pp. 425-428 of volume VIII; minor old restorations notably to the headpieces. Provenance: dukes of Luynes, château de Dampierre (coat of arms on the boards, library label).
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue