Estienne, Henri

Lot 303
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2000 - 4000 EUR
Estienne, Henri
Proiect du livre de la precellence du langage François. Paris, Mamert Patisson, 1579. In-8 (158 x 96 mm) of 16 ff.n.ch. and 295 pp.ch. (without the last blank page). Mottled fawn calf, smooth spine decorated, red title-piece (17th century binding, spine renewed). Renouard, 181, n° 3; Schreiber, 250; Cioranesco, 9616. First edition. This work dedicated to Henri III is the third book devoted by Henri Estienne to the defense of the French language and, according to Fred Schreiber, the most 'modern' from the philological point of view: "Estienne not merely recommends the use of French along with Latin as a literary language - as had du Bellay, Pasquier, and Ronsard - but also argues that the qualities peculiar to French make it superior even to Latin as a literary medium (....) Estienne had his book printed by Patisson, in Paris, where he had withdrawn after his squabble with the Geneva Council over the publication of his Deux Dialogues. A few light brown spots, otherwise a very good copy. Provenance: ex-libris Ludovici Humberti et amicorum.
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