1656 EXQUISITE Imitation of Christ Thomas a Kempis Illustrated Corneille 2v SET

1656 EXQUISITE Imitation of Christ Thomas a Kempis Illustrated Corneille 2v SET

“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.”

― Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

Thomas a Kempis’s most famous and important work has, for centuries, been ‘The Imitation of Christ.’ It has widely been known to have influence important Christian conversion including that of John Wesley and John Newton.

This example was translated into French by Pierre Corneille and includes 115 impressive full-page engravings. This first edition of Corneille’s translation was completed in 1656 printed in two volumes.

Item number: #12925

Price: $1500

KEMPIS, Thomas a

L’imitation de Jesus-Christ. Traduite & paraphrasée en vers françois

Imprimé à Rouen par L. Maurry, pour Robert Ballard, seul Imprimeur de laMusique du Roy, à Paris, ruë S. Jean de Beauvais, au Mont Parnasse. M.DC.LVI. [1656] First complete edition.

Details:

• Collation: Complete with all pages; 2 volumes
  • I – [22], 420
    • 66 engraved plates
  • II – [10], 306, [6]
    • 49 engraved plates
  • References: Picot 131
  • Provenance:
    • Armorial Bookplate – De Bury
      • This tile came from the library of the esteemed Château de Bury.
      • Château de Bury was a medieval castle that was constructed beginning in 1511 by Florimond Robertet, a state secretary and treasurer for both Charles VIII and François I.
      • Following the new style, it was designed for living, not for fighting. It was perfectly symmetrical, with four round towers, around a central cour d’honneur, which was decorated with a statue of David by Michelangelo. A double stairway on the exterior at the main entrance replaced the traditional winding stairway within a tower. The facade was largely vertical but was divided by horizontal cordons or bands of decoration following the style of palaces in Florence and Rome. This symmetrical balance of horizontal and vertical lines became a prominent feature of the French Renaissance style.
    • Handwritten – Barbé
  • Language: French
  • Binding: Leather; tight & secure
    • Moroccan red leather
  • Size: ~5.75in X 3.5in (14.5cm x 9cm)
  • Exceedingly rare and valuable edition with auction estimates and price comparisons at over $3,600

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12925