Gilles Corrozet; Nicolas Bonfons; Jean Rabel - Les Antiquitez

Gilles Corrozet – The Antiquities, Chronicles and Singularities of Paris, capital city of the Kingdom of France, 1586 – With the Book second by Jean Rabel, 1588 – Two parts in one volume with 56 full-page wood engravings Sixteenth-century work dedicated to the history, monuments and peculiarities of Paris, in the expanded edition by Nicolas Bonfons, accompanied by the second illustrated book on the burials of kings, queens, princes and other illustrious figures of France. The two parts, published in 1586 and 1588, unite the historical-topographical description of the capital with a pictorial repertoire of tombs, funerary effigies and epitaphs. The presence of the Livre second, with the figures gathered by painter Jean Rabel, is one of the main points of interest of the volume. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA First part Gilles Corrozet, The Antiquitez, croniques et singularitez de Paris, ville capitalle du Royaume de France. With the foundations and buildings of places: the Sepulchres and Epitaphes of Princes, Princesses, and other illustrious persons. Expanded by Nicolas Bonfons, indicated on the title page with the initials N. B. Paris, Nicolas Bonfons, 1586. Contents: [16] preliminary leaves and 212 numbered leaves. Second part The Antiquitez et singularitez de Paris. Livre second. De la Sepulture des Roys, & Roynes de France, Princes, Princesses & autres personnes illustres. The title specifies that the burials are depicted as they could still be seen in the churches where the deceased were interred, with the note “Collected by Jean Rabel, M. painter.” Paris, Nicolas Bonfons, 1588. Contents: [4] preliminary leaves, 121 leaves with irregular numbering ending at 119, [3] final leaves. Two parts with autonomous title pages bound in one octavo volume. Text in French, with inscriptions, epitaphs and Latin verses. Complete copy, with 56 full-page woodcuts in the second book. BINDING AND CONDITION OF THE COPY Leather binding, brown, typical of later editions, with a smooth gold-tooled spine and a black label bearing the title and the date 1586. Widespread abrasions, flaking and cracking of the leather, with wear to boards, edges and corners. Missing at the upper cap, exposing underlying structure. Pastedowns and joints worn, with structural fragility. The frontispiece of the first part is present but detached from the main text; it shows folds, small marginal defects and a tear along the lower inner margin. Papers browned, sometimes evenly, foxing, stains and damp marks. Small folds and marginal irregularities and short margins that may occur in the illustrations. Red numbering and pencil marks on the first frontispiece. PARIS THROUGH ITS PLACES The first part collects information on the origins, history and peculiarities of the French capital, weaving together the account of events with that of its buildings and institutions. Churches, religious foundations, monuments and urban spaces become reference points through which Paris’ memory can be reconstructed. The title itself announces this approach, pairing chronicles with foundations of buildings, burials and epitaphs of illustrious figures. Lists of gates, bridges, fountains and suburbs add a concrete topographical dimension. Among the places recalled are the Pont Notre-Dame, the Pont aux Changes, the Pont Saint-Michel and numerous city fountains. The book thus returns an image of the city before the urban transformations of later centuries: a Paris described through its routes, its foundations and the places where collective memory was preserved. GILLES CORROZET AND THE EXPANSIONS OF NICOLAS BONFONS Gilles Corrozet, who lived between 1510 and 1568, was a bookseller and author of historical and literary works. His publications devoted to Paris occupy a significant place in the Renaissance tradition of city descriptions. The Antiquitez underwent subsequent editions and expansions. The 1586 publication states on the title page the involvement of Nicolas Bonfons, who continues the work of collection and updating after the author’s death. The work bears witness to Renaissance interest in local antiquities and in preserving the memory of the city. In celebrating Paris as the capital of the realm, there is also a desire to transmit its buildings, inscriptions, and vicissitudes. THE SECOND BOOK: TOMBS, EFFIGIES AND EPITAPHS Livre second of 1588 deepens the funerary heritage tied to the monarchy and illustrious figures. The figures are accompanied by historical notes, descriptions of monuments, transcriptions of inscriptions and poetic compositions. Among the subjects are Clovis, Childebert, Chilperic, Fredegund, Robert and Constance, Charles VIII and Madame de Birague, in addition to the view of Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey. The repertoire allows observation of various forms of funerary representation: sovereigns with crown and scepter, lying or kneeling figures, monumental compositions and ornamental ensembles. The inscriptions and verses add epigraphic and literary interest. There are also allusions to Ronsard’s poetry, with passages explicitly indicated as drawn from the Franciad. Thus the volume preserves, alongside the images, the words with which the deceased were remembered: titles, offices, celebratory formulas and texts intended to perpetuate their memory. THE 56 WOODCUTS AND THEIR DOCUMENTARY INTEREST The series of 56 full-page figures constitutes the main illustrative apparatus of the second book. The title page states that they were collected under the supervision of Jean Rabel, without specifying the particular engraver for each matrix. The images document the representation of monuments and funerary effigies at the end of the XVIth century, before the transformations and dispersions of later centuries. They are therefore of interest for the study of sculpture, the dynastic memory and Paris’s monumental heritage. The relationship between image and text is especially significant: alongside the representations are descriptions, material indications and transcriptions of inscriptions. In the section dedicated to Madame de Birague, for example, the text recalls marble elements and bronze figures, integrating what is shown by the woodcut. The figures preserve the conventions and interpretations of their era. Their value lies also in offering testimony of how those monuments were observed, selected and presented to the sixteenth-century reader. FRONTSPIECES AND TYPOGRAPHIC DECORATION The first frontispiece bears Nicolas Bonfons’ woodcut device, with allegorical figures, a cartouche and initials N B. The second is adorned with a large composition bearing the city of Paris’ coat of arms: the ship and the lily-arched field are set within a decorative frame flanked by aquatic figures. Ornamental flourishes, headpieces and woodcut initials accompany the text. The alternation of French prose, Latin inscriptions, verses and illustrations gives variety to the page design. COLLECTORIAL INTEREST The joint presence of the two parts allows appreciation of the work in its dual dimension: history and city description in the first book, figurative memory of burials in the second. For a Paris-focused collection, the volume preserves names of places, buildings, foundations and inscriptions that offer testimony of the capital at the end of the 16th century. For those who collect illustrated books, the main interest lies in the woodcut series, in the two frontispieces and in the relation between images and descriptions. The funerary repertoire also provides material for the history of the French monarchy, sculpture, heraldry and commemorative practices. The union of the 1586 and 1588 editions makes the volume significant for collections of urban history and Renaissance French books.

Estimate:$1,008.21

View all items fromCatawikiorBooks, Maps & Manuscripts