P Coton - Institutio Catholica: - 1618

Full title: COTON, P Institutio Catholica: In qua exponitur fidei veritas et comprobatur Adversus Haereses Et Superstitiones hui[us] aevi; In quatuor divisa libros qui totidem joannis Calvini voluminib[us] et institutioni opponi queant, Auctore R. P. Petro Cotono … Mainz (but Köln): Peter Henning, 1618. Contemporary full vellum with shelf label and (faded) manuscript titles to spine. Library stamp for Miltenberg (Germany) library to front end paper. Attractive engraved allegorical title. Contemporary inscription to title showing ownership of Nicolas Sartonio of Miltenberg. A contemporary ownership inscription of Nicolas Sartonio of Miltenberg plus a Miltenberg library stamp tells us that this copy was in Catholic Germany, in a town that was itself a Counter-Reformation stronghold, not long after publication Clasps are missing, vellum is browned and stained, slightly rubbed but still presentable. Paper darkened in line with age, otherwise still in very good condition. (48) [*-f4], 1-872 [A-Rrrrr4], [44] [Sssss-Zzzzz2] pp. Conforms to USTC 2095833. 240 by 200mm (9½ by 7¾ inches). Originally published in French in 1610, this Latin edition made it accessible to the rest of Europe. A rare book, there are no other copies available at the time of cataloguing. This work is the only copy to have a recorded auction sale. First Latin edition of this polemic, originally published in French in 1610 under the title "Institution catholique". The author Pierre Coton (1564 - 1626) was a French Jesuit, friend and confessor of the French King Henry IV and his son, who later became King Louis XIII. After the assassination of Henry IV in 1610, Coton was often the victim of polemics and attacks, who blamed the regicide on the Jesuits. His name went down in history in the form of a quip: "The king has cotton in his ears!" Having become, thanks to the protection of Marie de Medici, the confessor of the young Louis XIII, he remained influential until his disgrace, linked to the coup de force of the young king against the Concini in 1617.

Estimate:$246.31

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