[La Gorse, Louis Scipion Jean Baptiste Urbain de Merle]

Souvenirs d'Un Homme de Cour, ou Mémoires d'Un Ancien Page; Contenant des Anecdotes secrètes sur Louis XV et ses ministres; des Observations sur les Femmes, les Moeurs, etc. [= Memoirs of a Man of the Court, or Memoirs of a Former Page; Containing Secret Anecdotes on Louis XV and his Ministers; Observations on Women, Morals, etc.]; Suivis de Notes Historiques, Critiques et Littéraires. Écrits en 1788

Paris: Dentu, 1805. Early printing. Hardcover. 2 vol. 8vo. [5], 2-399, [1]; [5], 2-412, [2] pp. Half contemporary sheep over marbled paper boards, spines in six compartments with gold tooling, two leather labels lettered in gold on the spines. Decorative endpapers and pastedowns done in red and blue. Each volume with a bookmark bound in. With the contemporary name of Comte Orsini d'Orbassan written on the verso of a leaf in each volume, also with the small paper label of Graf Alfred Althan on each volume's title page. These owners were Italian and German nobles (Counts) respectively. Barbier II, 291. A historical account of the court of Louis XV, the penultimate king before the French Revolution. The length of his reign was only superceded by that of his predecessor, Louis XIV. The first printing of this work has "An XIII" printed on the title pages, the thirteenth year of the first French Republic (founded in September of 1792). Our copy has "An XIV" printed on each title page. Very Good. Item #000016067

A few corners rubbed through. A nineteenth century paper label on the foot of volume one's spine, a wax seal removed from volume one's first blank leaf leaving a tiny spot of loss.

Price: $300.00