1572 Les Memoires de Messire Philippe de Commines. Micard, Paris (scarce)

A scarce edition of Commines' political narrative of late 15th century French politics, from his first-person point-of-view as a diplomat; this edition not found in Brunet, or the USTC, and Worldcat records five copies in the world's libraries (see below for catalogue numbers and locations).

This edition also includes a letter from John Sleidan, recommending Commines as reading. In addition, the printer dedicated this work to Angelo Cattho, archbishop of Vienna, and included a biography of his life.

About the Author -

Philippe de Commines (1447 –1511) was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He has been called "the first truly modern writer" (Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve) and "the first critical and philosophical historian since classical times" (Oxford Companion to English Literature). Neither a chronicler nor a historian in the usual sense of the word, his analyses of the contemporary political scene are what made him virtually unique in his own time.

In 1498 (fifteen years after the death of Louis XI of France), Commines's Memoires was completed (first published in 1524 in Paris), and is considered a historical record of immense importance, largely because of its author's cynical and forthright attitude to the events and machinations he had witnessed. His writings reveal many of the less savoury aspects of the reign of Louis XI, and Commines related them without apology, insisting that the late king's virtues outweighed his vices. He is regarded as a major primary source for 15th-century European history.

The Mémoires are divided into "books", the first six of which were written between 1488 and 1494, and relate the course of events from the beginning of Commines' career (1464) up to the death of King Louis. The remaining two books were written between 1497 and 1501 (printed in 1528), and deal with the Italian wars, ending in the death of King Charles VIII of France.

Commines' scepticism is summed up in his own words: Car ceux qui gagnent en ont toujours l'honneur ("For the honours always go to the winners").

Bibliographic Details -

Not found in USTC or Brunet.

Worldcat OCLC catalogue numbers 76688198, 1127050729 and 458891629. Copies at the BNF, Univ. Landesbibliothek Darmstadt, Univ. of Oxford, Stanford and Texas Tech.

The entry with Stanford, Texas Tech and Oxford also says they are all missing 2V8 (the last leaf).

Physical Attributes -

Measures approx. 12 x 7.5 x 4cm. Leather binding. Blind fillet borders to boards. Spine with five raised bands; five compartments with gilt decoration, one compartment with the title in gilt on red Morocco. Text block with a red wash. Marbled endpapers. Title page with a decorative frame. Signed in eights.

Pages – vi, 456, [18 leaves of unnumbered table, etc], last leaf missing, likely blank

Collation – a-z8, A-Z8, Aa-Tt8, Vv7 (Vv8 missing, likely blank)

Condition -

See pictures. Leather binding dried and very worn; could use rebind. Edge and corner wear, rubbing, etc. Spine with chipping at top with endbands exposed and top endband mostly loose. Spine gilt decoration worn. Binding joints started. Bookseller marks on free front endpaper. Text block with some toning throughout and rust spots, dog-eared pages, page edge chips, thumbing, etc. Title page with a (monogram?) in ink. Occasional moisture mark from the edges, which may be from the red wash they applied to the text block. Candle ember spot on 203. Marginal annotation on 220. Missing last leaf, likely blank.