MARCASSUS (P. de). Libre version des Odes et des Épodes d'Ho - Lot 10

MARCASSUS (P. de). Libre version des Odes et des Épodes d'Horace commencée à l'âge de LXXX ans et finie en deux mois par P. de Marcassus... Paris, printed at the author's expense, 1664, in-8°, antique red morocco, each cover entirely covered with an interlacing design formed by three fillets with gilded sprays and fleurons, enhanced by 48 fleur-de-lys and 8 crowned "L", in the center, gold-stamped royal arms, ribbed spine decorated with trailing scrolls, 32 fleurs-de-lys and a crowned "L" in each corner, gilt lace on the edges and inside, pale blue satin lining, gilt edges (period binding). Collation: frontispiece, 1 f. title, 3 ff. dedication, 3 ff. (Praise, Warning, Privilege), 216 ff. ch. 1 to 431 signed. A-Z8 and Aa-Dd8. ORIGINAL EDITION, dedicated to Louis XIV. Pierre de Marcassus (1584-1664), a native of Gascony and professor of rhetoric at the Collège de la Marche, was the author of translations, dramatic pastorals and novels. This verse translation of the Odes is both his literary testament and his masterpiece. An unsigned frontispiece. A precious dedication copy bound with the arms and cipher of Louis XIV. This binding dates from the last period (1662-1668) of the famous firm known as Florimond Badier. Apart from a few new irons, the major change is in the treatment of the decoration, which is becoming more refined. The workshop's clientele also changed, as the court sought its services: Louis XIV, Marie-Thérèse, la Grande Mademoiselle, Christine de France... Previously restored spines and discreetly oiled jaws. Condition unchanged since the Esmerian sale. Dimensions: 184 x 119 mm. Provenance: Simon-Pierre Mérard de Saint-Just (1749-1812), with his bookplate. Not mentioned in the 1783 catalog; Esmerian (Cat. II, 1972, no. 30, color reproduction), with his bookplate. Cioranescu (A.), II, 1369; Grente (G.), Dictionnaire des lettres françaises. Le XVIIe siècle, p. 663; Bastit (G.), La Gascogne littéraire, 1894, pp. 96-99; Esmerian, II, 1972, pp. 25-27.