[Cabinet du Roi Louis XIV]

[King's Cabinet]. Set of seven volumes of engravings documenting the splendors of the reign of Louis XIV.

7 folio volumes of various sizes uniformly bound at the time in red morocco in the Duseuil style, bearing the arms of Louis XIV (OHR, pl. 2494, tool no. 10; dimensions of the armorial block: 128 x 105 mm, the largest of the four formats cited by OHR), spines with raised bands decorated with compartments fleur-de-lis and the royal monogram (OHR, pl. 2494, tool no. 21), boards decorated with a double frame of triple gilt fillets, royal monogram at the corners of the inner frame, royal arms in the center, roll-tooled on turn-ins and inner covers, gilt edges.

Remarkable collection of famous prints from the Cabinet du Roi, first edition.

The Cabinet du Roi, an artistic and political tool for disseminating the magnificence and glory of Louis XIV through prints, was created in 1667 by Jean-Baptiste Colbert and discontinued in 1683 upon his death. This monumental enterprise, bringing together a total of 956 plates, aimed to exalt the person of the king, glorify his festivities and entertainments, showcase royal buildings, exhibit the king’s art collections, and promote sciences and arts. The prints were initially published separately, in various formats with printed explanations. Starting in 1670, they were gathered in collections, some copies of which were luxuriously bound in red morocco, as here, to be presented to foreign sovereigns and leading figures at court. Finally, they were published uniformly in a collection entitled Cabinet du Roi, comprising 23 volumes, all in the large “grand-aigle” format, produced by the Royal Printing Office in 1727.

- Les plaisirs de l’isle enchantée, ou les festes, et divertissements du Roy, à Versailles, Divided into three days, and begun on the 7th of May, 1664.
[Paris, Royal Printing Office, 1673].
In-folio (530 x 370 mm), 20 plates mounted on guards including illustrated title page (275 x 420 mm), engraved by Israël Silvestre, Chauveau, and Le Pautre.

This celebrated album immortalizes the first of Louis XIV’s great fêtes at Versailles: six fabulous days of revelry from May 7 to 13, 1664, in honor of Anne of Austria and Queen Marie-Thérèse, on the romantic theme of the enchantress Alcine imprisoning Roger and his valiant knights in her palace. In reality, the festivities were dedicated to Mademoiselle de La Vallière, the king’s mistress. The engravings depict the highlights of these festivities: equestrian parade, ring tournament, ballet on the theme of the four seasons, sumptuous feast, fireworks, and illuminations of the gardens of Versailles, etc.

- [Perrault, Charles, and Fléchier, Esprit]. Festiva ad Capita Annulumque Decursio, a Rege Ludovico XIV Principibus, summisque aulae proceribus edita anno M DC LXII. Scripsit Gallicè Carolus Perraul. Latine reddidit, & Versibus Heroïcis expressit Spiritus Fléchier.
Paris, Royal Printing Office, 1670.
Large in-folio (420 x 545 mm), (5) ff. (half-title, frontispiece title with portrait of the king, title with royal arms vignette, dedication to the Dauphin), 105-(1) pp. containing 40 plates including one double, and 7 double plates mounted on guards, 3 of which are folding.

- Tapestries of the King, representing the four elements and the four seasons. With their mottos and explanations [bound in 2 volumes].
Paris, Sébastien Marbre Cramoisy, 1679.
2 volumes in-folio, one text volume (428 x 284 mm): title and (13) leaves paginated 1-82, and one plate volume (530 x 390 mm): frontispiece title, engraved title-page, 4 double plates of the tapestries of the four elements, 8 emblem plates with two figures each, engraved title, 4 double plates of the tapestries of the four seasons, 8 emblem plates with two figures each, and 4 double plates representing the alliance of France and the Swiss, the siege of Douai, the defeat of the Spanish at Bruges, and the siege of Tournay. The text volume also contains: [Le Jeune de Boulencourt]. General description of the Hôtel Royal des Invalides established by Louis the Great in the Plain of Grenelle near Paris.
Paris, at the author’s (printed by Gabriel Martin), 1683. (8)-51 pp. Without the frontispiece and plates.

- [Louvre and Tuileries (spine title)].
In-folio (490 x 345 mm), 40 plates including 11 plans or double/folding views and 29 plates, including a frontispiece title, from the suite of the Ornaments of painting and sculpture in the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre Palace and in the King’s Grand Apartment at the Tuileries Palace. The 40 plates of architectural plans, animated panoramic views, and decorative ornaments
were engraved by Bérain, Scottin, Silvestre, Chauveau, Le Moine, after Israël Silvestre and Sébastien Le Clerc.

- [Royal Houses (spine title)].
In-folio (495 x 360 mm), 26 plates dated 1666 to 1682, mounted on guards, including 8 double or folding plans, 15 double or folding views, 2 plans, and one view.
This collection of plates is devoted to royal houses: Palais-Royal, Château de Vincennes, Château de Madrid, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Fontainebleau, Monceaux, etc.
It includes 8 double or folding plans, 15 animated double views, 2 plans, and one view by Israël Silvestre.

Provenance of these 6 volumes: Paul Louis Weiller (bookplate).

With a seventh volume in similar binding:

Félibien des Avaux, André. Account of the Fête at Versailles. Of July 18, 1668.
Paris, Royal Printing Office (Sébastien Marbre Cramoisy), 1679.

In-folio (430 x 282 mm), 43 pp. (including title), 5 double plates. Red morocco by Duseuil with arms of Louis XIV, gilt decorated spine. (tiny wormholes at upper joint, very slight rubbing).
First edition of the 5 spectacular double plates engraved by Jean Le Paultre.

Provenance: Baron Horace de Landau (engraved bookplate and shelfmark no. 208).

References: Marianne Grivel, “Le Cabinet du Roi”, Revue de la Bibliothèque Nationale, no. 18, 1985, pp. 36-57; André Jammes, “Louis XIV, his Library and the Cabinet du Roi”, The Library, Fifth Series, vol. XX, March 1965; Georges Duplessis, “Le Cabinet du Roi,” Paris, Bachelin, 1869; Brunet I,1442-1444.