Estat présent de l'Église et de la Colonie Françoise dans la nouvelle France

8 vo, pp. (2), 267, (1).

Contemporary calf, ribbed spine, binding repaired, a few marginal wormholes without affecting text.

184 x 118 mm.

Quebec (M. l’Eveque de). Estat présent de l’Église et de la Colonie françoise dans la Nouvelle France. Par M. l’Evêque de Quebec [i. e. Jean Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint Vallier].

Paris, Robert Pepie, rue S. Jacques à l’image S. Basile, au-dessus de la Fontaine S. Severin. M.DC.LXXXVIII. Avec privilège du Roy. (Colophon :) A Paris, de l’imprimerie de la veuve Denis Langlois, ruë S. Estienne des Grecs, 1688.

Very rare and precious first edition.

“The original edition was printed with large margins. The book contains an account of the bishop’s visit to Canada in 1685, to examine the state of his diocese. An account is also given of the Indian tribes and their relations with the French settlers” (Sabin, 66978).

At the bottom of last page is written : « A Paris, de l'Imprimerie de la veuve Denis Langlois 1688 ».

Rare first edition of this superb description of the Indian tribes of Canada and their relations with the French settlers, printed during the reign of Louis XIV.

Brunet, supp., II, 567 ; Church 707 ; Harrisse, 159 ; Leclerc, p. 331, 1358 ; Chadenat, 4947 ; Sabin, 172 et 66,978 ; Staton & Tremaine 99.

“This work is well written and worthy of its author, who governed this church for more than forty years and left behind illustrious marks of his charity, piety, selflessness, and zeal” (Charlevoix).

“The book contains an account of the bishop’s visit to Canada in 1685, to examine the state of his diocese. An account is also given of the Indian tribes and their relations with the French settlers” (Sabin)

Written in a concise, clear, and elegant style, this travelogue recounts the customs, traditions, and daily practices of the Indians, their relations with French missionaries, cultures, and the lives of the Ursuline, Hospitaller, and Recollect religious communities, but it also provides more prosaic information.

The journey to Acadia occupies a significant part of the work, followed by a description of the Hurons and other peoples, who were pleasant to deal with and very open to the Catholic faith.

This extremely rare original edition was also published under a different title in the same year (Relation des missions de la Nouvelle France) and was republished in 1856.

From the library of Loménie de Brienne.

The second bishop of Quebec and successor to François de Laval, Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier (1653–1727) visited New France prior to his appointment. He recounts this journey of over a year in detail, describing the Indian tribes and their relations with the French colonists, including conflicts with the Iroquois.

This copy was part of the library of Louis-Henri de Loménie, Count of Brienne (1635-1698). Appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1663, he traveled throughout Europe for three years, visiting Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Lapland, Finland, Poland, and Italy.

His library was dispersed in London on April 28th, 1724.

In the 19th century, this copy joined the library of a learned Quebec clergyman, Abbé Edouard-Gabriel Plante (1813-1869), who served as vicar in Quebec City from 1836 to 1851 before being appointed chaplain of the Quebec General Hospital.

Provenance : Henri Louis Loménie de Brienne (manuscript ex-libris on title page "Ex libris Lomenianis Brienne") ; Convent of the Carmelites of Saint-Denis (handwritten bookplate on the title page); Edouard-Gabriel Plante (bookplate “EG Plante, priest” with the number 218 and handwritten bookplate on the title page); The LP Fisher Library (stamp on title page, label affixed to front flyleaf and call numbers on back flyleaf); Inscription in purple ink on front flyleaf “Bequeathed to Laval University”; PME Québec Library (stamp on title page).