Mémoires pour servir à l'Histoire d'Anne d'Autriche épouse de Louis XIII

6 volumes in-12, marbled calf, gilt armorial stamps at the center of the covers, triple gilt fillet framing the covers, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and floral motifs, red morocco title labels, gilt fillet on the edges, red edges. Armorial binding of the period.

158 x 93 mm.

Motteville, Françoise Bertaut, Lady of. Memoirs to serve the history of Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII, King of France, by Madame de Motteville, one of her favorites.

Amsterdam, François Changuion, 1739.

Second edition of these Memoirs, considered the best and most complete of this important historical source for the understanding of the regency of Anne of Austria and the childhood of Louis XIV.

Brunet, III, 1929; Catalogue of the library of the Marquise de Pompadour, no.2810.

The precious copy bound at the time for Madame de Pompadour.

“This work by the French memoirist Françoise de Motteville […], is one of the best sources for understanding this period of our country's history which corresponds to the minority of Louis XIV. After the death of Anne of Austria, Madame de Motteville devoted over twenty years to writing the history of the Regency. She was one of the best-placed witnesses to see and understand this tumultuous time” (Dictionnaire des Œuvres).

A favorite of Anne of Austria, Madame de Motteville lived in close familiarity with the sovereign, serving as her lady of honor from 1643 to 1666. Twenty-three years in the front row make her a valuable witness, allowing her to reveal details unknown to all, making her Memoirs a precious document on the queen’s private life and the Fronde. Curious yet discreet, severe yet prudent, she set out to describe the world around her. From the marriage of Louis XIII to the last breath of the Regent, the Memoirs span from 1615 to 1666. More than just a simple historical and political account of her time, the confidante actually composes a genuine political, cultural, and moral analysis.

“She was, from her youth, attached to the service of Anne of Austria at the French court. But Richelieu, distrusting this entourage that was too Spanish, had her exiled. Anne of Austria, having become regent, recalled her to her side four years later. From then on, Madame de Motteville never left the queen. Without ambition, ignorant of intrigue, scorning the luxury and license that reigned around her at Court, Madame de Motteville was not only the confidante of Anne of Austria, but also of many witty women of the time, including Madame de Sévigné and Madame de La Fayette” (Dictionnaire des Auteurs).

“These Memoirs are an inexhaustible source for the anecdotal history of the time. […] Her style does not seek artifice or wit: animated by a great imagination, it contains many images and metaphors that recall the still recent preciosity” (Dictionnaire des Œuvres).

Beautiful and precious copy bound at the time for Madame de Pompadour, listed in the Catalogue of her 1765 sale under No.2810 (only books considered precious were described individually; the others were sold in lots).

The influence Madame de Pompadour exerted on her era, both in the arts, which she encouraged, and in letters, of which she made herself the protector, is so considerable, the enlightened and delicate taste she displayed for books so firmly established her place among the great collectors of centuries past, that we cannot refrain from dedicating a few lines to her, if only to better highlight the main treasures of her fine library, now dispersed.

From the library of René de Galard, with ex-libris.