Novelas exemplares
Cervantes Novelas, 1614.
The famous copy of François de Béthune (1598-1678), son of the Duke of Sully, close friend of King Henri IV,
with his handwritten signature on the title page.
Bruxelles, R. Velpio, 1614.
8vo of [8] ll., 616 pp., contemporary vellum.
177 x 105 mm.
Cervantes, Michel. Novelas exemplares de Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Dirigido a don Pedro Fernandez de Castro, conte de Lemos, de Andrade y Villalus, etc.
Bruxelles, Roger Velpio et Huberto Antonio, 1614.
Precious second authorized edition, the first printed outside of Spain, chronologically the 4th, atfer the 1st given in Madrid, in 1613, by Juan de la Cuesta, a Sevilian countrefeit and a pirated version published in Pamplona.
Les Novelas ejemplares, published for the first time in Madrid in 1613, bring together 12 original and experimental stories, preceded by the author's famous Prologue, in which he expresses his pride and satisfaction with this collection.
The Novelas are divided into “idealistic” and “realistic” stories. His influence on the development of the Spanish novella was considerable, and his popular success was significant. The work inspired the great names of French literature, Scarron, La Fontaine and later Voltaire and Diderot, who had a genuine admiration for the Castilian author.
It is dedicated to the Count of Lemos, Governor of the Kingdom of Naples.
Composed between the first and second parts of Don Quixote, the Exemplary Tales represent the most accomplished monument of Cervantes' narrative work.
The collection consists of 12 short stories: The Little Gypsy Girl, The Generous Lover, Rinconete and Cortadillo, The Spanish Englishwoman, Licentiate Vidriera, The Force of Blood, The Illustrious Servant, The Two Young Girls, Cornelia, The Deceptive Marriage, The Colloquy of the Dogs, and The False Aunt.
All these stories or moral tales paint a complete picture of Spanish society in the style of a manual of etiquette, embellished with rare gems of “entremeses,” a kind of lively sketch that evokes a society in dissolution with a strange psychological resonance and bitter cheerfulness.
The rarity of the very first editions of Cervantes' Novelas is legendary and rightly emphasized by bibliographers.
Brunet mentions that in 1828, Salva knew of only one copy in Spain of the first edition of 1613. The bibliographer cites only two other copies.
The second edition is considered “almost as rare and sought after as the first.”
The third edition, printed in Pamplona in 1614, is equally rare.
Brunet then lists this edition, printed in Brussels in 1614, citing only two copies: those in the Hibbert and Heber libraries. Small loss to the upper right corner of f. Y1 and f. Oo4.
The remarkable copy of The Duke de Sully’sson, close friend to King Henry IV.
