Alain CHARTIER. Les fais maistre alain charetier. 2 parts in one folio volume, grained calf with arms in the centre of the boards, 5-ribbed spine with repeated numeral (17th century binding). Bechtel, 136/C-271 // BMC, VIII-142 // Brunet, I-1812 // CIBN, I-C-269 // Delisle, Chantilly, 415 // Macfarlane 109 // Olivier, pl. 1706 // Tchemerzine-Scheler, II-281 // USTC, 71014. I. (66f.) / a-b8, c6, d8, e-k6 (the last blank) / II. (68f.), A-B8, C6, D8, E6, F8, G-K6 / 40 lines on 2 columns, gothic car / 188 x 260 mm. A very rare third edition of Alain Chartier's works. The bibliographies only refer to a single earlier edition dated 1489, but the Catalogue des Incunables of the Bibliothèque Nationale describes a second edition which would have been published around 1494. Alain Chartier, a French writer, was born in the Bayeux region around 1385. Of noble origin, he studied at the University of Paris. He was a clerk, notary and secretary to the House of Charles VII. A political writer, moralist and poet, he was entrusted with various diplomatic missions, including negotiating the marriage of Marguerite of Scotland, aged four, to the future Louis XI in 1428. Some claim that he was an archdeacon of Paris or a councillor at the Parliament of Paris, although it is not certain, but he was highly regarded at court. He was the author of moral works, patriotic works and poetic works in which his noble and great soul stands out, a heart full of religious faith and love for his country (Larousse). The edition is in two parts: the first contains prose works such as Le Curial, Le Quadrilogue invectif, La genealogie de l'extraction des roys, La declaration de la ditte genealogie, and the second poetic works such as La Belle dame sans mercy, La Pastourelle de Gransson, Le Breviaire des nobles, Le Debat de resveillematin, laments and ballads. The edition is illustrated with a large grotesque on the title of volume I, a large woodcut on the verso of the title depicting a group of five official figures in the upper section, the clerk's office, the prosecutor, the collector and the clerk in the middle section and students in the lower section. On folio a2 a large woodcut showing a man lying on a bed, a woman and a man beside the bed, this woodcut repeated on the first folio of the second part, and finally a genealogical table of the kings of France on the last folio of the first part. The volume bears Vérard's mark on the last leaf. This edition was described by Bechtel, who dates it, probably incorrectly, to 1490. Our copy conforms in all respects (text, illustrations, colophon) to the description given by Macfarlane (no. 109): the first leaf of the first part shows a large grotesque reproduced by him (no. 9) with the title Les fais maistre alain Chartier on a single line, a presentation different from that given by Tchemerzine which reproduces another grotesque with the title on 3 lines. The library of the Château de Chantilly has two copies of this edition, one on vellum and the other on ordinary paper. In the long note on these two works written by Léopold Delisle in Le Cabinet des livres imprimés antérieurs au milieu du XVIe siècle, he indicates the differences between the two copies, specifying that the vellum copy must certainly have been printed before the paper copy, the latter having undergone several corrections. Our copy has all the first printing remarks (except one) noted in the Chantilly catalogue, whether from the point of view of the text, the illustration or the colophon. Only the title differs completely from the Chantilly copy, but this is the title described by Macfarlane and we believe it must have been printed before the one reproduced by Tchemerzine, later editions using the latter. Delisle then indicates that the BnF owns two copies, one on paper in first condition and the other on vellum in second condition, that the Bibliothèque Mazarine's copy is in second condition and that of the British Museum is in first condition. The present copy is one of the very few with numerous first state remarks. A copy bearing the arms of Jean Du Bouchet (1599-1684), adviser to the King in his Councils, maître d'hôtel ordinaire to the King, historiographer and first constable of France, made a knight of Saint-Michel in 1637. The spine of the binding bears a repeated figure which, although we cannot be certain, must be that of Jean Du Bouchet. The spine also bears a small inscription PARIS added later. Binding heavily soiled, in poor condition with spine and hinges missing, old handwritten annotations in English on endpapers relating to sold copies. The body of the book is in very good condition despite minor stains on 3 leaves and a repaired marginal tear.