[BIRAGUE (Flaminio de). L'Enfer de la mère Cardine, dealing with the cruel and terrible battle that took place in hell, between the devils and the madams of Paris, at the birth of the porter Cerberus and Cardine, whom they wanted to make queen of hell... 1597 [Paris, Didot l'aîné, 1793]. Large in-8, red morocco, decorated with straight and curved gilt fillets forming a quintuple frame around a central diamond, ornate smooth spine, pearled fillet on the edges, inner lace, light blue tabis linings and endpapers with gilt roulette around the linings, gilt edges (Bound by Bozerian). Very rare reprint of only 108 copies on vellum paper, including a few on blue paper, plus 6 or 8 on vellum skin. This satirical poem attributed to the poet Flaminio de Birague, nephew of the chancellor of Charles IX, was published twice in the 16th century, in 1583 and 1597, of which only a few copies survive. A copy on wove paper, complete with the Deploration et complaincte de la mere Cardine de Paris, reprinted from the original of 1570, on pp. 41-55, which is only in a partial edition. Having been bound at the time, it does not include the Ban de quelques marchands de graine à poile attributed to Rasse Desneux, which was not republished by Méon until 1813. A superb copy in a fine contemporary binding by Jean-Claude Bozerian, signed in gilt on the lining. Its decoration is similar to those of the Polybe and La Fontaine of 1795 reproduced by Paul Culot (1979, pl. xiii-xiv). From the libraries of Charles Delafosse (1920, no. 356), Édouard Moura (1923, no. 260) and Robert de Billy (bookplate). Brunet, II, 981 - Gay-Lemonnyer, II, 108 - Nodier, Description raisonnée, n°581 - Monglond, II, 997 - Du Roure, Analectabiblion, II, 60.