Lot no. 69
CAUSSIN (Nicolas). Thesaurus græcæ poeseos, ex omnibus græcis poetis collectus. Paris, Romain de Beauvais, 1612. 2 volumes in an in-8 volume, fawn morocco, richly decorated with gilt small irons in a double frame of gilt roulettes and fillets, coat of arms in the centre, smooth mute spine decorated with small irons in a framing of fillets, gilt edges (Binding of the period). First edition of this rare anthology of ancient Greek poetry, printed in Greek and Latin at the expense of the Rouen bookseller Romain de Beauvais. It was republished in Mainz in 1614 and in Cologne in 1630. This was the first work published by the Jesuit Nicolas Caussin (1583-1651). Born in Troyes, he joined the Society of Jesus in 1609 and taught in Rouen, La Flèche and Paris. A renowned preacher, he became confessor to Louis XIII in 1637, but was forced into exile for siding with the Queen Mother. A richly bound copy bearing the arms of Guillaume Fouquet de La Varenne (1560-1616), one of Henri IV's most loyal advisors, who made him captain and governor of La Flèche, then of Angers, and controller general of the Post Office. In twenty years, the Marquis de La Varenne, a native of La Flèche, completely transformed his town. In particular, he was behind the creation of the Collège Henri-IV, entrusted to the Jesuits in 1603 (which became the Prytanée under the Empire). The volume was offered as a first prize in Greek to a pupil of the Collège Royal de La Flèche in 1619, with a handwritten ex-præmio of Antoine Perrin, Prefect of Studies, on the first endpaper. Minor rubbing to the spine ends, discrete restorations to two corners, a few foxed sections and scattered freckles. Sommervogel, II, 902, n°1.
See original version (French)
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