FAVRE DE LA VALBONNE (René). Le bien public pour le faict de la justice, proposed to Madame Royale, Madame Chrestienne de France, duchesse de Savoie. etc. A very necessary work for the public and very useful for all those who are involved in legal matters. Divided into 4 parts. Annecy, André Leyat, 1646. In-12, bound in full muted basane (later antique binding, restored). Extremely rare first edition of this work written towards the end of his life by the man who was a member of the Savoy Senate, and which caused a scandal when it was published because of its innovative ideas and thinly veiled criticism of his peers. Although dedicated to the Duchess Regent Marie-Christine of France, sister of Louis XIII, the work was banned and the printed copies were seized and destroyed. The second edition published in Paris in 1657 is also very rare; the merit of this work was belatedly recognised, and the modern edition of Lyon in 1867, with Humbert Ferrand's notice on René Favre, is fairly common. Autograph signed letter from the author on the flyleaf (the dedicatee's name has been cut out). Old handwritten notes in ink in the margins and on the title page: "L'imprimeur a été fait prisonnier". First part: Proposals for a regulation to eliminate the most frequent subjects of lawsuits brought before the courts of justice. Second part: Ways of speeding up and shortening trials. Third part: Proposals to facilitate the means of judging properly in the courts. Criminality. Speech made to the Genevan Council at the beginning of 1646. Fourth part: Examen de conscience devant Dieu des Juges & Magistrats, etc. The work begins with an Address to Madame Royale, followed by a preface, and ends with the approval of Charles Auguste de Sales, Prince-Émile.