MONTAIGNE (Michel de). Les essais. Rouen, Jean Osmont, 1617. This in-8 work, consisting of three books with continuous pagination of [8] f. (including engraved title and portrait), 1129 p., [18] f., was bound in three volumes (one for each book) in the 18th century. Marbled glazed fawn calf, ornate smooth spine, red morocco title-piece, brown morocco end-piece. Guilloche edges. New edition, beautifully composed with numerous typographical ornaments, enriched with annotations in the margins, corrected and increased by a third compared to the previous printings. It contains a very extensive table of remarkable names and subjects, plus the author's life extracted from his own writings. This is an unusual reprint of the Paris edition of 1608 and 1611, which was shared between several booksellers in Rouen. Marie de Gournay, Montaigne's daughter by marriage, amended the preface. This edition contains for the first time his 'important translation of Montaigne's Latin and Greek quotations. The title frontispiece is engraved by Edme Charpy and the unsigned portrait of Montaigne is after Thomas de Leu. The printing was completed by Nicolas L'Oyselet on 2 January 1617. The book is in fine condition, and the 18th century bindings are well preserved. It is regrettable that the binder has cut the margins a little short, especially in the upper margin, and the running title is sometimes slightly truncated. (Tchémerzine VIII, 421; Sayce, n°18)