[SULLY]. Memoirs of Maximilien de Bethune duc de Sully, principal minister of Henry the Great... London, s.n., 1747. 3 vol. in-4° bound in full green morocco, spines decorated with gilt fleur-de-lys and iron with ardent hearts, wide gilt roulette framing the boards stamped with the crowned gilt arms of Mme de Pompadour in the centre, double gilt fillet at the edges, int. roulette, gilt edges (Binding of the period). Vol.1: [1] f., XXXVI, 607 pp., Vol.2: [2] ff, X, 612 pp., Vol.3: [2] ff, VI, 619 pp., [1] p. Decorated with an engraved title after Licherie by Baudet, 3 engraved title vignettes and 3 engraved head vignettes as well as 73 engraved figures out of text including two folding plates by Gasp. Bouttats. These memoirs by Sully, minister to Henri IV, are a first-rate account of the historical period from the reign of this sovereign to the beginning of the reign of Louis XIII. A singular copy presenting the series of portraits borrowed from the collection assembled by Odieuvre for the work L'Europe illustre, itself enriched with some fifteen plates out of the 58 announced by Brunet for the 1747 edition. A precious copy in very good condition despite a leatherette that has become soiled, with a prestigious provenance that is very complete and well documented. Ex-libris of James Toovey and Maurice Escoffier Provenance: Library of Lord Gosford Archibald Acheson, Private sale to the London bookseller James Toovey, 1878, Collection of James Toovey (bookplate), Bibliothèque d'un amateur anglais, Paris, Hôtel des commissaires-Priseurs, 1 May 1882, n°429, [Bibliothèque de M. le Comte [de] Foy], Bibliothèque de M. le Comte F**, Drouot, Paris, 26-28 May 1926, n°251, ill, Bibliothèque de Maurice Escoffier (ex-libris), Sale Collection M. E., Drouot, Paris, 18 May 1933, n°139, ill., Sale Ader Picard, Drouot, Paris, 13 June 1969, n°65, Acquired at the previous sale then by descent to the present owners. Very good condition despite some sunning of the leather on the bindings and a few small defects on the pages. Binding: Insulation of the bindings with a loss of the original pigmentation of the morocco. Leather on front cover of vol.1 slightly cracked at gilt edge towards spine Rubbing at the edges Inside pages: Ff. oxidised, some browned depending on vol. Scattered spotting Several light freckles of varying density depending on the vol. Some soiling Slight and discreet spotting in the upper corner of the pages of the first half of vol. 2 Pleasantly clean plates with occasional light soiling and rare spotting.