€250 - €350
Anthony Hamilton, Memoires de la vie du comte de Grammont: contenant particulierement de la cour d’Angleterre, sous le regne de charles 11. Chez Pierre Marteau, Cologne, 1713. (published anonymously with a fictitious imprint; probably printed in Paris), Small 8vo, full cont calf; title tag on spine missing; front cover split but intact; 418 pps. Very rare and scarce 1st edition of a French classic as described by Sir Walter Scott: ‘that a foreigner should thus prove himself more French than the French themselves is a major phenomenon in the history of literature. …unique in English letters as a masterpiece of French literature.’ Hamilton was born in 1646 either in Roscrea or Nenagh castle where his father was governor. The Memoirs tell the story of the amorous going-ons at the court of Charles 11 as told to Hamilton by his brother-in-law, Philibert, the Comte de Gramont. It was on the Vatican index from 1817 up to 1965. Hamilton had a chequered career in Ireland before moving to France. Almost 100 various editions in many languages have appeared of the work today. This edition is of the utmost importance as 1st eds rarely appear on the market. (1)
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