PUGET DE LA SERRE (Jean). The Spirit of Seneque, or the most beautiful thoughts of this great philosopher. Fourth part. Paris : Nicolas Pepingué, 1660 - In-8, 155 x 96 : frontispiece, (8 ff.), 287 pp, 2 portraits. Olive morocco, gilt arms in the centre of the boards set in a rectangular compartment bordered by a gilt scroll and gilt scrolls at the corners, the whole in a rich frame formed by a fleur-de-lys pattern and a gilt scroll on the outside, spine decorated with fleur-de-lys, lining of olive morocco decorated as on the boards, combed paper end-papers, gilt edges (period binding). Second edition of the fourth part only of this collection of thoughts very widespread at the time, composed by the essayist and playwright Jean Puget de La Serre (1594-1665). It is dedicated to the State Councillor Antoine Guerapin de Vaureal (?-1677). The illustration consists of an unsigned frontispiece and 2 out-of-text portraits, the first one of the dedicatee, engraved by René Lochon (1636-1674?), the second one of Seneca unsigned. PRECIOUS DEDICATION EXEMPLAIRE, entirely ruled in red and in a period lined binding with the arms of Antoine Guerapin de Vaureal on the centre of the boards and linings. This binding could be attributed to the workshop of Pierre Rocolet or more precisely to "the imitator A of the 'Rocolet' workshop", according to the classification made by Isabelle de Conihout and Pascal de Ract-Madoux in the catalogue Reliures françaises du XVIIe siècle chefs-d'œuvre du Musée Condé. According to them, after the death of the bookseller and printer Rocolet in 1662, three workshops imitating the work of the main workshop followed in 1664 and 1665. This binding has a border on the boards identical to the one on a binding made by this first imitator on a dedication copy of Charactères des passions by Cureau de La Chambre, reproduced in the Chantilly catalogue under number 24 . Provenance: Antoine Guerapin de Vaureal, with his coat of arms on the boards and linings. - Sieur De La Barre, with signature on the first white endpaper. - Haute Bruyère Library, with handwritten bookplate on the title.