[LOUIS XIV]. Manuscript, Memoires pour servir a l'histoire d - Lot 341

[LOUIS XIV]. Manuscript, Memoires pour servir a l'histoire du Regne de Louis XIV Roy de France et de Navarre tirés de plusieurs auteurs... by D.N.F.D.W.M.D.C., 1733-1736; 4 strong volumes small in-4, about 1000 pages filled with fine writing, bound in marbled calf, spines cloisonné and fleuronnés (period bindings worn; restorations). Interesting historiographical work, illustrated with engraved portraits. Approximately 180 copper-engraved portraits have been bound into the manuscript, mainly from the suites of Desrochers and Crépy, representing personalities of the "Siècle de Louis XIV". This is a fine example of classical historiography, factual and precise, with a predilection for court events, portraits of leading figures and military deeds. The author also attempts a critical approach to the sources in a long introduction that allows us to understand what a cultivated 18th century man could perceive of the long reign of Louis XIV.