The Harry Potter saga by J. K. Rowling stands as the publishing phenomenon of the turn of the twenty-first century. Few works of modern literature have achieved comparable global reach, cultural impact, or commercial success. It is unsurprising that rare Harry Potter material, such as first editions, their early printings, manuscripts, and associated ephemera, has entered major collections. Chief among these is the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published by Bloomsbury in 1997. The first printing of the hardback edition, limited to just 500 copies (of which roughly 300 were sent to libraries), has become the definitive modern collectible; even severely worn ex-library copies command extraordinary sums. The corresponding first-edition first-printing paperback, produced in a larger printing of approximately 5,150 copies, is likewise coveted as the earliest widely circulated form of the text. Both can reach stratospheric prices, with association copies at the very top of the market. Later printings remain desirable when they bear early signatures or substantial inscriptions by Rowling, written before she achieved global celebrity. Such copies capture a moment when the author's fame was still local and literary rather than universal, and they function as documentary artifacts of the series' nascent years. A decade after the publication of the first novel, and shortly after concluding the series with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in July 2007, Rowling undertook a remarkable afterword to the saga. Having referred within the narrative to a wizardly book of fairy tales, she decided to write The Tales of Beedle the Bard in reality, producing seven individually handwritten and illustrated manuscript volumes. Six were given as personal gifts to individuals most closely connected to the creation of Harry Potter; the seventh was designated for auction to raise funds for The Children's Voice charity. On 13 December 2007, after a prolonged and highly publicised bidding war, the manuscript sold at Sotheby's for £1.95 million, setting a world record for both a modern literary manuscript and a children's book. The auction itself has since become part of the collecting history, and the Sotheby's sale catalogue has emerged as a collectible object in its own right

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
London, UK: Bloomsbury, 1997 (paperback ed.)

Description: First English edition, twenty-seventh printing, paperback. slight nick to the base of the spine and a very minor water mark to the bottom of the half title page, otherwise in stunning fine, unread condition. Inscribed by J.K. Rowling to the dedication page in blue ballpoint pen at the 1999 Hay Literary Festival to the daughter (Lily, age 8) of illustrator Ian Beck: "To Lily∼ you will know that I love your name because I used it for Harry's mum! JK Rowling" (1999 variation of Rowling's signature). Housed in custom made quarter leather clamshell box with bespoke gold lettering to the spine. Ian Beck knew the publicity and editorial team at Bloomsbury who introduced him to J.K. Rowling who was happy to inscribe this book for his daughter. The book was kept until 2022 when it was sold to Harry Potter collector Adam Houston, the Harry Potter specialist. Accompanied by detailed CoA by Adam Houston, the handwritten letter of Ian Beck and a printout of a detailed email from Ian Beck to Adam Houston dated 22 Nov. 2022. The email ends: "[after the signing] ...I left with Helen [Cooper, fellow author] and we noticed a very long queue of parents and children stretching from the entrance of the school and back way into the main part of the town. At that point we realised something huge was brewing".

Provenance: Adam Houston, the Harry Potter specialist (2022-2024)

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The Tales of Beedle the Bard... The Property of J. K. Rowling..., by Sotheby's
London, UK: Sotheby's, 2007

Description: Sotheby's (2007), The Tales of Beedle the Bard, A Collection of Wizarding Fairy-Tales. The Property of J. K. Rowling, sold on behalf of the Children's Voice. London, Thursday, 13th December 2007. First edition, only printing. Small octavo. Original white wrappers, spine lettered in white, front wrapper lettered in blue, wrappers with design embossed in blue – The souvenir auction catalogue includes many photographs of the manuscript and a short introduction by the author. As part of pre-sale publicity, there was a party held on 10 December 2007. During the event, the author was kept busy greeting guests and also read one of the stories. Despite these demands on her time, a small number of copies of the souvenir catalogue were signed for a few guests:
(i) Inscribed by the author on the first page: "to Monique, J. K. Rowling". Accompanied with a pictorial badge "I have seen Beedle the Bard...", 40 mm diameter with pin. Together with a newspaper clipping (see above) and two photographs, each 230 x 151 mm. of J.K. Rowling (and one with presumably, Monique - not shown) at the event, signed by the photographer James Peltekian on verso (see above).
(ii) Signed by J.K. Rowling to one of the journalists present during the auction. Accompanied with a pictorial badge.

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R. d'ORLEANS COPY - Bibliotheca Petrarchesca..., by A. Marsand
Milan, Italy: Paolo Emilio Giusti, 1826

Description: MARSAND, Antonio (1826), Bibliotheca Petrarchesca, formata, posseduta, descritta et illustrata dal Professore Antonio Marsand. Milano: printed privately by Paolo Emilio Giusti, 1 p.l. (errata), XXXVIII, [2] (blank), 280 pp. Large paper copy (quarto, 305 x 193 mm tbd) printed on wove paper, with vast margins. No. 15 of 150 copies. Bound for Robert d'Orléans, duc de Chartres, by Antoine Chatelin, London, c. 1865 (stamp-signed on verso of front free endpaper), in hazel brown crushed levant morocco, the sides decorated with gilt and blind rules intertwined with laurel branches, fleurons at the corners and the Duke's crowned arms with his monogram in the centre. In a modern tan linen clamshell lined with felt, red morocco label to spine, two snap closures (one of them defective). Description slip from Christie's 2005 sale laid in at front - This is the copy bound for the grandson of the monarch who tried to preserve the collection on which this bibliography, Marsand's collection catalogue, was based.

Provenance: Robert d'Orléans, duc de Chartres • ... • Bernard H. Breslauer. Robert d'Orleans, duc de Chartres (1840-1910), second son of Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans, eldest son of King Louis-Philippe, was a soldier, historian and book collector. His collection contained some 5,000 works. After the February Revolution of 1848, his family was forced to flee to England, which included his uncle Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, noted bibliophile.

References: BBB Wittockiana no. 36 of 75 (one page description p.84, full-page illustration p.85); BBB Harvard no. 28 of 73, p.16; Christie's (2005:lot.97) - The same books were displayed at both exhibitions (with the exception of two) and were chosen for their remarkable and aesthetically pleasing bindings ("the choix devenu définitif a privilégié les exemplaires dont les reliures contribueraient le plus au plaisir et à l'information du visiteur" - J. Toulet). It is listed in the Christie's auction catalogue of the first portion of the BBB, which contained "most of Dr. Breslauer's favorite books".

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LOVECRAFT COPY - Landmarks of New York
New York: City History Club of New York, 1923

Description: Peterson, A.E. (1923), Landmarks of New York. New York: City History Club of New York, 261 pp. with fold-out map, illustrated. 12mo, original blue cloth flexi wrapped illustrated covers, worn and coffee spotted. H.P. Lovecraft bookplate (designed by Talman, see below) on front pastedown and Lovecraft's ownership inscription on the opposite front free endpaper: "H.P. Lovecraft Providence, R.I. May, 1928". This copy is mentioned at least twice by Lovecraft in his correspondence, e.g., "Did I tell you that I virtually covered all the sights in that City History Club book before leaving the NY region last spring? There were some splendid specimens, & I wish to Gawd I'd had the book during my period of residence. Have you followed up all of its leads? Don't miss Gravesend Village -or the regions south of Flatbush in general. You will find that local differences in Dutch architecture occur-all-wood & shingle cottages predominating in the southern Long Island region where stone was scarce" (Letters to Wilfred B. Talman, 2019:104). This copy preserves tangible evidence of Lovecraft's use. Seven pages bear pencilled marginal marks, each drawing attention to passages of antiquarian or architectural interest: "there is within a "Lincoln Museum" and a "Netherland Antiquity Museum" containing prints, clippings and relics" (p.51), "the first home of the College of the City of New York" (p.68), "the (214) Republican Club [...] has a large collection of rare prints and maps of old New York" (p.76), "picturesque Tarrytown" (p.122), "the massive Schwab mansion just beyond stands within the site of the old fort" (p.126), "it was in this locality that the ill-fated excursion steamer "General Slocum" was burned with great loss of life on June 15, 1904" (p.131), and "the Dominick Lynch mansion, a stately, square, stone structure; here was celebrated the first mass in Westchester County..." (p.133). One readily imagines Lovecraft consulting this very volume, using it as a guide to uncover survivals of an older New York. The marginal marks in this copy resonate with the descriptive precision of his tales, where landscape, architecture, and history are not mere background but essential elements.

Provenance: H.P. Lovecraft (1928-)

References: Letters to Wilfred B. Talman (2019:104). Copy not listed in Yoshi's Lovecraft's Library.

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Lovecraft Postcards to Talman
Providence, R.I., USA: Unpublished, 1929

Description: Two holograph postcards from H.P. Lovecraft to Wilfred Blanch Talman (1904-1986), his friend and collaborator who also designed Lovecraft's iconic ex-libris bookplate:
(i) Featuring an image of the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts, postmarked Providence, R.I., August 18, 1929. Lovecraft writes of his reaction to the receipt of the proof of the bookplate Talman designed for him: "Mynheer, I am knock'd out... I grow absolutely maudlin & lyrical... The thing is splendid [underlined], beyond ever those high expectations which I form'd from a survey of your pencil design! You have caught perfectly [underlined] the spirit that I wished to see reproduced" (see full transcript in caption).
(ii) Featuring an image of Manning Hall at Brown University, Providence, not dated, stamped or mailed. Lovecraft invites Talman and his wife to visit him while in Providence on their honeymoon and again mentions the bookplates: "Bookplates arrived safely, & I covered Poe, Machen, & Dunsany the very night they came" (see full transcript in caption).

Provenance: Wilfred Blanch Talman (1929-?) • Gerry de la Ree (?-?)

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STONE COPY - Early American Children’s Books, by A.S.W. Rosenbach
Philadelphia: Saturday Evening Post, 1927

Description: A precious copy of the article Early American Children’s Books, carefully cut out and transformed into a unique clipping book by Wilbur Macey Stone (1862-1941), one of the foremost collectors of juvenile books. Cloth backed paper covered boards, Burgundy cloth, 12 x 16 cm, 37 pp.. This booklet is inscribed by Rosenbach to Stone: "Inscribed for Wilbur Macey Stone with the regard and appreciation of A.S.W. Rosenbach. August 15 1928". It bears Stone's beautifully illustrated ex-libris Collectanea Juvenilia on front pastedown, as well as two rear pastedown bookplates: "Smith Collage Library, Northampton Massachusetts, from the library of Marjorie Bache Mendon, Class of 1930" and M. Bache Mendon personal bookplate. This unique booklet exemplifies meta-collecting at its most concrete: a scholarly work on collecting, a collectible in its own right, and simultaneously part of another distinguished collector's library, illustrating how a single item can embody multiple aspects of collecting practice.

Provenance: Wilbur Macey Stone (c. 1928-1941) • Marjorie Bache Mendon ()

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AUTHOR COPY - ... deux petites Bibliothèques françaises du XVe siècle
London: Philobiblon Society, 1855

Description: Orléans, Henry d’ (1855), Notes sur deux petites Bibliothèques françaises du XVe siècle. Bibliographical and Historical Miscellanies [of the] Philobiblon Society, I, 64 pp. Followed by Lettre de Guillaume III, 5 pp.. In-8, full midnight blue morocco binding signed by Capé, spine with raised bands richly decorated with gilt fillets, motifs, and arabesques, covers framed with a triple gilt fillet, featuring fleur-de-lis at the corners, gilt edges. Duke of Aumale's coat of arms (HO) at the centre of both covers, bearing the motto born of exile "J'attendrai" (I will wait). Ex-dono manuscript (signature illegible): "Offert à Mr F. Ferroud en souvenir de bonnes relations, Paris, ce 10 mars 1910." The Duke of Aumale commissioned works from the finest binders of his time (Trautz, Capé, Duru), and in 1850, he remarked, "I know rare books are expensive; I know that beautiful bindings are too; but I love both, and especially the two together, and I want to pay the price they deserve." The present copy, bound by Capé, stands as a prime example of exquisite bookbinding - An invaluable work by the Duc d'Aumale on two early fifteenth-century manuscript collections, which he discovered within the book collection inherited from the last Prince of Condé. By identifying recurring coats of arms, he was able to reassemble the libraries of Antoine de Chourses (?-1485) and his wife Demoiselle Katherine de Coetivy, as well as of Jean Du Mas, seigneur de L'Isle (1437-1495). Including a detailed list of the books in these collections, this work can also be regarded as a collection catalogue. The author's passion is evident in his writing, providing rich bibliographical details about each manuscript, its physical characteristics, and provenance.

Provenance: Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale

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Château de Chantilly
Chantilly, France: A. Chalot (photographer), c. 1885

Description: Photographs of the Château de Chantilly, its Reading Room, and its Gallery of Painting (with view of the Rotunda), by Alphonse Chalot. Original photographs mounted on cardboard. Another cardboard piece, not shown here but part of the collection, bears the photographer's signature: "Chalot, Photographe, 18 rue Vivienne, Paris." — Following the reconstruction by architect Daumetof the Château de Chantilly (mutilated since the Revolution), the Duke of Aumale entrusted Alphonse Chalot, a native of Chantilly, with photographing the castle and its park in 1885-86. These historic photographs offer a rare glimpse into his collections: nearly 19,000 books are displayed in the Reading Room, including 1,500 manuscripts. The Gallery of Painting stands as an exceptional example of nineteenth-century museography: paintings are hung in multiple tiers, frame to frame, arranged by format rather than chronology, reflecting the Duke of Aumale's personal taste. In accordance with his wishes, the layout of these collections has remained unchanged to this day. Chalot's photographs of the collection are well known, with many preserved at the Musée Condé.

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de RIS COPY - Catalogue... Comte J.-N.-A. de Fortsas (facsimile)
Paris, France: M. Jannet, 1850

Description: [Chalon, R.H.G.] (1840, repr. 1850), Catalogue d'une très riche mais peu nombreuse collection de livres provenant de la bibliothèque de feu M. le comte J.-N.-A. de Fortsas, dont la vente se fera à Binche, le 10 août 1840 à onze heures du matin, en l'étude et par le ministère de Me Mourlon, Notaire, rue de l'Église, n°9. Mons, Belgium: E. Hoyois, Libraire. Facsimile reprint in Journal de l'Amateur de Livres, comprising title page, preface, and pp. 141–152. Contemporary binding in comb-pattern paper boards; fold to upper cover, original to the binding process and reinforced on the verso with thick paper, likely to prevent splitting at the joints. Binding typical of those commissioned by Count Clément de Ris, here bearing his inscription: "Cte L. Clément de Rys – 1868 – Payé 1 fr. à Angers, septembre." Ink annotation in the journal postface: "En mai 1850 un exemplaire a été vendu 26fr50, no 1371bis Baudeleveque [TBC]." This edition constitutes the earliest facsimile, and arguably the closest substitute, for the original 1840 Fortsas catalogue. Issued in 1850 as a supplement to the Journal de l'Amateur de Livres separately printed in an edition of 150 copies (barely exceeding the original edition), it remains comparatively scarce. The journal itself was published by the bibliophile Pierre Jannet between 1848 and the early 1850s. The postface to the facsimile (pp. 151-152) underscores the historical significance of the 1840 Fortsas catalogue, reproduces a letter by Baron de Reiffenberg identifying works of interest to the Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, and concludes: "Le catalogue de Fortsas avait été tiré à petit nombre. Il est rare depuis long-temps et se paie fort cher dans les ventes. Nous croyons faire plaisir à nos lecteurs en réimprimant cette facétie, une des meilleures de ce genre, sans y rien ajouter ni changer." It should be noted, however, that the typographical layout of the title page differs from that of the original edition. Newspaper clipping tipped in, titled Bibliofolie, Des lots vides (by B. Galimard Flavigny, c. 2005).

Provenance: Louis Clément-de-Ris (1868-1882 TBC). Louis Clément de Ris (1820-1882) was a famous collector and museum curator at the Louvre. He wrote several books on the history of collections.

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Absconditorum a constitutione mundi Clauis, by Guillaume Postel
n.p. [Basel, Switzerland]: n.p., [c.1547]

Description: 16mo. 52 unnumbered ff. Italic letter, occasional Roman. Light browning to first, slightly toned in places. Handsomely bound in 18th century crimson morocco, marbled endpapers, bordered with gilt floral roll, gilt armorial centrepiece of John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe to covers, spine gilt to a design of fleurons and Greek fillets, all edges gilt and gauffered, corners, head and foot of spine a bit rubbed, ink splashes to covers and spine. 'CP' to verso of ffep, '624' later pencilled, occasional early underlining - The rare first edition of this important work on religious mysticism. The compiler of the 1812 catalogue notes: "It seems to be proper to say, that there is one class of books in this Catalogue, among which there are some very rare ones, that were not purchased by the late Possessor. They were collected early in the late century, when free-thinking was much the fashion. William Postel, Giordano Bruno, or Benedict Spinosa, could be no favourites with the late Proprietor, who only valued philosophical writers, in proportion as they improved the morals of mankind" (p.16). This book likely originated with the 2nd Duke and was later incorporated into his son's celebrated library for its rarity.

Provenance: John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe • John Broadley

References: Roxburghe auction catalogue (1812:lot 624); Evans (1833:lot 321). R.H. Evans' Catalogue of the second portion of the library, prints and original drawings of John Broadley, Esq. records six works by Postel in red morocco, including the present copy. Four of these (lots 319, 321, 322, and 323) correspond to the same titles sold at the 1812 Roxburghe auction (lots 626, 624, 625, and 623, respectively). Given the rarity of these works, it is highly likely that at least four of Broadley's Postel volumes originated from the Roxburghe library and retain their identical red morocco bindings. Notably, a digitized copy of the 1812 catalogue shows that all four lots were acquired by the same buyer, identified as 'Massey' (TBC). It is also worth noting that the 1812 catalogue dates all four works to 1552, whereas Evans's 1833 catalogue corrects the date to 1547 for the present copy.

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A Catalogue of the Library of the late John Duke of Roxburghe
London, England: W. Bulmer and Co., 1812

Description: [Roxburghe Library] (1812), A Catalogue of the Library of the late John Duke of Roxburghe, arranged by G. and W. Nicol, booksellers to his Majesty, Pall-Mall; which will be sold by auction, at his Grace's late residence in St. Jame's Square, on Monday, 18th May, 1812, and the Forty-one following days, Sundays excepted, at Twelve o'clock, by Robert H. Evans, bookseller, Pall-Mall. London: W. Bulmer and Co., . Octavo. Old calf and marbled boards, rebacked in half calf with modern endsheets at some point in the last century, gilt label. Forecorners worn, some wear to spine, uniform tanning to textblock, small water-stain to preliminary blank. As with many copies, this copy is bound without the slightly later supplement (iv, 20pp) and the printed price list (73pp). Priced throughout in an early hand. On page 173 an early manuscript note about the historic sale of the Valdarfer Boccaccio and its 1819 resale fills the lower margin. With the bookplates of Randolph Greenfield Adams (1892-1951) and Thomas Randolph Adams (1921-2008). Tipped in front is a sheet of typescript of R.G. Adams's bibliographical notes on this copy, signed in ink with initials and dated 10 September 1942, with an additional note in manuscript about the 1819 Marlborough sale. Adams records the provenance of this copy (he acquired it from Peter Bailey as a discard from the Bay City Public Library) and compares it to copies at the Clements and at the University of Michigan General Library.

Provenance: Randolph Greenfield Adams • Thomas Randolph Adams. R.G. Adams (1942-1951 TBC), bibliographer and historian who served as the first Director of the Clements Library (1923-1951), establishing it as one of the great North American research libraries. Thomas Randolph Adams (1951 TBC-2008) followed in his father's footsteps as bibliographer and historian, librarian of the John Carter Brown Library.

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Bibliotheca Bigotiana seu catalogus librorum..., by G. Martin
Paris: Apud Joannem Boudot, Carolum Osmont, Gabrielem Martin, 1706

Description: Martin, Gabriel (1706), Bibliotheca Bigotiana seu catalogus librorum, quos (dum viverent) summa cura & industria, ingentique sumptu congessere viri clarissimi DD. uterque Joannes, Nicolaus, & Lud. Emericus Bigotii. Paris: Apud Joannem Boudot, Carolum Osmont, Gabrielem Martin. Five parts in one volume, I-II: 220 pp., III: 248 pp., 59 pp., IV: 31 pp., V: 31 pp. Contemporary binding, brown calfskin, spine with raised bands adorned, title label in red morocco. An angular page loss with some characters missing p.21 of part IV. Marginal notes in ink and pencil giving the prices realised on c. 75 pages. Unknown owner's name "Gonnant" and a short manuscript biography of Louis-Émeric Bigot - This catalogue comprises about 16,500 items: 2954 in-folio, 4345 in.quarto, 8147 in-octavo, 597 varia in supplement and 450 manuscripts. This is a rare book notable on many aspects. The Bigot library sale in 1706 was the first book auction conducted in Paris for which a catalogue was printed. Prior to this auction several auction catalogues for private libraries had been printed in Paris, but these libraries were sold privately and thus never went to auction. This is also the first of the 148 catalogues compiled by Gabriel Martin (1679-1761) in which he employs a novel bibliographical system (books grouped according to sizes, and within them, according to subjects).

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Two texts, by Cameron, John & Cappel, Louis
Geneva: Petrum Auberum, 1632

Description: Cameron, John & Cappel, Louis (1632), Ioh. Cameronis Myrothecium evangelicum, hoc est Novi Testamenti loca quam plurima ab eo, post aliorum labores, apte & commode vel illustrata, vel explicata, vel vindicata - Lud. Cappell Spicilegium & diatribae dux - I. De interpretatione loci Matth. XV.5, II. De voto Iephthae. Geneva: Petrum Auberum, Quarto (23.5 × 16 cm), (14) + 360 pp. and 184 pp.; text in Latin with passages in Ancient Greek and Hebrew. Contemporary full vellum binding, smooth spine without lettering; printed on fine seventeenth-century laid paper. Louis-Émeric Bigot armorial bookplate (large version, 7 x 7.5 cm engraving) pasted on the front pastedown, with his name "L E Bigot". Seven pages with marginalia from Bigot's hand (still to decipher). This is a book from one of the most important private libraries in France. "He is the young man in France with the greatest passion for letters, and one of those who, without ostentation, is most deeply immersed in Greek and Latin. His vehement inclination is to contribute to the restoration of the good authors of both languages," wrote Jean Chapelain of Louis-Émeric Bigot. The marginalia point to a theologically trained and disciplined reader.

Provenance: Louis-Émeric Bigot

References: Bibliotheca Bigotiana (1706:77, lot 129)

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French treatise on heraldry and armorial
France: Anonymous manuscript, c. 15th century

Description: In-4 (191 x 135 mm). (1) leaf, 96 pp., (12) pp. Elegant seventeenth-century binding of tan polished calf over pasteboard, decorated spine with gilt lettering (partly erased): "Armaries. T. L. M. S." (TBC) and gilt armorial, double gilt fillets forming frame on boards. Jean Bigot's armorial bookplate (9 x 11 cm engraving) pasted on the front pastedown, with his name "Johannes Bigot". Bigot's shelf-mark number on front pastedown 'D 15'. French manuscript with polychrome illuminations containing a treatise on heraldry, illustrated with 34 coats of arms, followed by an armorial comprising 447 coats of arms with their identification and heraldic description. At the beginning of the manuscript, there is an annotated leaf containing 2 coats of arms, bringing the total to 483 drawn and watercolor-painted coats of arms. The text, in a late fifteenth-century Gothic script, has approximately 15 lines per page, usually with 6 coats of arms per page. At the beginning of the manuscript is a leaf containing two pages filled with cursive writing, barely legible. It appears to be an acknowledgment of debt, dated August 14, 1594. This is followed by two large unidentified coats of arms. An 11-page index of names was added at the end of the volume in the seventeenth century (possibly by Jean Bigot). A loss of paper on pp. 41-42 removes a coat of arms with its corresponding text".
This manuscript, of prestigious provenance, with finely executed and painted heraldic shields likely executed by a skilled arms painter, remaining anonymous, was probably excerpted from the armorial of the herald Navarre, a collection created around 1368-1375 containing descriptions of over 1,500 coats of arms. According to Saffroy, its author would be Martin Carbonnel, herald to Charles the Bad, king of Navarre. While the original is now lost, the BnF preserves a few manuscript copies. One of these is titled Blazon et deviz des armes de tous les Roys chrétiens Princes et seigneurs du sang de France et autres barons, baneroys et chevaliers du Pays de France, Normandie, Champaigne, Bourgongne, Bretaigne, le Maine, Anjou, Tourayne, Vermandoys, Beauvoisin, Pontif, Artois, Corbyois, Poitou, Berry, Breban, Flandres, Henault et Angleterre (ms. fr. 14356, fifteenth century, on paper, 130 pp.). The present manuscript appears to be an excerpt from one of the manuscript copies of this famous armorial.

Provenance: Jean Bigot, seigneur de Somesnil. The Bigot collection was dispersed at auction in 1706. The manuscripts were purchased in bulk by the Bibliothèque Nationale. Léopold Delisle catalogued them in 1877 as Bibliotheca Bigotiana Manuscripta. Some volumes remained in the family and were probably dispersed through inheritance.

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Historia del Valorisissimo Cavallier della Croce
Venice: Pietro Deuchino, 1580

Description: De Salazar, Alonso (1580), Historia del Valorisissimo Cavallier della Croce. Venice: Pietro Deuchino. Binding of the finest leather, with typical plain brown boards with minimal tooling, bearing on each side the gilt coats of arms of Jacques Auguste de Thou (while still a bachelor, pre-1588). '(J4)' de Thou shelf mark written on the front board. Canting arms made of a chevron between three horseflies (in French = 'taon' = Thou), and his initials. Boards worn with edge and corner wear and some rubbing; front joint cracked and worm hole at bottom of spine; spine possibly professionally rebacked; ink notes by old hand on title page. Stored in modern clamshell case - This is a rare book with only three copies of this edition listed in Worldcat. The original Spanish version was first printed in 1521. Cervantes mentions this book in Don Quixote, the Knight of the Cross being one of the instigating books in Don Quixote's library and was subsequently burnt by the priest, niece and housekeeper for being the genesis of Don Quixote's troubles.

Provenance: Jacques Auguste de Thou (pre-1588) • de Thou's sons (1617-1680) • Jean-Jacques Charon, Marquis de Ménars (1680-1706) • Armand de Rohan (1706-1749) • Charles de Rohan, Prince de Soubise (1749-1788) • ... • Kenneth Rapoport (?-2022 TBC)

References: Catalogus Bibliothecae Thuanae (1679:409); Prince de Soubise auction catalogue (1788:lot 5342)

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