Beschreibung:

Justin Martyr, Saint. Les euvres de sainct Justin Philosophe & Martyr, mises de Grec en langage François, par Ian De Maumont: Auec table des matieres les plus dignes. Les traictez dudit aucteur qui se trouuent auiourdhuy, lesquels ont esté prins de la librairie du feu Roy François, sont escrits & nommez cy apres en la page qui suit les Prologues … C’est la seconde edition, reueuë & corrigee par le translateur, & conferee sur l’exemplaire Grec, & sur les traductions Latines, qui en ont esté depuis faites tant en France qu’en Allemagne, auec les additions & corrections necessaires, mises à la fin du liure en vn traicté à part, auquel traicté, tous les lieus obscurs & difficiles sont aussi selon les trois traductions declarez & esclarcis, auec vn prologue adiousté par le mesme translateur, au tres Chrestien Roy de France Henry, second de ce nom, pour l’edition & translation des liures Grecs, qui sont en sa grande & Royale bibliotheque. Paris: Michel de Vascosan, July 1559
Eight volumes from the library of Louis de Sainte-Maure are known to survive. Three are recueils, containing altogether twenty-two separately published editions of Cicero’s orations, from the Parisian presses of Josse Bade, Michel de Vascosan, and Simon de Colines, printed 1532–1547; four are works of ancient or modern history, published at Lyon or Basel, printed 1556–1558. The present volume, published in 1559, the second edition of Jean de Maumont’s French translation of the collected works of the Christian apologist St. Justin Martyr, is the latest in the group.
Louis de Sainte-Maure was the second son of Jean III de Sainte-Maure, comte de Nesle, and Anne d’Humières. In January 1545, in anticipation of his marriage to Renée de Rieux (1524–1567; after 1547, known as Guyonne, comtesse de Laval), François I granted him the title of marquis, which is lettered upon all eight bindings. Upon the death of in May 1547 of her uncle, Guy XVII, said to have been stabbed by Henri II during a quarrel, the Laval estate passed to the couple, and Louis de Sainte-Maure (now denominated Guy XVIII) is said to have transferred the rich Laval library to Nesle in Picardie (Maucourt de Bourjolly, Memoire chronologique sur la ville de Laval [Paris, 1888], II, pp. 3–4).
Our binding was dated ca 1559 by Paul Culot, but it evidently was executed several years later. The “Prologue du Roy” is subscribed by Jean de Maumont at Paris, 10 June 1559, and the colophon dated July 1559. On 27 May 1559, Louis de Sainte-Maure stood together with Frédéric de Foix, Gaston de Foix, and Antoine du Prat in the palace of Westminster, and surrendered himself into custody, in accordance with the terms of the recently concluded treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. The hostages were visited in London sometime during 1560 by Pierre Boaistuau; in 1562, all except Du Prat were released. The binding on the Du Choul (1556) may also date from the early or mid-1560s. Descriptions of it (we have seen no illustration) mention a “background of the whole cover decorated with a semis of gold dots” and a “back decorated with fillets, scrolls and dots to a similar design” with “gilt edges tooled ‘au pointillé.’” These same features are seen on the Brooker binding. The three recueils of Cicero and the Plinius were clearly bound some years previously, ca. 1550–1555, in the Parisian atelier designated the “Cupid’s Bow Binder.” The Giovio is also earlier, bound in Lyon ca. 1556–1558 by the “Medallions of Henri II Binder” (see lot 3). The Polybius (1558) has very recently come to our notice and no details of its binding are yet available.
After the death of Renée, Louis de Sainte-Maure married Madeleine Olivier. Her remarriage after his own death (9 September 1572) was the occasion for producing an “Inventaire après décès” which might contain information about his library (see https://francearchives.gouv.fr/en/facomponent/fc2eef64d8551199f2d3fb6ccb5f3db3d92f8078). Apart from the supralibros, the earliest recognizable mark of ownership in our book is an eighteenth-century inscription on an endleaf, read as “De Joüy.” A bibliophile of this name, Antoine-Louis Rouillé, comte de Jouy (1689–1761), is known (Nouvel armorial du bibliophile, I, pp. 187–188; Manuel de l’amateur de reliures armoriées françaises, 277); however, a different edition of this text was offered in his sale (Prevost, Catalogue des livres de la bibliothèque de feu M. Rouillé, Paris, 11 July–9 August 1763, lot 45).
List of Surviving Volumes from the Library of Louis de Sainte-Maure  
(1) Marcus Tullius Cicero, Oratio pro P. Quintio (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1543), bound with: Oratio pro Sex. Roscio Amerino (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1541), bound with: Pro Q. Roscio Comoedo M. T. Ciceronis Orationis quod extat Fragmentum (Paris: Josse Bade, 1532), bound with: Actionum in Verrem Libri quatuor (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1539), bound with: Pro M. Fonteio Oratio (Paris: Josse Bade, 1533), bound with: Pro A. Cecinna Oratio (Paris: Simon de Colines, 1540). Louis de Sainte-Maure, marquis de Nesle (supralibros). — François-Gustave-Adolphe Guyot de Villeneuve (1825-1898); Maurice Delestre & Edouard Rahir, Catalogue des livres manuscrits et imprimés, des dessins et des estampes du cabinet de feu M. Guyot de Villeneuve, Deuxième partie, Paris, 25-30 March 1901, lot 574 — unidentified owner - bought in sale (FF 1570) — Edmée Maus (1905-1971) — Michel Wittock (1936–2020; Christie’s, The Michel Wittock Collection, Part I: Important Renaissance Bookbindings, London, 7 July 2004, lot 39), purchased by — unidentified owner (£41,825). Current location not traced.Hobson & Culot, op. cit., no. 43; Culot, op. cit., 1996, p.33. 
(2) Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro T. Annio Milone oratio (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1545), bound with: Pro C. Rabirio posthumo oratio (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1537), bound with: In M. Antonium Philippicæ orationes XIIII (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1544), bound with: Orationes tres ad C. Caesarem Pro M. Marcello … Pro Q. Ligario … Pro rege Deiotaro (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1547), bound with: Pseudo-Cicero, Epistola ad Octavium (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1549), bound with: Gaius Sallustius Crispus, M.T. Ciceronem invectiva oratio: & Ciceronis in eundem responsio (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1541). Louis de Sainte-Maure, marquis de Nesle (supralibros). — Librairie Damascène Morgand, Répertoire méthodique de la librairie Damascène Morgand, Première partie (Paris 1893), item 2502 (FF2000); presumably part Librairie Damascène Morgand, Bulletin mensuel - No. 24, avril 1894 (Paris 1894), item 24879 and Bulletin mensuel, n.s. - No. 2, janvier 1905 (Paris 1905), item 801 — Édouard Rahir, Paris — New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, 15436 (1-7).Howard Nixon, Sixteenth-century gold-tooled bookbindings in the Pierpont Morgan Library (New York 1971), p.151.
(3) Marcus Tullius Cicero, M. T. Ciceronis oratio pro lege Manilia ad populum … Rodolphi Agricolae scholiis, F. Sylvii, Jacobi Omphalii commentariis ac Bartholomaei Latomi annotationibus et Antonii Luschi Vincentini artificio illustrata (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1541), bound with: M. T. Ciceronis De lege agraria in L. Servilium Rullum, tribunum plebis, orationes tres (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1540), bound with: M. Tullii Ciceronis in L. Catilinam orationes invectivae quatuor (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1540), bound with: Pro L. Valerio Flacco, M. T. Ciceronis, cum F. Sylvii commentariis, oratio (Paris: Josse Base, 1535), bound with: M. T. Ciceronis pro A. Licinio Archia poeta oratio, Francisci Sylvii commentariis, Bartholomaei Latomi annotatiunculis, et Martini Bolerii scholiis illustrata (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1547), bound with: M. T. Ciceronis oratio pro Cn. Planco, Francisci Sylvii et Bartholomaei Latomi commentariis illustrata (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1539), bound with: Mar. Tullii Ciceronis oratio in Vatinium, cum argumento et scholiis Barth. Latomi (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1543), bound with: M. Tullii Ciceronis pro M. Coelio oratio, Joannis Tislini, Bartholomaei Latomi et Philippi Melanchthonis commentariis illustrata (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1544), bound with: Pro L. Cornelio Balbo, M. Tullii Ciceronis oratio, cum F. Sylvii Ambiani Commentariis luculentissimis (Paris: Josse Bade, 1535), bound with: M. T. Ciceronis in L. Pisonem oratio, Q. Asconii Pediani & Jacobi Omphalii commentariis illustrata (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, 1543). Louis de Sainte-Maure, marquis de Nesle (supralibros). — Benedetto Maglione; Maurice Delestre & Em. Paul, L. Huard et Guillemin, Bibliothèque de feu M. Benedetto Maglione de Naples, première partie, Paris, 22-27 January 1894, lot 230 — Librairie Damascène Morgand, Paris - bought in sale (FF 350); presumably part Librairie Damascène Morgand, Bulletin mensuel - No. 24, avril 1894 (Paris 1894), item 24879 and Bulletin mensuel, n.s. - No. 2, janvier 1905 (Paris 1905), item 801 — Louis Delamare — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Rés M-X-46.
(4) Guillaume Du Choul, Discours de la religion des anciens romains (Lyon: Guillaume Rouillé, 1556). Louis de Sainte-Maure, marquis de Nesle (supralibros). — Sotheby’s, London, 19–21 December 1921, lot 550), purchased by — Maggs Bros., London (£4 5s). Current location not traced.
(5) Paolo Giovio, Histoires sur les choses faictes et avenues de son temps (Lyon: Guillaume Rouillé, 1558). Louis de Sainte-Maure, marquis de Nesle (supralibros). — Charles Lormier (1825-1900); Maurice Delestre & Em. Paul et Fils et Guillemin, Bibliothèque de feu M. Charles Lormier, de Rouen. Deuxième partie, Paris, 20-24 May 1902, lot 750 — Librairie Damascène Morgand, Bulletin mensuel, n.s. - No. 2, janvier 1905 (Paris 1905), item 802 (FF 3000) — New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, 002008.Nixon, op. cit., no. 38; Anthony Hobson, Humanists and bookbinders: the origins and diffusion of the humanistic bookbinding, 1459-1559 (Cambridge 1989), p.241 (“Census of Plaquette and Medallion bindings”, no. 97h).
(6) Gaius Plinius Secundus, Historia mundi libri XXXVII (Basel: Hieronymus Froben & Nikolaus Episcopius, 1545). Louis de Sainte-Maure, marquis de Nesle (supralibros). — Guglielmo Bruto Icilio Timoleone, Count Libri (Libri-Carrucci) (1803-1869); Libri, Monuments inédits ou peu connus faisant partie du cabinet de Guillaume Libri (London 1964), Pl. XV; S. Leigh Sotheby & John Wilkinson, Catalogue of the reserved & most valuable portion of the Libri collection, London, 25-29 July 1862, lot 459 — Boone, London - bought in sale (£116) — Félix Solar (1815-1870); Charles Pillet & Jacques Techener, Catalogue de la bibliothèque de M. Félix Solar. Première partie, Paris, 19 November-8 December 1860, lot 537 — Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl Ashburnham (1797-1878); Sotheby Wilkinson & Hodge, Catalogue of valuable books and manuscripts selected from the library of a gentleman, London, 27-29 November 1896, lot 359 — Bernard Quaritch, London - bought in sale (£160) — Alfred-Louis Lebeuf de Montgermont (1841-1918); Édouard Rahir, Livres de la bibliothèque de M.L. de Montgermont (Paris 1914), item 178 — Édouard Rahir, Paris; Fernand Lair-Dubreuil, Henri Baudoin & Francisque Lefrançois, La bibliothèque de feu Edouard Rahir, ancien libraire. Première partie, Paris, 7-9 May 1930, lot 195 — unidentified owner - bought in sale (FF 176,000) — Cortlandt Field Bishop (1870-1935); Kende Galleries, The magnificent French library formed by the late Cortlandt F. Bishop; the property of Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Falcke, Lenox, Massachusetts, New York, 7-8 December 1948, lot 247 — Louis H. Silver (1902-1963) — Chicago, Newberry Library, Case 6A 157.Dorothy Miner, The History of bookbinding 525-1950 A.D. (Baltimore 1957), no. 277; Nixon, op. cit., p.151.
(7) Saint Justin Martyr, Les euvres de sainct Justin Philosophe & Martyr, mises de Grec en langage François, par Ian De Maumont (Paris: Michel de Vascosan, July 1559). The volume offered here.
(8) Polybius, Les Cinq premiers livres des Histoires de Polybe (Lyon: Jean des Tournes, 1558). Louis de Sainte-Maure, marquis de Nesle (supralibros). — Lichfield, Cathedral Library, BB40.Benedikt S. Benedikz, A New catalogue of printed books in the library of Litchfield Cathedral - 1998, p.313; Margaret S.G. Mcleod, The cathedral libraries catalogue: books printed before 1701 in the libraries of the Anglican cathedrals of England and Wales: Books printed on the Continent of Europe. Pt. 2, L-Z (London 1998), P-1359.
Forgeries 
(F-1) Lucanus, Pharsalia (Paris: Josse Bade, 1506) — John Blacker (d. 1896; Sotheby’s, London, Catalogue of a Remarkable Collection of Books in Magnificent Modern Bindings formed by an Amateur [recently deceased], 11 November 1897, lot 62), purchased by — Bernard Quaritch, London (£10). Current location not traced.
(F-2) Gaius Iulius Solinus, Rervm Toto Orbe Memorabilivm Thesaurus locupletissimus (Basel: Michael Isengrin, 1543) — John Blacker (d. 1896; Sotheby’s, London, Catalogue of a Remarkable Collection of Books in Magnificent Modern Bindings formed by an Amateur [recently deceased], 11 November 1897, lot 94), purchased by — (Sabin £11 5s) — Anderson Galleries, New York, Selections from the Private Library of the late George Merryweather … and others, 19–20 November 1930, lot 260, purchased by — unidentified owner ($55). Current location not traced.
Folio (334 x 214 mm). Roman type, 43 lines plus headline. collation: a–b6 B–Z6 Aa–Zz6 AA–FF6 GG8 (-GG8) ã6 ẽ6 í6 *4 **4: 351 (of 352) leaves (lacking presumed blank GG* [with blank **4]. Woodcut headpieces and foliated initials. Ruled in red. (Very occasional light browning or marginal foxing, some very faint marginal dampstaining.)
binding: Parisian tan calf (342 x 224 mm), ca. 1565, for Louis de Sainte-Maure, border frame painted brown within gilt fillets containing on inner side a decor of a continuous chain of three foothills outlined by a gilt fillet with ovals at angles, in center an elaborate oval cartouche composed of interlacing strapwork elements, painted brown or leaving exposed the tan calf, their edges highlighted in green paint, and with leafy forms at outer corners of cartouche, some points of intersection painted green, interstices stippled in gold, center of cartouche lettered in gold on upper cover “LOIS . DE . STE .| MAVRE . MAR |QVIS. DE | NELLE” and “CONTE DE | IOVGNI ET | DE | LAVAL” on lower cover, flat spine carrying over the decoration from covers, edges gilt and gauffered to an arabesque pattern. (Joints and spine-ends restored, light retouches to painted elements.) Brown cloth folding-box.
provenance: Louis de Sainte-Maure, marquis de Nesle (d. 1572; supralibros) — “De Joüy “ (eighteenth-century inscription) — Jacques-Joseph Techener, Paris (Techener, Histoire de la bibliophilie. Reliures, recherches sur les bibliothèques les plus célèbres d’amateurs, armorial des bibliophiles. Deuxième livraison [Paris, 1861–1864], Pl. 8; H. Lechat & Léon Techener with Auguste Aubry, Paris, Catalogue de livres anciens et modernes, rares et curieux, provenant de la librairie de Jacques-Joseph Techener Père, Troisième partie, 4–7 April 1865, lot 1585; H. Lechat & Léon Techener, Paris, Catalogue de livres anciens et modernes, rares et curieux, provenant de la Librairie J.-Joseph Techener Père. Douzième partie, 7 May 1866, item 16074), purchased by — unidentified owner (FF 2300) — François-Florentin-Achille, baron Seillière (1813–1873), Château de Mello (Maurice Delestre & Charles Porquet, Paris, Catalogue de livres rares et précieux, manuscrits et imprimés, composant la bibliothèque de feu M. le baron Ach. S******, 5–14 May 1890, lot 28), purchased by — Francis Greppe, Paris — Robert Hoe (1839–1909; Anderson Galleries, New York, 24–28 April 1911, lot 331), purchased by — unidentified owner ($1050) — Édouard Rahir, Paris (Henri Baudoin & Fernand Lair-Dubreuil with Francisque Lefrançois, Paris, 7–9 May 1930, lot 119), purchased by — Maggs Bros., London (FF 78,000) — Edmée Maus (1905–1971; exlibris) — Michel Wittock (1936–2020); Christie’s, Paris, 7 October 2005, lot 28 (unsold); Alde, Paris, 12 November 2015, lot 9. acquisition: Purchased at the 2015 Wittock sale through Robin Halwas. 
references: USTC 10233; for the binding, see Ruble, Notice des principaux livres manuscrits et imprimés, qui ont fait partie de l’exposition de l’art ancien au Trocadéro (Paris, 1879), no. 189; The Catalogue of Books from the Libraries or Collections of Celebrated Bibliophiles and Illustrious Persons of the Past, with Arms or Devices upon the Bindings exhibited at The Grolier Club in the month of January 1895 (New York, 1895), no. 37; Hoe, One Hundred and Seventy-Six Historic and Artistic Bookbindings … Selected from the Library of Robert Hoe (New York, 1895), no. 37; Shipman, A Catalogue of Books Printed in Foreign Languages before the year 1600, forming a Portion of the Library of Robert Hoe (New York, 1907), I, pp. 291–292; Cinq siècles d’ornements dans le décor extérieur du livre, 1515-1983, catalogue succinct des reliures exposées à l’occasion de l’inauguration de la Bibliotheca Wittockiana (Brussels 1983), no. 33; Culot, “Présence d’un bibliophile,” in L’Oeil: revue d’art mensuelle 348-349 (July-August 1984), pp. 34–37, Fig. 10; A. Hobson & Culot, Italian and French 16th-Century Bookbindings (Brussels, 1991), no. 52; Culot, “La reliure en Italie et en France,” in Bibliotheca Wittockiana, Musea Nostra 38 (Brussels, 1996), p. 33; Une vie, une collection: cinq siècles d’art et d’histoire à travers le livre et sa reliure: exposition à la Bibliotheca Wittockiana du 10 octobre 2008 au 28 février 2009 (Dijon, 2008), p. 15, no. 5.