Cardinal Richelieu 1585 1642 (4 results)

x, 259 pages. Paperback; H 21.5cm x L 13.75cm. Stiff paper covers with a few minor nicks at edges. Binding remains crisp and interior pages are bright and clean. A very good+ copy. ISBN 0582557100.

First UK edition hard back binding in publisher's original aqua blue cloth covered boards, blocked and lettered gilt back, and symmetrical gilt pattern to the front board. Quarto. 10½'' x 8¼''. Contains 267 pp with monochrome and colour illustrations throughout. Fine condition book in Fine condition dust wrapper, not price clipped. Member of the P.B.F.A. FRANCE [Literature & History).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. Woodman (illustrator). A splendid antique portrait, 1860 Mounted/matted and ready to frame. Attractive and decorative.

Full Leather. Condition: Good Plus. Third Edition. 12 mo. Pp. [22], 415, Two parts in one. Contemporary calf, gilt panelled spine between raised bands. Covers worn at extremities, joints cracked (but stlll holding firmly), head of spine a bit eroded, leaves lightly toned, ink inscription on title, but overall a nice clean copy. The Third Edition, the first and second appearing a year earlier in 1688. The "Political Testament" of Cardinal Richelieu, the great First Minister of Louis XIII, affords a unique insight into the character and ambitions of this remarkable prelate and statesman, who was chiefly responsible for the defeat of the Protestant cause in France, the ruin of the Hapsburg supremacy in Europe, and the restoration of the absolute power of the French monarchy. Because of its late posthumous publication, and the fact that it was compiled from the author's notes and dictations by an unknown hand, the authenticity of the work was questioned by many, including Voltaire, until Gabriel Hanotaux's discovery in 1880 of a major collection of Richelieu documents in the Bibliotèque Nationale, establishing its genuineness beyond a reasonable doubt.