L’Oreille Dv Prince.
Paris, J. Febvrier (or Février) 1582.
8vo (159 x 98 mm.). [iv], 121 [r. 123], [1 blank] leaves.
Jansenist crushed red morocco (Trautz-Bauzonnet, extremities rubbed), gilt-lettered spine, all edges gilt.
First Edition. The Ear of the Prince urges an unnamed ruler — clearly Henri III — to be righteous, select wise councilors and not be led astray by flatterers. In fact, Henri surrounded himself with a group of young men called les mignons, widely disparaged for their debauchery and possible homosexuality. The poet compares their unfortunate influence to that of an evil enchantress and to that of Thomas Cromwell, the English “royal liar”, executed in 1540. Henri fell to the assassin’s knife in 1589.
Twelve shorter poems — verse adaptations of ancient prose authors and moral satires — follow, interspersed with sonnets, all with various dedicatees, including several Bretons of which two are women. Du Buys later complained he had not been involved in the publication process due to illness. I locate two copies in American libraries. In good condition, morocco bookplates of Robert Hoe (1839-1909; Catalogue (1911) 1101) and Swiss bibliophile J.-P. Barbier-Müller (1930-2016).
¶Smith, The Anti-Courtier Trend in Sixteenth Century French Literature 173-5; Poirier, Henri III de France en mascarades imaginaires 105; Bergounioux, Du Quercy en Cornouaille: Guillaume Du Buys p. i, no. I; Barbier-Müller, Ma bibliothèque poétique IV(1): 364-6,59 (this copy).
Price: $4,500.00