Institvtion pour l’Adolescence du Roy Treschrestien Charles Nevfviesme De Ce Nom.
Paris, G. Buon 1562.
4to (209 x 151 mm.). [ii], [9]p.
Gilt-ruled crushed crimson morocco (P.L. Martin), gilt spine and title, all edges gilt; crimson paper slipcase.
Composed for the newly crowned eleven-year-old Charles IX (1550-74) on the eve of the French Wars of Religion, this verse Mirror of Princes by the prince of poets and poet of princes promotes virtue and a humanist education as the foundation of a successful reign. Ronsard advises the boy-king to avoid sycophants, to fear God, to think carefully about every edict, to wage only just war, to prize friends over wealth, to govern his kingdom as he governs his household and, above all, to study rhetoric, history, music, mathematics and medicine. Barely a decade later, Ronsard composed a funeral eulogy for his monarch. Ronsard’s verse “impresses by the breadth of its imaginative vision, by its copious diversity and energy, by the suggestiveness of his images, by the sensitive interplay between syntax, rhythm, and musicality, and by the consummate skill with which he surpasses and personalizes the models and conventions which have inspired him” (Oxford Companion to Literature in French).
This is one of four editions or issues printed in 1562 by Buon under his privilege (priority unresolved). The text also immediately appeared in Toulouse, Lyon and Antwerp. I locate no copy of this printing in U.S. collections. In fine condition (a few spots), bookplates of discriminating Swiss heiress Edmée Maus (1905-71), French diplomat André Rodocanachi (1914-2001) and Swiss bibliophile J.-P. Barbier-Müller (1930-2016).
¶Barbier-Müller, Bibliographie des Discours Politiques de Ronsard 14; Barbier-Müller, Ma bibliothèque poétique II: 31 (this copy); Kelso, “Supplementary Bibliographical List for The Gentleman” in Doctrine for the Lady of the Renaissance 424; Brunet IV: 1382.
Price: $25,000.00