Luc de Courchetet d'Esnans

Histoire du Cardinal de Granvelle

Paris: Jacques-François Duchesne, 1761. First and only eighteenth-century edition.

Duodecimo (165 × 95 mm). Engraved portrait frontispiece. Contemporary French calf.

An Enlightenment Biography of Habsburg Power

Published in Paris in 1761, this is the first archival-based biography of Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (1517–1586), influential advisor to Emperor Charles V and an important Renaissance collector of books and bindings. Courchetet d'Esnans, a magistrate and secretary to the Hanseatic cities in Paris, drew on Habsburg state papers to integrate narrative, documentary evidence, and the material culture of collecting.

Printing & Historical Context

Issued by Jacques-François Duchesne, this sole eighteenth-century edition reflects the Enlightenment turn toward documentary historiography, with sustained attention to Granvelle's celebrated library. (In the Bibliotheca Brookeriana sale, a number of other lots were described as coming from Granvelle's library; this copy is offered for its textual and historical importance and its modern provenance.)

The Engraved Portrait

Complete with the engraved portrait of Cardinal Granvelle preceding the title. Crisp and well preserved.

Collation

Duodecimo. π³ A–2B¹² 2C⁸ 2D¹ = 542 leaves. Roman type, 29 lines plus headline. Engraved portrait preceding title; woodcut printer's device on title-page; woodcut initials and head- and tailpieces. Complete.

Binding

Contemporary French calf (170 × 105 mm). Frame composed of a single gilt fillet. Spine with five bands and gilt compartments; dark brown morocco title-piece. Plain edges stained red; marbled pastedowns and endleaves.

Condition

Very Good or Better. Slight browning toward edges with some spotting. Binding slightly worn at extremities, wear to head of spine, and joints beginning to crack; boards firm and sound.

Bibliographical References

Barbier II, 773; Quérard III, 728; Brunet II, 1745; Cioranescu 21034.

Provenance

From the library of T. Kimball Brooker, Chicago, with the red "TKB" bookplate and shelf tag. Sold at Sotheby's, Bibliotheca Brookeriana, Part VII, Lot 1638 (11 July 2025), where acquired by the present owner.

A Book of Scholarship and Provenance

A significant Enlightenment biography uniting political history with the culture of Renaissance book collecting, preserved in contemporary French calf and carrying blue-chip Brooker provenance.

Carefully packed and shipped. Questions welcome.