VITRUVE

Les Dix livres d'architecture, corrigez et traduits nouvellement en François, avec des Notes & des Figures. Paris, Jean-Baptiste Coignard, 1673. In-folio, red morocco, Du Seuil decoration, coat-of-arms surrounded by gilt lace in the center, ornate spine, interior roulette and on the edges, gilt edges (period binding). Fowler, n°418. - Cicognara, n°727. First edition of the French translation by Claude Perrault (1613-1688), the brother of the famous storyteller. It features an allegorical frontispiece by Sébastien Le Clerc and 65 large intaglio plates in the text. A morocco copy bearing the arms of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon (1670-1736), Duke of Maine and Count of Eu, legitimate son of Louis XIV, and Grand Master of the Artillery. Note that the coat of arms on the first plate, though identical in every respect to that on the second and good plates, is a little deeper in the morocco and stamped with a gold that does not appear in the same color as the border. This curious border, which surrounds the coat of arms and features a sun, can only be found in frames on books produced by the Imprimerie Royale. Smudging at the head of the frontispiece, and at the head and margins of a few leaves. Some leaves slightly foxed. Fine restoration to head and spine.