A seventeenth century Paris printing from the age of Louis XIV
This 1681 edition of Oraisons Funèbres by Esprit Fléchier offers a refined example of French classical oratory at the height of the Grand Siècle. Printed in Paris by Antoine Dezallier, the volume gathers the funeral orations that brought Fléchier early acclaim and ultimately helped secure his place within the ecclesiastical and literary circles of Louis XIV’s France.
Among the speeches included is the celebrated oration for Julie Lucine d’Angennes, Duchesse de Montausier, a central figure at the royal court and a noted patron of letters. Fléchier’s style, admired for its clarity, controlled emotion, and moral seriousness, reflects the intellectual discipline of the period as well as the social function of the funeral oration as a form of public rhetoric. These texts reveal the cultivation of virtue, lineage, and royal favour at a moment when France stood at the cultural centre of Europe.
The volume is preserved in its original seventeenth century full leather binding with raised bands and gilt tooling along the spine. The boards show the wear one expects from a book of considerable age, with surface abrasions and losses to the leather, yet the structure remains sound. The marbled endpapers and red sprinkled edges retain much of their early character, and the interior is clean and complete with only gentle toning and occasional small spots. It is an appealing and authentic survival of Parisian bookmaking in the late seventeenth century.
As a historical object, the book offers insight into the literary life of Louis XIV’s reign. It embodies the convergence of classical rhetoric, court culture, and French print craftsmanship. For collectors of early French literature, seventeenth century bindings, or European cultural history, this edition represents a meaningful and decorative acquisition.
A seventeenth century Paris printing from the age of Louis XIV
This 1681 edition of Oraisons Funèbres by Esprit Fléchier offers a refined example of French classical oratory at the height of the Grand Siècle. Printed in Paris by Antoine Dezallier, the volume gathers the funeral orations that brought Fléchier early acclaim and ultimately helped secure his place within the ecclesiastical and literary circles of Louis XIV’s France.
Among the speeches included is the celebrated oration for Julie Lucine d’Angennes, Duchesse de Montausier, a central figure at the royal court and a noted patron of letters. Fléchier’s style, admired for its clarity, controlled emotion, and moral seriousness, reflects the intellectual discipline of the period as well as the social function of the funeral oration as a form of public rhetoric. These texts reveal the cultivation of virtue, lineage, and royal favour at a moment when France stood at the cultural centre of Europe.
The volume is preserved in its original seventeenth century full leather binding with raised bands and gilt tooling along the spine. The boards show the wear one expects from a book of considerable age, with surface abrasions and losses to the leather, yet the structure remains sound. The marbled endpapers and red sprinkled edges retain much of their early character, and the interior is clean and complete with only gentle toning and occasional small spots. It is an appealing and authentic survival of Parisian bookmaking in the late seventeenth century.
As a historical object, the book offers insight into the literary life of Louis XIV’s reign. It embodies the convergence of classical rhetoric, court culture, and French print craftsmanship. For collectors of early French literature, seventeenth century bindings, or European cultural history, this edition represents a meaningful and decorative acquisition.
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