Printed matter

Incunable printed in Chambéry by Anthoine Neyret in 1486
French binding technique, 19th century, signed by Bauzonnet

This rare book is the first printed edition of the oldest treatise written in French on hunting.

Attributed to Henry de Ferrières, a Norman gentleman who composed it between 1354 and 1377, it contains a dialogue between King Modus (the Good manner) and various interlocutors on the life of animals and the manner in which they are hunted. Interspersed with this are chapters where Queen Ratio (Reason) gives a moral explanation on animals’ habits.

The edition is illustrated with wood engravings. The print characters imitate the handwriting used in manuscripts, many of which distributed this work.

Reigle généralle d’architecture des cinq manières de colonnes
Paris, Jérôme Marnef & Guillaume Cavellat, 1568
Origin: Charles Spencer Sunderland collection

Jean Bullant (1515-1578) was Anne de Montmorency’s (1493-1567) architect in Ecouen and Chantilly.
It was from the Corinthian order of the Pantheon in Rome that he drew his inspiration for the order with which he decorated the façade overlooking the courtyard in the Château d’Ecouen, considered as one of the first examples of colossal order in French architecture.

The drawings in his treatise on architecture were presented, for the first time, in 1564, geometrically. This second corrected edition is the most sought-after. It is illustrated with wood engravings and complemented by 5 splendid copper engravings by Bullant, independent of the text. A note by the Duke of Aumale states “unique in this state”.