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CABINET DU ROI
[Vues, entrées. Before 1727?]
[Vûes, entrées et autres sujets, servant a l'histoire de Louis XIV]
Paris (Place), [Imprimerie Royale],, [1700--1727?].
[22] engr. pl. ; 62.0 cm. (2°)

This untitled collection of engraved plates after A.F. van der Meulen by A.F. Boudewijns and others, largely corresponds to the suite titled as above in the 1727 catalogue of the engravings collectively known as the 'Cabinet du Roi'. Louis XIV's important chalcography collection was established in 1663, and in 1670 the prints of the 'Cabinet' began to be issued under the aegis of Colbert in a series of volumes designed to showcase the Sun King's patronage of the arts and sciences. Continually updated, this series did not achieve definitive form until 1727 when engravings from the 'Cabinet' were re-arranged for distribution by royal gift in bound sets of 23 folio volumes, the contents and arrangement of which were described in a separately printed catalogue entitled Suite et arrangement des volumes d'estampes, dont les planches sont à la Bibliothèque du Roy, Paris 1727; a further catalogue of contents was issued in 1743 under the title Catalogue des volumes d'estampes, dont les planches sont à la Bibliothèque du Roy, Paris 1743 (see Millard I, 46). For a description of a complete set of the 1727 issue see BAL, Early printed books, no. 518 and 518.A-Z; for the 'Vûes, entrées, ...' see no. 518.S. The above collation represents a complete copy of the present volume as described in the Suite et arrangement of 1727, pp. 21-22; the BAL copy consists of 23 plates including a final view of the Battle of Cassel (Kassel), 1677, which is not recorded in the copy of the 1727 catalogue at the Bibliothèque Nationale or present in the Soane copy.

Copy Notes The Soane copy is without four of the plates listed in the 1727 Suite et arrangement ('Vûë de la Ville & Citadelle de Cambray', 'Le Roy attaque la Citadelle de Cambray', 'L'Armée du Prince d'Orange défaite', and 'Entrée du Roy dans Dunquerque').

Binding C17th/C18th full red morocco, gilt triple-rule borders, upper and lower covers with gilt-stamped royal arms of France, gilt-tooled spine with cyphers of Louis XIV, gilt-lettered 'Veues / Entree / &c / Dapres / Vander' and 'Tom II', gilt edges, marbled endpapers. The binding matches that of two further contemporary volumes of 'Cabinet du Roi' plates in the Soane Museum, the 'Petites conquêtes' (q.v.) bearing no spine numbering, and the 'Paysages, morceaux d'études, &c. ...' (q.v.) numbered as tome III.

Reference Number 6704


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