[Rarebooks] fs: 1693 -Labyrinth at Versailles

[Joslin Hall Rare Books, ABAA]

Perrault, Charles, et al. LABYRINTE DE VERSAILLES.

Paris; L'Imprimerie Royale: 1693.

A charming illustrated guidebook to the legendary Labyrinth at Versailles, 
built in 1664 by order of the Sun King, Louis XIV, for his son, the 
dauphin. The hedge-lined paths of this intricate maze contained a series of 
decorative fountains, each one representing a fable by Aesop, thus giving 
the young prince (and doubtless also many of the Sun King's courtiers) a 
moral lesson while entertaining and enthralling.

This guide to the Labyrinth and the fountains features full-page engravings 
of each fountain by Sebastien Le Clerc, with prose summaries of the fables 
and descriptive text by Charles Perrault, and metrical versions of the 
fables by Isaac de Benserade. The book also includes a short introduction 
and an overall plan of the Labyrinth, just in case... Present day visitors 
will have no such problems, as the Labyrinth was destroyed in 1774 to make 
way for classical gardens. Scarce; OCLC locates 7 copies.

Hardcover. 8"x6.5", frontispiece, title page, [iii] [i] 80 pages, 39 
numbered engraved plates, plus plates illustrating the entrance and the 
overall plan of the Labyrinth. Bound in new marbled boards with a leather 
spine with elaborate giltwork; new endpapers; moderate internal soil, some 
wear, a few marks, but overall a good copy. [07298] $1,500.00

Picture->
<http://www.joslinhall.com/images07/th-07298.jpg>

JOSLIN HALL RARE BOOKS, ABAA
Fine books of the 16th-20th centuries
on the decorative and fine arts & design

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