[Rarebooks] fa: HISTORY OF CARDINAL ALBERONI, CHIEF FAVOURITE of the SPANISH MONARCHY - 1719

[ArCh]

Listed now, auction ending Sunday, November 3. Images and more details can be found at the URL below or by searching for the seller name arch_in_la. 

http://tinyurl.com/yyx233jp

Thanks again,
Ardwight Chamberlain
Ann Arbor, MI, USA

[Jean Rousset de Missy:] The History of Cardinal Alberoni; Chief Favourite of their Catholick Majesties; and Universal Minister of the Spanish Monarchy; From his Birth to the Year 1719. To which are Added Considerations upon the Present State of the Spanish Monarchy. Faithfully Translated from the Originals. London: Printed for Sam. Illidge under Serle's-Gate, Lincolns - Inn New Square; Tho. Corbet at Addison's Head without Temple-Bar; and Hen. Riboteau at the Crown near Exeter-Exchange in the Strand, MDCCXIX [1719]. First edition; 8vo (20 cm) in early/period paneled calf, spine with gilt-tooled decorations and morocco label; [2] + 264 pp; engraved portrait frontispiece. ESTC T133758.

Giulio Alberoni (1664-1752) was an Italian priest of humble origins who rose to an exalted position in the court of Philip V of Spain, eventually being made a duke, a grandee of Spain, and a cardinal, and serving as the king's chief minister. Ultimately, he maneuvered Spain into a disastrous war with Britain and France, for which he was dismissed from office, and in 1719, the year of this work's publication, he was banished from Spain. As well as a statesman, he was also a noted gourmet and advised the Spanish court on menus and table etiquette. Several dishes in his native country are named for him (e.g., coppa del cardinale). Binding with bumping/wear to the corners and cracking to the joints, but both boards are secure; some browning to the frontispiece and title-page, light toning to the leaves, a few small scattered spots, else quite clean and crisp, firmly bound.