Duruy Histoire des Romains 1880-85 7 vol 3450 engravings 50 chromolithographs NR

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OFFERED WITH NO RESERVE THE 1880-85 GLORIOUSLY ILLUSTRATED ‘NOUVELLE’ EDITION OF DURUY’S ‘HISTOIRE DES ROMAINS,’ (‘THE HISTORY OF THE ROMANS’) – A VERY DESIRABLE SET, BEAUTIFULLY BOUND IN RICHLY GILT 19TH CENTURY BURGUNDY HALF-MOROCCO OVER MARBLED BOARDS, AND ADORNED WITH 3450 WOODCUT ENGRAVINGS, 50 CHROMOLITHOGRAPHIC PLATES, 51 MAPS AND PLANS (these together constitute the ‘100 cartes ou plans’ mentioned on the title page), COMPLETE AND IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE PRINCE & PRINCESS DE LA TOUR D’AUVERGNE-LAURAGUAIS. Duruy’s monumental ‘History of the Romans’ is exemplary because it represents a period when archaeology was just beginning to assert itself as a reputable science with a recognizable methodology. It is also a remarkable fusion of analysis concerning specific events, chronologies, social history and art history. Finally, Duruy’s ‘History’ is one of the most lavishly illustrated works ever published, including 50 chromolithographs 51 maps and plans and fully 3450 woodcut engravings. Chromolithography was an enormously difficult undertaking and its results produced illustrations capable of subtlety and artistic expressiveness that certainly had no printed parallel beforehand, and can be said not afterward to have been equalled even by photography. The full title reads as follows: “Histoire des Romains Depuis les Temps les plus Recules Jusqu’a l’Invasion des Barbares par Victor Duruy Membre de l’Institut, Ancien Minstre de l’Instruction Publique / Nouvelle Edition / Revuem Aygnebtee et Enrichie d’environ 3000 gravures dessinees d’apres l’antique et de 100 cartes ou plans / Tome 1 [to Tome VII] (Des Origines a la fin de la Deuxieme Guerre Punique) / Contenant 518 Gravures / 9 Cartes, 1 Plan et 7 Chromolithographies. / Paris / Librairie Hachette et Cie. / 79, Boulevard Saint-Germain, 79 / 1885 / Droits de propriete et de traduction reservee.” The first volume, published in 1885, covers the period from the origins of Rome to the end of the Second Punic War. It comprises 518 engravings, 9 maps, 1 plan and 7 chromolithographs. The second volume, published in 1880, covers the period from the Battle of Zama in the first triumvirate. It comprises 665 engravings, 7 maps and 10 chromolithographs. The third volume, published in 1881, covers the reigns of Caesar and Octavian, as well as the beginning of Octavian’s reign as Augustus. It comprises 602 engravings, 8 maps and plans, and 6 chromolithographs. The fourth volume, published in 1882, covers the period from the reign of Augustus to the beginning of the reign of Hadrian. It comprises 499 engravings, 6 maps, and 9 chromolithographs. The fifth volume, published in 1883, covers the reigns of Hadrian, Antoninus and Marcus-Aurelius; it also describes Roman society during the High Empire. It comprises 442 engravings, 3 maps, 1 plans, and 4 chromolithographs. The sixth volume, published in 1883, covers the period from the beginning of the reign of Commodus to the death of Diocletian. It comprises 602 engravings, 8 maps and plans, and 6 chromolithographs. The seventh volume, published in 1885, covers the period from the beginning of the reign of Constantine to the death of Theodosius. It comprises 276 engravings, 4 maps and 7 chromolithographs. THIS EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF THIS EXTRAORDINARY PUBLICATION IS FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS HENRI DE LA TOUR D’AUVERGNE-LAURAGUAIS. IN 1916, PRINCE HENRI DE LA TOUR D’AUVERGNE-LAURAGUAIS MARRIED ELISABETH BERTHIER DE WAGRAM, DAUGHTER OF THE THIRD PRINCE DE WAGRAM AND A MEMBER OF THE ROTHSCHILD DYNASTY. The House of De La Tour d’Auvergne includes within its lines the Counts of Auvergne and Boulogne, the Viscounts of Turenne and Princes of Sedan, and the Dukes of Bouillon and Albret. The line of De La Tour d’Auvergne-Lauraguais became in the 1896 the final surviving line of the House of De La Tour d’Auvergne. De La Tour d’Auvergne-Lauraguais are one of only six families (alongside the houses of Sav... read more

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