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Beautiful festival book, published on the occasion of the arrival of Marie de' Medici in Amsterdam

BARLAEUS, Caspar (BAERLE, Kasper van).
Marie de Medicis, entrant dans Amsterdam: ou histoire de la reception faicte à la reyne mere du roy tres-Chrestien.
Amsterdam, Joan & Cornelis Blaeu, 1638. Folio. With 17 engraved plates (1 frontispiece, 15 double page, and 1 folding), a woodcut coat-of-arms of the city of Amsterdam on the title-page, and two decorated woodcut initials. Near contemporary gold-tooled brown morocco, with the coat-of-arms of the Comte de Calenberg on both boards, a black morocco title label on the spine lettered in gold, gold-tooled board edges, gilt edges, marbled end papers. 97, [3 blank] pp.
€ 8,500
First edition in French of this superb Dutch festival book, celebrating the arrival of Marie de' Medici (1575-1642), queen-mother of France, in Amsterdam. Published simultaneously in French and Latin, it is the first official description of a royal entry in the Northern Netherlands. Marie de' Medici's ceremonial entrance was an important moment in the history of Amsterdam. Although her presence was a politically sensitive issue, she was received with great honour.
The present work, complete with all 17 engravings, is a beautiful visual and textual homage to this event. The beautiful plates were drawn and engraved by different artists. 9 were engraved after Claes Moeyaert (1592-1655), who designed the triumphal arch built for De' Medici's entry, as well as the dramatic tableaux based on her life that were shown to her. These 9 engravings depict these tableaux. The frontispiece, a portrait of Marie de' Medici, is drawn after a painting by Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656). The remaining 7 plates, engraved by Salomon Savery (1594-1666), represent the festival in exceptional detail. The folding plate, for example, shows the hundreds of boats and ships in the IJ, with the city in the background. The other topographic plates show the old city hall (burned down in 1652) and weigh house (demolished in 1808) on the Dam, and the triumphal arches built for the occasion (1 on an artificial island). All show the enthusiastic crowds gathered to celebrate Marie's arrival.
The present copy comes from the collection of Henry, Comte de Calenberg (1685-1772), who owned a substantial library which was housed either in Brussels or in Tournai. Many of his works were sold in Brussels in 1773, shortly after his death.
With an owner's inscription on the back of the front flyleaf ("call to pert: HB. Marck. 1850"). The corners of the boards are very lightly scuffed, the boards are lightly bumped and rubbed, with a small hole on the hinge on the back. The 17th-century marbled end papers have been repaired in the gutter with 19th-century marbled paper, the title page is somewhat browned and has been reinforced in the inner margin, a small water stain in the lower outer corner throughout, without affecting the text or plates. Otherwise in very good condition. Landwehr, Splendid ceremonies 109; Lipperheide 2665; Muller, Nederlandse historieplaten 1793 & supplement 1793; Snoep, Praal en propaganda, pp. 39-76; STCN 85007293X (11 copies); Vinet 489.
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Related Subjects:

Art, architecture & photography  >  Drawings, Prints & Watercolours
Book history, education, learning & printing  >  Bindings
Low countries  >  Amsterdam