1659 Scarce French Book set - The Imitation of Christ - 117 illustrations.
Author: Thomas à Kempis. (Pierre Corneille, translator).
Title: L'Imitation de Jésus-Christ, Traduite et paraphrasée en Vers François par P. Corneille. (Complete 4 books bound in 2 volumes).
Language: Text in French.
Publisher : Rouen, Imprimé à Rouen pour L. Maurry, pour Robert Ballard, feu imprimeur de la musique du Roy, à Paris, 1659. (Complete 4 volumes bound in 2 books).
Size : 6 " X 4 " .
Pages: Volume I, 416 pages including Book 1(chapter I-XXV), Book 2(chapter I-XII), Book 3(chapter I-XXX) -- Volume 2, 304 pages including Book 3 (chapter XXXI-LIX), Book 4(chapter I-XVIII).
Binding: Attractive, beautiful and very good full morocco binding "à la Du Seuil" (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown, E.G. initials on the lower part of the spine, as shown) under a removable protective mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright and tight, rare light foxing and staining, ink stamp monogram E.G and ink stamp of the library of "Grand Séminaire de TOURS" on title pages - as shown).
Illustrations: Including 117 beautiful full-page illustrations.
Estimate: (USD 1000 - USD 1800)
The books: Scarce 17th century illustrated French edition of The Imitation of Christ -- a Christian devotional book by Thomas à Kempis, first composed in Latin (as De Imitatione Christi) ca. 1418–1427. It is a handbook for spiritual life arising from the Devotio Moderna movement, of which Kempis was a member.
The Imitation is perhaps the most widely read Christian devotional work next to the Bible,[and is regarded as a devotional and religious classic. Its popularity was immediate, and it was printed 745 times before 1650. Apart from the Bible, no book had been translated into more languages than the Imitation of Christ at the time.
The author: Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 25 July 1471; German: Thomas von Kempen; Dutch: Thomas van Kempen) was a German-Dutch canon regular of the late medieval period and the author of The Imitation of Christ, one of the most popular and best known Christian devotional books. His name means "Thomas of Kempen", Kempen being his home town.