1687 Scarce French Book - Mercure Galant with Folding CASTLE NUOVO illustration

 

Author : Jean Donneau de Visé
Title : MERCURE GALANT Dédié a Monseigneur le Dauphin, Novembre 1687.
Language : Text in French
Publisher : A Lyon, Chez Thomas Amaulry, 1687. First edition.
Size : 6 " X 4 "
Pages :  211 pages.
Binding : Good full calf leather binding (overall worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective mylar cover.
Content : Good content (tight, some staining and foxing).
Illustrations : Complete with the Very nice folding illustration of Castel Nuovo (English: "New Castle"), often called Maschio Angioino (Italian: "Angevin Keep"), -- a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall (Palazzo San Giacomo) in central Naples, Campania, Italy. Its scenic location and imposing size makes the castle, first erected in 1279, one of the main architectural landmarks of the city. It was a royal seat for kings of Naples, Aragon and Spain until 1815.

The book : Scarce 17th century edition of this  Mercure galant founded by the writer Jean Donneau de Visé in 1672. The name refers to the god Mercury, the messenger of the gods; the title also echos the Mercure françoys which was France's first literary gazette, founded in 1611 by the Paris bookseller J. Richer. The magazine's goal was to inform elegant society about life in the court and intellectual/artistic debates; the gazette (which appeared irregularly) featured poems, anecdotes, news (marriages, gossip), theatre and art reviews, songs, and fashion reviews, and it became fashionable (and sometimes scandalous) to be mentioned in its pages.