Description

Extraordinary facsimile edition of the early 15th-century manuscript “Français 616” from the National Library of France, known as the “Book of the Hunt of Gaston Fébus” (Gaston III Fébus, 1331-1391).

2017 edition, numbered, limited to 987 copies, and authenticated by a notary. Facsimile bound in Marroquin, 27.5 x 37 cm. 436 pages containing 87 splendid miniatures. Presented in a slipcase and accompanied by the corresponding 496-page study book illustrated in full color.

“The Book of the Hunt was written, or rather dictated to a scribe, between 1387 and 1389 by Gaston Fébus, Count of Foix and Viscount of Béarn, and dedicated to the Duke of Burgundy, Philip II the Bold. A man of complex personality and tumultuous life, Fébus was a great hunter and a great lover of books dedicated to hunting and falconry. The volume he painstakingly wrote was, until the end of the 16th century, the reference work for all enthusiasts of the art of hunting. Among the 44 surviving copies of this work, the manuscript Français 616 is undoubtedly the most beautiful and most complete. The text is written in excellent French, sprinkled with Norman and Picard characters. This manuscript, in addition to the Book of the Hunt itself, contains the Book of Prayers, also written by Gaston Fébus, as well as a second treatise called Déduits de la chasse (Pleasures of the Hunt), written by Gace de la Buigne. Its pages are illustrated with 87 miniatures of impressive quality, which are among the most attractive works of early 15th-century Parisian illumination. Moreover, few books dedicated to the art of hunting have a pictorial richness comparable to that of the Bibles.

This copy is in perfect condition, brand new, in its original packaging, complete.

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