Pierre Marteau - L'etat du siege de Rome - 1707

The State of the Seat of Rome (1708)
Volumes I–II

Two-volume French work 'The State of the Seat of Rome', Cologne (fictitious place of publication 'Pierre Marteau'), 1708, original leather bindings with back gilding. Contained therein the third volume 'Idea generale de la forme du Gouvernment, des Matieres et des maximes politiques de la coeur du Rome'

Bibliographical Description
The present item is a complete two-volume set of the 1708 edition. The place of publication 'Cologne, chez Pierre Marteau' is a classic fictitious imprint place frequently used for politically or church-critical literature. A more probable place of manufacture is the Netherlands.

Historical Significance
The work deals with the history, politics and families of the popes as well as the administration of the Holy See. It belongs to political literature of the early Enlightenment and documents the perception of the Roman Curia at the beginning of the 18th century.

Provenance
The pastedown ex libris reads 'Joan. Franc. Bosselaer, S.R.E. Protonotarius'. This provenance points to a high-ranking ecclesiastical dignitary and substantially enhances the historical appeal.

Binding and Condition
Original contemporaneous leather bindings with floral back gilding. Volume II shows wear at the top of the spine. The paper appears remarkably fresh; very little signs of moisture, fungus, print impressions, and copperplate frontispieces are well preserved.

Collector and Market Evaluation
Complete French early prints with original bindings and demonstrable provenance are sought after internationally. Particularly attractive are complete sets with good paper preservation.

The two volumes represent a culturally historic, more than 300-year-old work on papal and church history. The combination of original bindings, a complete two-volume set, frontispieces, and the ex libris of a papal protonotary makes the copy collectible and museally relevant.