Sénèque. - Des bienfaits - 1663

Sénèque.
On Benefits (The Works of Seneca, from the translation by Pierre Du Ryer, of the Académie Française, Volume I).
Lyon, Christofle Fourmy, 1663.
Small 12mo. An allegorical engraved frontispiece, an engraved motto-title, a printed title, dedication to Camille de Neufville, engraved portrait of Seneca at the head of the text.
Contemporary binding in brown morocco, spine with raised bands (very worn, headcaps and joints damaged, boards rubbed), interior fresh despite light browning, small angular loss on a preliminary leaf without affecting the text. Old manuscript inscription on the slipcase dated “1837.”

Elegant Lyon edition of the famous French translation by Pierre Du Ryer, one of the most widespread versions of Seneca in the 17th century. It is enriched with a remarkable iconographic apparatus including an architectural frontispiece with medallions representing the principal Stoic philosophers, a motto-title, as well as a portrait of Seneca. Neatly printed by Christofle Fourmy, Lyon bookseller active in the mid-17th century, dedicated to the Archbishop of Lyon Camille de Neufville de Villeroy.