Solleysel - Le Parfait Mareschal - 1744

EQUITATION, MASCALCIA AND EQUINE MEDICINE – THE GREAT ILLUSTRATED MANUAL OF EUROPEAN HIPPOLOGY
Important seventeenth-century edition of the famed Le Parfait Mareschal by Jacques de Solleysel (1617-1680), one of the foundational texts of European literature dedicated to the horse, equitation, and veterinary medicine. First published in 1664, the work enjoyed extraordinary editorial success and remained for over a century one of the main manuals for riders, breeders, blacksmiths, and horse owners. Solleysel systematically addresses choosing the horse, conformation, defects, breeding, feeding, care during travel, shoing, diseases and their remedies, as well as the use of the different types of bits. This Paris edition of 1744 preserves the rich illustrative apparatus with an engraved frontispiece, 2 plate engravings outside the text – one of which is folded – and 27 woodcut illustrations dedicated to horseshoes, bits, and equestrian equipment. The period binding in full marbled calf with a richly gold-decorated spine is notably elegant.

WHY TO BUY
GRAND EUROPEAN HORSE CLASSIC! One of the most influential texts on hippology and veterinary science of the Ancien Régime.
MEDICINE + FERRING + BREEDING! A true practical encyclopedia of the horse.
ILLUSTRATED EDITION! Frontispiece, engraved plates, and 27 woodcuts dedicated to hardware, bits, and equestrian equipment.
COeval! Contemporary calf binding in full morocco with ornate gold decoration.

MARKET VALUE
Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century editions of Le Parfait Mareschal retain strong interest among collectors of hippology, equestrianism, veterinary science, and the history of science. For a complete copy of the two parts with the full illustrative apparatus, housed in an attractive contemporary binding, a realistic retail value is in the €700-1,200 range, with potential asks higher for particularly fresh copies in exceptional condition.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION
4to. Pages (4), 6 preliminary leaves, 512, 10 leaves, 376, 12 leaves, (2). Engraved frontispiece; 2 plates outside the text, one folded; 27 woodcuts in the text. Two parts with their own title pages. Contemporary binding in full marbled calf, spine with raised bands and rich gold decoration in the compartments, marocco label with title in gold. Holes from wood-boring insects concentrated along the upper inner white margin of some leaves; occasional halos and damp stains. Spines with minor defects and losses; lower corners of the boards worn. As with all old volumes, slight defects or restorations not expressly mentioned may be present.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Jacques de Solleysel, sieur du Clapier (1617-1680).
Le Parfait Mareschal.
Paris: chez Pierre-Jean Mariette, 1744.
Illustrated edition in two parts.
Pages (4), 6 preliminary leaves, 512, 10 leaves, 376, 12 leaves, (2).
With engraved frontispiece, 2 textless plates and 27 woodcut illustrations.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Jacques de Solleysel, sieur du Clapier (1617-1680), was one of the most influential écuyers and ippiatri of seventeenth-century France. A deep practitioner of equestrian craft and horse care, he was closely tied to the aristocratic academies and gained wide renown as a master of riding and a specialist in equine diseases. His practical experience formed the basis of Le Parfait Mareschal, a work where direct observation, traditional mascalcia, and clinical attention come together in an expansive system. The work achieved extraordinary success: the treatise was continually reprinted, expanded, and translated into several languages, becoming one of the leading European manuals on the horse. Solleysel significantly contributed to the gradual transformation of traditional hippiatry into a more rational, observational discipline, paving the way for the birth of modern veterinary medicine.

RARITY
Le Parfait Mareschal appeared in numerous editions and is not rare in the absolute sense; however, complete copies of the two parts with the full illustrative apparatus, preserved in good contemporary binding, are markedly more desirable. The 1744 edition represents one of the fine seventeenth-century impressions of the text and preserves its encyclopedic character. The presence of the frontispiece, the plates, the numerous woodcuts, and the original full leather marbled binding greatly enhances its collectible appeal.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
Le Parfait Mareschal holds a fundamental place in the history of horse medicine and in the transition from traditional mascalcia to modern veterinary medicine. Solleysel addresses symptoms, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of equine diseases with a strong emphasis on practical experience, also critically discussing traditional procedures such as bloodletting and purgation. But the work goes far beyond medicine: it covers shoing, feeding, selection of foals, travel, bits, training, and daily management of the horse. The volume thus reconstructs the entire material and technical universe of the horse in Ancien Régime Europe, when the animal remained essential for war, travel, agriculture, transport, and aristocratic representation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mennessier de La Lance, Essai de bibliographie hippique, II, p. 525.
Huth, Works on Horses and Equitation.
Podeschi, Books on the Horse and Horsemanship, Paul Mellon Collection.
Brunet, Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres.
Bibliothèque Mondiale du Cheval, entry Jacques de Solleysel.
Bibliographic repertories dedicated to mascalcia, veterinary medicine and European equestrian literature.