P. Menestrier - Des diverses espèces de noblesse, et les manières d'en dresser les preuves - 1684

The various kinds of nobility and the ways of proving them is a historical work on heraldry and genealogy written by Jesuit Father Claude François Ménestrier (often abbreviated as P. Ménestrier) and originally published in 1682, then reissued in 1684.

Author: Father Claude François Ménestrier (1631-1705), a French Jesuit scholar renowned for his reference works on heraldry, armorial bearings, and the rituals of Ancien Régime society.

Classification of nobility: The book analyzes and ranks the various categories and origins of the nobility of the time. Methods of evidence: It details the legal and practical rules for establishing the veracity of noble ancestry, indispensable for entry into certain orders, chapters, or court offices. Heraldic practices: The work addresses the use of documentary pieces, acts, and quarters of nobility.

This description corresponds to a prestige, bibliophile-bound copy of the aforementioned work by Father Ménestrier. It is a common transcription error in sales or auction catalogs: the exact family name is Imbert de La Phalecque.

The binding: The work features a gilt title on the back or the cover, as well as the heraldic arms stamped in gold at the center of the first cover plate (the book’s upper cover). It is a mark of possession (a heraldic ex-libris) commissioned by its owner at the time.

The arms are those of the Imbert de La Phalecque family, a noble family of French Flanders and the Nord (linked notably to the history of the lordship of Lille and the commune of Lomme). Eugène-Adrien-Henri Imbert de La Phalecque (1822-1897), esquire, was a great scholar, historian, collector, and a member of the Nord department’s historical commission.

The armorial binding: Owning a 17th-century book stamped with the arms of a noble family significantly increases its value compared to a classic “brown calf” period binding without decoration. Relevance of the subject: The arms of the Imbert de La Phalecque family add the symbolic premium sought—the work deals with Proofs of Nobility, and is precisely bound to the arms of an Old Regime noble family. Moreover, Eugène-Adrien-Henri Imbert de La Phalecque (1822-1897) was a renowned historian and collector, which confirms a quality provenance.

Epitre 12 pages non numérisées
Préface 10 " " "
Des diverses espèces de noblesse 557 pages numérotées
Quatre plages dépliantes ( complètes )