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 furnishing proof of it is a historical work on heraldry and genealogy written by the 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 recognized for his reference works on blazon, heraldry, and the rituals of the Ancien Régime society.

Classification of nobility: The book analyzes and ranks the different categories and origins of nobility of the period. Methods of proof: 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 discusses the use of supporting documents, acts, and quarters of nobility.

This description corresponds to a prestige copy, bound in bibliophilic style, of the Father Ménestrier’s aforementioned work. It is a common transcription error in sales or auction catalogues: the exact name of the family is Imbert de La Phalecque.

The binding: The volume bears a gold stamping on the spine or the cover, as well as the coats of arms struck in gold at the center of the first cover (the book’s upper cover). It is a mark of possession (a heraldic ex-libris) commissioned by its owner of the period.

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

The armorial binding: Owning a seventeenth-century book stamped with the arms of a noble family significantly increases its value compared with a classic brown calf binding of the period without decoration. Subject matter suitability: The arms of the Imbert de La Phalecque family provide a sought-after symbolic added value: the work concerns Proofs of Nobility and is specifically bound to the arms of a family of the Ancien Régime nobility. Moreover, Eugène-Adrien-Henri Imbert de La Phalecque (1822-1897) was a renowned historian and collector, which validates a high-quality provenance.

Epitre 12 pages not digitized
Preface 10 " " "
Of the various kinds of nobility 557 numbered pages
Four folding inserts (complete)