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 providing evidence of them 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 renowned for his reference works on heraldry, armorial bearings, and the rituals of Old Regime society.

Classification of nobility: The book analyzes and hierarchizes the different categories and origins of nobility of the era. Methods of proof: It details the legal and practical rules for establishing the veracity of noble lineage, essential for entering certain orders, chapters, or court offices. Heraldic practices: The work addresses the use of supporting documents, deeds, and quarters of nobility.

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

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

The arms are those of the Imbert de La Phalecque family, a noble family of French Flanders and the North (notably linked 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 a member of the historical commission of the Nord department.

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 calfskin” binding without decoration. Suitability 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 a family of Old Regime nobility. Moreover, Eugène-Adrien-Henri Imbert de La Phalecque (1822-1897) was a renowned historian and collector, which validates high provenance.

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