De Solleysel - Der Vollkommene Stall-Meister - 1706

THE PERFECT HORSE MASTER: A MASTERPIECE OF EQUESTRIAN ART, IN A FINE BINDING
An attractive illustrated treatise on the art of knowing, rearing and caring for horses, published in Geneva in 1706. A fundamental work by Jacques de Solleysel, among the great European masters of hippology in the Seventeenth century.
Enriched by a suggestive allegorical frontispiece and by a spectacular folded anatomico-didactic plate. Beautiful antique binding in light leather, richly decorated with dry tooling featuring frames and geometric motifs. A precious testimony of European equestrian culture, veterinary medicine and aristocratic tradition.

ABSTRACT
Jacques de Solleysel, Der Vollkommene Stall-Meister, Geneva, 1706. Important German edition of the famous French treatise Le Parfait Maréchal, originally published in 1664 and considered one of the reference works of European equine literature. The volume constitutes a true practical encyclopedia dedicated to the horse, systematically addressing the physical and morphological characteristics of the animals, the criteria for recognizing their virtues and defects, illnesses and related treatments, feeding, farriery, breeding, reproduction and riding techniques. Particularly interesting is the iconographic apparatus, including an allegorical engraved frontispiece depicting two monumental horses in a classical architecture and a large folded plate with a horse at the center of an elaborate diagram of correspondences and didactic indications. The volume also preserves a remarkable old binding richly impressed with dry tooling, of particular historical and decorative interest.

WHY TO BUY
A work of notable charm for collectors of ancient books, history of veterinary science, equitation, hippology and European aristocratic culture. Solleysel was one of the most influential authors in the transmission of equestrian knowledge between the XVII and XVIII centuries, and his manual represented for generations an essential tool for breeders, farriers, cavalry officers and stable owners. The Geneva 1706 edition belongs to the long editorial fortune of the treatise and documents the diffusion of French equestrian culture in German-speaking Europe. The grand folded plate, particularly scenographic and of notable iconographic interest, constitutes one of the most attractive elements of the exemplar. Added to this is the suggestive old binding, with dry tooling that gives the volume a strong antique character. A book that combines scientific interest, history of costume, illustrative prestige and material quality.

MARKET VALUE
The antique market for Solleysel’s works shows established interest, with valuations influenced mainly by edition, completeness of the plates, conservation and binding quality. For a Geneva 1706 edition exemplar like the illustrated one, a price range indicative of commercial value is between 850 and 1250 euros. The presence of the decorated antique binding and the large folded plate is a favorable element.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Old binding in light leather on stiff boards, with corded back and dry-printed decoration: wide concentric borders, floral and geometric friezes and an ornamental central panel showing signs of wear. This illustrated copy features an allegorical engraved frontispiece, figures in the text and two large folded plates. The folded plates show historical creases, signs of use and some irregularities along the folding lines. In old books with a long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the actual condition of the item. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. 14nn; 356, 2nn; 284.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Jacques de Solleysel.
Der Vollkommene Stall-Meister.
Genf, Chouet, de Tournes, Cramer, Perachon and Ritter, 1706.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In the Seventeenth century the horse represented a fundamental resource of European society: indispensable for transport, agriculture, communications, war and the representation of aristocratic prestige. Knowledge of its characteristics and diseases thus constituted a discipline of primary practical and economic importance. Before the full institutionalization of modern veterinary medicine, the experience of farriers, breeders and grooms constituted the main source of therapeutic knowledge about equines. Solleysel’s work sits in this tradition, distinguished by the breadth and systematic nature of the treatment. The manual not only describes the beauty of the horse and the principles of riding, but also addresses diagnosis of pathologies, remedies used at the time, practices of bloodletting and purgation, hoof care and breeding criteria. Therapeutic indications should of course be considered in their historical context, not as current veterinary prescriptions. The treatise marks the transition from a predominantly practical transmission of equestrian knowledge to its organization in large illustrated reference works. The international diffusion of the text contributed to the formation of a shared European culture for horse management.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Jacques Labessie de Solleysel (1617–1680) was a famous French riding master and author of one of the most influential European treatises devoted to the care and knowledge of the horse. Born near Saint-Étienne, he gained experience in aristocratic stables and during his travels, encountering different veterinary and equestrian practices. He served the count d’Avaux and deepened his knowledge also in the Germanic environment. His fame is mainly linked to the publication of Le Parfait Maréchal, appeared in 1664, a work that united the practical experience of the farrier with a structured account of the anatomical characteristics, pathologies and cures of equines. The editorial success was remarkable and the treatise was reprinted and translated repeatedly, continuing to exert important influence even after the author’s death. Solleysel is today recognized as a significant figure in the history of veterinary literature and modern equestrian culture.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The first French edition of Le Parfait Maréchal appeared in 1664 and underwent a long series of reprints and revisions, testimony to the spread of the work among horse professionals and educated readers. A first German edition, published in Geneva in 1677 under the title Der Wahrhafftig-Vollkommene Stall-Meister, contributed to the circulation of the treatise in Central Europe. The 1706 edition belongs to a subsequent phase of editorial revision and updating, in which the text was resold with additions and further lessons of equestrian art. In the same year there are documented editions with different editorial indications, including Geneva and Basel, which should not be automatically considered identical. No precise printing run is currently documented, and it would not be correct to attribute a number of copies to the edition without verifiable bibliographic testimony. The survival of copies in European specialist libraries confirms the historical importance of the work and its persistent relevance for studies of hippology and veterinary science. The exemplar described here also preserves the frontispiece specific to the second part, a circumstance that increases its bibliographic interest and clearly documents the editorial structure of the Geneva 1706 edition.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Library of Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Systematische Liste der Rara aus dem 16.–18. Jahrhundert, record of the Geneva edition of Der vollkommene Stall-Meister, 1706, in two parts of 356 and 284 pages. ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, copy of the Basel edition, David Ritter, 1706, shelf mark Rar 7389, digitized on the e-rara platform, DOI 10.3931/e-rara-28775. Reiss & Sohn, antiquarian catalogs, bibliographic descriptions of different Solleysel editions, with indication of the illustrative apparatus and editorial variants. Dorotheum, auction of 28 November 2024, lot 411, Jacques de Solleysel, Der Vollkommene Stall-Meister, Basel, 1706, hammer price 416 euros including fees. Annkatrin Gothe, Die Geschichte der Kaufuntersuchung bei Pferden, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, section dedicated to Jacques de Solleysel and the editorial history of his treatise. Antiquariat Atlas, bibliographic description of a Geneva 1706 edition exemplar, with notes on plates and collation.