Saint Jérôme - Les Lettres de S. Jerome - Paris - 1679

The Letters of S. Jerome - New Translation 1679 Paris Couterot - Antiporta - Complete
DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK:
Splendid seventeenth-century specimen of "The Letters of S. Jerome" (Le Lettere di San Girolamo) in the sought-after Traduction Nouvelle (Second Edition corrected & augmented), printed in Paris by bookseller Jean Couterot in 1679. The volume gathers a precious selection of 92 letters from the famous Doctor of the Church, divided into three books, with the text entirely in French.
ICONOGRAPHIC APPARATUS:
The book is adorned with a magnificent initial illustrated plate (antiporta) engraved full-page on copper by the renowned Baroque artist Landry, depicting Saint Jerome in penance in the desert with his classical iconographic attributes (the skull, the lion and the crucifix). In the center of the title page is present a second refined vignette engraved which portrays the Saint.
INTERNAL CONDITION (Excellent):
The inner pages are in excellent preservation. The seventeenth-century Parisian paper is thick, creaky, very sound and retains notable freshness. The text is sharp and easily readable, free of modern restorations, water damage, worm tracks, or heavy foxing. The work has been fully checked and is perfectly complete in every part: it includes all pages of the preface, Landry’s antiporta, the 680 pages of text, and the final 14 pages of the index and the Privilege of King Louis XIV.
EXTERNAL CONDITION (Good with signs of aging):
The binding is original to the period (contemporary) in full brunet tanned calfskin. The five raised spine bands are very elegant, richly decorated in compartments with refined floral motifs impressed in gold with hot irons, and preserves the original leather label with the title Lettres de S. Jerome. The side joints and the exterior tools are solid and structurally sound, ensuring a firm hold of the volume. Typical and normal signs of aging on the exterior are noted, with very slight detachments of leather at the ends of the spine (cuffs) and corners of the boards somewhat worn from use, entirely natural defects for an authentic book that has traversed almost 350 years of history and testifies to its original charm.