Adrien Baillet - Histoire des Princes d’Orange de la Maison de Nassau - 1693

The “presumed” author of the text, Adrien Baillet (1649-1706), was a French theologian and man of letters. He is best known as René Descartes’s first biographer with: La vie de Monsieur Descartes.
This book was attributed to him after the 1703 publication of his Histoire de Hollande depuis la trêve de 1609, où finit Grotius, jusqu’à nôtre tems, published under the pen name of M. Balthazar d’Hezenail de La Neuville.

1 volume: engraved title + title + (10) ff + 501 pages (1) ff - A coat of arms on the title page with the motto: “de la(?) cour est mon espérance.”
Complete with the 7 engraved portraits depicting the Princes of Orange: Guillaume I (p.1), Philippe Guillaume (p.74), Maurice (p.90), Frédéric-Henri (p.110), Guillaume II (p.131), Guillaume III (p.146), as well as Marie (p. 288), Queen of England and Princess of Orange.
À Amsterdam, chez Paul Marret - 1693 (the first edition dates from 1692, by the same publisher).
Duodecimo.
Posterior half-binding in burgundy lambskin - Spine with false band - Title label.

Rubbed spine with damaged title label - Small split in one joint - The top margin is short - Very minute spots of foxing - Good copy.