[Anónimo] - Discours de la deffaicte des troupes du Sieur de Sainct Laurens ... [ejemplar único] - 1597

Unique known specimen, and in an extraordinary state of preservation, of this very rare brochure reporting the military defeat suffered in 1597 by the troops of the lord of Sainct Laurens in the region of Saint-Malo, located in Brittany, France.

Sainct Laurens fought in the service of Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, duc de Mercoeur, a prominent military leader and member of the Catholic League who fought for the political independence of Brittany from the kingdom of France, which was under the House of Bourbon.

The importance of this document is notable from a historical and bibliographic perspective. There is another printed edition in Lyon from the same year, whose text seems to match that of the copy we offer (although not its typographical composition), and another printed in Rouen by a different author and with different content. Both editions are preserved in copies by the BnF.

This printed edition in Paris seemed to be unknown until now, as no copies appear in the BnF or the Colective Catalog of France (CCFr). It is also not listed in Spain (not in the BNE or the CCPB) nor in Italy (absent in the ICCU).

The condition is virtually perfect, and the item features a beautiful modern leather binding decorated with blind embossing, signed 'Camacho'.

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Discourse on the disbanding of the troops of Sieur de Sainct Laurens, commander at Dinan for the Duke of Mercury, at Saint Syriac near Saint Malo in Brittany.— In Paris: by Claude de Monstr’oeil …, 1597. — [2], 5 pages, [1] page in blank; 8.º.

Check: [ ]1, A3 (revised and complete).

Beautiful woodcut ornament on the cover.

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Beautiful 20th-21st century binding in brown leather signed 'Camacho' (an artisan workshop founded in 1975 in Madrid). Decoration features embossed floral motifs on the corners and the center of both covers; the spine with five raised bands outlined by embossed fillets, with small floral motifs in the center of the bands and the title and year stamped in gold characters. In addition to the endpapers, the binder added three more leaves at the beginning and end of the book to give the volume greater stability.

Copy in a magnificent condition. Binding clean and solid, with only a very slight superficial scratch on the front cover's leather as a notable detail. The paper is also in excellent condition, with no tears, stains, or annotations.

Exlibris of Francisco Mendoza Díaz-Maroto, distinguished Spanish bibliophile, author of several publications related to bibliophilia and, especially, to the literature of cordel in Spain.