CHOISEUL, Étienne-François de. Memoirs of the Duke of Choise - Lot 76

CHOISEUL, Étienne-François de. Memoirs of the Duke of Choiseul, former Minister of the Navy, War, and Foreign Affairs; written by himself and printed under his supervision in his study at Chanteloup in 1778. First commercial edition of these memoirs, in which the Duke of Choiseul recounts his ministerial career under Louis XV and reflects on the circumstances of his fall from grace. Chanteloup and Paris, published by Buisson, 1790. 2 tomes in 2 in-8 volumes, each bound in speckled brown half-calf with corners, smooth spine adorned with a gilded grotesque design, title label in brown leather and volume number in black leather, green edges. [2 ff.] - 271 and [1 f.] - 279 pages. Signs of wear, corners slightly rounded, labels at the bottom of the spines. First commercial edition, published five years after the death of the Duke of Choiseul (1719–1785). It was compiled by Jean-Louis Giraud Soulavie based on the edition that Choiseul had printed in 1778 at Chanteloup in a small print run for his inner circle. The Memoirs are followed by a three-act comedy, “Le Royaume d’Arlequinerie,” a fairy tale, “La Princesse enchantée,” and finally an Oriental tale, “La Queue de vache.” An ex-libris bearing the coat of arms of the von Nostitz-Wallwitz family, a noble house originally from Saxony, and an ex-libris bearing the motto “Conquer or Die.” A beautiful copy in an attractive binding.