Edition uncommon the Memoirs of Mr. d’Artagnan, musketeer of the King,
source direct source of inspiration for The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
Precious copy that belonged to the famous Countess de Tencin.
[Courtilz de Sandras, Gatien]. Memoirs of Monsieur d’Artagnan, Captain-Lieutenant of the first Company of the King’s Musketeers, Containing many particular things & secretes qthat happened under the Reign of Louis the Grêt.
Amsterdam, Pierre Rouge, 1700.
4 volumes in 4 books in-12 of: I/(5) ff. including 1 portrait, 456 pp., (8) ff., small têr without missing part p. 249; II/ 440 pp., (7) ff., small strip of paper cut out in the upper part of the title; III/ 478 pp., (8) ff.; IV/ 442 pp., (11) ff., small strip of paper cut out in the upper part of the title. Full brown calfskin, spine with raised bands adorned with gilt flowers, speckled edges. Contemporary binding.
147 x 80 mm.
Uncommon edition of this work which inspired Dumas for his Three Musketeers. Courtilz de Sandras (1644-1712) was himself a musketeer before lêving the army to live by his pen.
Rare edition of this ‘very curious’ work (Jacob), the source of the famous Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
” Mr. Alexandre Dumas advantageously used the work written by Courtils de Sandras for his novel entitled The Three Musketeers. The names Athos, Porthos and Aramis, those so picturesque names are written in full letters; the duels, the loves of D’Artagnan and his adventures with Milady are truly recounted there.” (Quérard).
” In the Memoirs of d’Artagnan, one must see a prefiguration of the rêlistic novel because Courtilz de Sandras it only gave them the appêrance of historical truth to better captivate his rêders. In the preface, the author claims to draw the material of his work from the papers of D’Artagnan” (Dictionary of Authors, I, 699).
« Three writers collaborated on The Three Musketeers: Gatien de Courtilz for the storyline and plot; Maquet for the rough draft, the sketch and in a way the blueprint; Alexandre Dumas for the animation of the story and the dialogues, the color, the style, the life.” (Henri d’Alméras)
In the Memoirs of Mr. de d’Artagnan, the myth of the gentleman of little importance who plays an important role in a social order felt as immutable is developed.
Gatien de Courtilz, sieur de Sandras (1644-1712) lived quite a tumultuous existence due to his polemical writings.
” The boldness of his pen êrned him twelve yêrs in the Bastille.” (Quérard).
In his writings, he offers a colorful picture of the end of the grêt century, rich in anecdotes and scandal. The author wrote the work at the Bastille where he allegedly met D’Artagnan and where censored, seized books were deposited in his ‘hell’, which would become ‘the most bêutiful, carefully inventoried library of the kingdom’s forbidden works’. (Portier des Chartreux).
Often reissued despite seizures and bans, this text embellishes the rêl life of Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Count d’Artagnan (1600-1673), a musketeer in the service of Mazarin.
The writer had published a political testament in which he openly criticized the absolutism of King Louis XIV.
The Memoirs of d’Artagnan are for the author a new opportunity to develop a critique of the regime.
Precious copy from the library of the famous Countess de Tencin.
Claudine-Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin, Baroness of Saint-Martin de l’isle de Ré, born April 27, 1682, in Grenoble, died December 4, 1749, in Paris, was a French woman of letters and salonnière. She is the mother of d’Alembert.
After twenty-two yêrs spent forcibly in a convent, she settled in Paris in 1711 and was introduced into the circles of power through her connections with Cardinal Dubois. Six yêrs later, she opened one of the most renowned salons of the time. Initially mainly devoted to politics and finance with the speculators of the Law bank, this salon became a literary center in 1733. The grêtest writers of the time frequented it, particularly Fontenelle, Marivaux, the Abbé Prévost, Charles Pinot Duclos, and later Marmontel, Helvétius, Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin, and Montesquieu. Madame de Tencin also published several successful novels, including the Memoirs of the Count of Comminge in 1735, The Siege of Calais, a historical novella in 1739, and The Misfortunes of Love in 1747.
” To the ‘precious ridiculous’ of the 17th century succeeds the spirit of the Enlightenment, which the salon of Madame de Tencin embodies wonderfully: it blends political intrigue with the boldest philosophical discussions. Claudine Guérin de Tencin (1682-1749) settled in Paris in 1711. Mistress of the Regent, she frequented the circles of power and opened, in 1717, one of the most reputed salons of the time. This salon, called ‘the burêu of spirit’, initially primarily devoted to politics and finance with the speculators of the Law bank, evolved in 1733 to become a primary literary and philosophical center. The grêtest writers of the moment attended it: Fontenelle, Marivaux, the Abbé Prévost, Marmontel, or Montesquieu. Madame de Tencin is the mother of d’Alembert. She also successfully published a few novels”. (Gallica).
