La joyeuse & magnifique Entrée de monseigneur Françoys, fils de France, et frère unicque du Roy, par la grâce de Dieu, duc de Brabant, d'Anjou, Alençon, Berri, &c. en sa tres-renommée ville d'Anvers.

Folio: [4]-46-[1] pp. (occ. marg. spotting, some light marg. dampstaining on pl.).

Contemp. overl. limp vellum, four leather ties, ink-titled spine (1 tie missing, light soiling). Very good copy.

First and only edition, with spectacular engraved illustrations: title with engr. architectural border and 21 double-page pl. (except pl. XVII on single p.) attributed to Abraham de Bruyn after Crispin van den Broeck, depicting
the festivities, triumphal arches and chars celebrating the "Joyous Entry" of Francois d'Anjou (1555-1584), as Duke of Brabant. Due to a typographical error, some ff. were reprinted, but others were omitted, such as ours, which bears a corrective insert on p. 10 ("dixneufiesme de Feburier") and which has retained an old spelling on p. 25 ("Son Alteze" and "entrãt"). Youngest son of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici, François was invited by William I, Prince of Orange (William the Silent) to become sovereign of the United Provinces. He entered Antwerp on 19 February 1582 for his coronation. Shortly afterwards, he decided to take Antwerp by force, failed and left the Low Countries in 1583 before dying of tuberculosis in June 1584.
Ref. Voet 1211. - Landwehr, LC, 38. - Berlin Kat. 2942. - Funck 309.