"Reflections sur quelques parolles de Iesus Christ. Particulierement sur les sept dernieres parolles qu'il a prononcées sur la Croix. Pour servir d'un saint entretien a l'ame chretienne pendant la messe".

12mo: [3 bl.]-[136]-[15 bl.] pp., all framed with red and green fillets, written with pen and black ink, titles and intials in red and blue ink (some lvs browned, foxing, offsetting on some lvs, marg. restoration on 2 lvs).

Contemp. dark red morocco, gilt dotted fillet surrounding the boards, gilt little tool in the corners, gilt and decorated spine with raised bands, all edges marbled and gilt (sl. rubbing, upper turn-in lacking, used corners).

Remarkable work dedicated to "Madame de Maintenon", alias Françoise d'Aubigné (1683-1715), Marquise de Maintenon, second wife of King Louis XIV. It is superbly calligraphed and decorated with 1 front., 1 framed title, 6 full-page illustrations or framed titles, 15 vignettes or tailpieces and 17 illuminated capitals, drawn with pen in black or grey, sometimes enhanced with watercolours. Our manuscript was probably made after the book published and entirely engraved by Nicolas Bonnart, without date (estimated between 1690 and 1700 according SUDOC), and with the dedication to Mme de Maintenon signed "N.D.T.". In our copy, this dedication is signed "A.D.V." and the name and address of Antoine de Villars (rue Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre) appears on the frontispiece, with his monogram surmounted by a count's crown. Therefore he is not Louis-Antoine de Villars-Brancas, who was Duke. It is a bit strange because Villars, which was promoted to the rank of county from 1497, became a marquisate in 1565 and a duchy in 1705.
Ref. CCFr. - BnF-Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal ("Ancien fonds des manuscrits français", num. 2553 : "Ce volume n'est point un manuscrit, il est entièrement gravé et signé de N. Bonnart au bas de la page 98").