Bibliothèque du Château de La Roche-Guyon. Provenant de la Succession de Gilbert de la Rochefoucauld Duc de la Roche-Guyon. [ Sotheby's Monaco S.A., auction catalogue, sale date: 8-9 December, 1987 ]

Sotheby's Monaco S.A., Monte Carlo, auction catalogue for the sale held on 8th-9th December, 1987. Laminated illustrated wrappers, 4to, 27 cm,. 233 pp, ills (some colour). Lots 300-1092. From the introduction: "The family of La Rochefoucauld had been established in the annals of France for over six hundred years when Francis, the sixth duke, published his Maxims in the middle of the seventeenth century. It was, however, by his marriage to Jeanne-Charlotte du Plessis Liancourt that the family acquired the titles and estates of Liancourt and La Roche-Guyon, situated on the Seine west of Paris, in addition to their old hereditary lands near Angoulême. The library reflects the literary achievements of the sixth duke and members of his distinguished circle, the closest of which were successively Madame de Chevreuse, duchesse de Longueville and Madame de La Fayette. Acquisitions to the library by his successors show a fascination with voyages and travel, although until the latter half of the eighteenth-century the dukes served the Crown at home in military campaigns and in the offices of grand veneur and grand maître de la garde-robe. The history of France, its great offices, nobility, and orders of chivalry are therefore prominent in the library. Neatly but regrettably colour-coded by the previous owner, a bookseller, with 6 coloured tape bands around the spine, otherwise Good.