ELZEVIER PRESS - PETITES RÉPUBLIQUES Complete series of Elzeviers' Petites Républiques...

ELZEVIER PRESS - PETITES RÉPUBLIQUES Complete series of Elzeviers' Petites Républiques, 37 works in 41 vol., engraved title-pages, woodcut initials, contemporary vellum with yapp edges, manuscript title on spines, light wear and light soiling, 16mo (110 x 650mm.), Leiden and Amsterdam, Elzevier Press, 1626-1649; together with 13 contemporary Républiques by other publishers such as Maire, Janson and Blaeu (57) Footnotes: COMPLETE SERIES OF THE PETITES RÉPUBLIQUES The Petites Républiques were published by the Elzeviers from 1625 to 1649. The core collection of 35 titles was published in Leiden by Bonaventure and Abraham Elzevier, the sixth son and grandson respectively of the press's founder, Louis Elzevier. An additional two volumes were printed in Amsterdam in 1641 and 1649 by Louis, another grandson of the original founder. The first title, Thomas Smith's Angli, de republica Anglorum, was published in 1625 and is represented here in its enlarged 1630 edition. The last title, Descriptio regni Japoniae in two volumes, was published in 1649. This series provided accounts of the history and current state of various nations and regions across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, drawing on the writings of past and contemporary scholars and travelers. These works, which can be considered as early portable travel guides, were highly valuable to the Dutch Republic and the Dutch East India Company. Johannes de Laet (1581-1649), the geographer, merchant, and founding director of the Dutch West India Company, edited many titles. Although modern bibliographies list 35 titles in the series, this collection contains 37, as it includes two additional works identified by Willems in 1880 (Alphonse Willems, Elzevier, Histoire et Annales Tyographiques, Brussels, G.-A. van Trigt, 1880): Hegentius' Frisio-Hollandicum (1630) and Sleiden's Quatuor Summis Imperiis (1631). The lot also includes the 1633 Elzevier printing of Grotius's Mare Libero, a work that symbolizes the Dutch Republic's prominence in global maritime trade. Furthermore, the lot also comprises thirteen supplementary titles published between 1630 and 1664 by other notable publishers - Johannes Maire, William Blaeu, and Jan Janson. These publishers were often considered collaborators or imitators of the Elzevier press, and their works have been frequently catalogued alongside the original Petites Républiques series. Complete sets are rare outside institutional libraries, where they are often cataloged by author or title rather than as a series. All but one title in this lot originally belonged to the Cornwell House library, likely assembled by the Penyston family over time. For a full list of titles please contact the department. Provenance: Cornwell House, ink stamp on the front free endpaper of most volumes and manuscript list of books dated 1754 tipped in one volume. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • • Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing