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[CALVI François de]
Histoire generale des larrons divisee en trois livres. I. Contenant les cruautez & meschancetez des volleurs. II. Des ruses & subtiliez des couppeurs de bourses. III. Les finesses, tromperies, & stratagemes des filous.
Rouen, chez Jaques Cailloüe, 1639
£1850.00
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8vo. three vols in one. pp. (viii) 270 ; (xvi) 209 (i) ; (viii) 236 (iv) [last two leaves blank.] Roman letter, woodcut ornaments on all three titles, woodcut initials, head and tail pieces, faint early armorial stamp on title, very occasional light spotting, original printing flaw on Kk3 resulting in slight loss of text. A very good copy in early nineteenth century French polished calf by Bozérian Jeune, spine richly gilt in compartments, green morocco title label gilt, covers bordered with a double gilt filet and gilt dentelle roll, inner dentelles gilt, all edges gilt Rare edition of this hugely popular work on the history of thieves, con men, pickpockets, and murderers and the second complete. The first part had been published in 1623, the second and third parts in 1625, an English translation was published in1638, and further collected editions until 1709. Two other editions appeared at Rouen in the same year by L'Oyselet and J. Berthelin respectively, it is probably a shared imprint. We have been able to locate only one other copy of this Jacques Cailloüe edition, at the Universitätsbibliothek Mainz. The first book concerns the "cruelties and wickedness of thieves", the second "The ruses and & subtleties of pick pockets", and the third "the finesses, trickeries & strategies of con men." All three provide fascinating descriptions of the stratagems of all sorts of villains, with detailed descriptions of the most famous criminal cases in France during the reign of Henry IV, including vivid descriptions of punishments and in some cases trials. The author insists that the work is useful for detecting and avoiding the devices of all sorts of thieves, especially robbers, but at the same time he emphasizes their "drolleries" and "tromperies" and it is sometimes difficult to know whose side he is on, with his admiring descriptions of the brilliance of certain techniques of theft and con-men. It is the precursor of a lot of sensationalist criminal reporting of the next two centuries as well as modern detective fiction. It is also a fascinating piece of social history, which much uncommon detail of the lives of ordinary people in early C17th France. Not much is known of the author, though we learn in the third book he was from Lyon and had traveled into "les pays d'au delà des monts" (his name suggests Italian origins), and he speaks, with amused bitterness, of his experience of Italian women; "toute l'Italie n'est qu'un bordel general". "recueil des aventures des plus célèbres voleurs depuis le règne de Henri IV jusqu'à l'époque de l'impression de l'ouvrage. C'est, je crois, le livre le plus complet sur cette matière; il contient le récit de 70 assassinats, vols et escroqueries" Viollet Le Duc, "Bibl. poétique", 1847, t. II p. 216. "Tout l'ouvrage est à consulter pour qui veut connaître à fond les ruses des larrons, alias des argotiers". Yves-Plessis
An excellent copy, given that most editions printed in Rouen were printed on cheap paper, well bound by Bozérian Jeune; "His exact relationship to the elder Bozérian (possibly his brother), with whom he seems to have worked in close contact for some four or five years, at any rate on the wholesale bindery side is also unclear. H. Béraldi (La reliure) gives his years of activity as 1805-1818 and he appears in the Almanachs at 31 rue de Tournon from 1809-1816. On the other hand, Thouvenin states he started working with Bozérian Jeune as early as 1802. The Bozérian brothers were capable on occasion of really fine comissioned work. The vast majority of Bozérian bindings offered to the public, consists of the output of their well organised and efficient bulk binderies. These generally produced excellent work from the technical point of view. Utility bindings seem to have been done in the main, and very competently." British library database of bindings.
Not in BM STC Fr. C17. Brunet III 204 (other editions). Graesse III 294 (other editions).
L990
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