Etienne Marcel Prevot des Marchands (1354-1358)

Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1874. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 4to 11" - 13" tall. Uncommon in the trade, there being currently few copies available. Etienne Marcel (born somewhere between 1302 and 1310, died on 31 July 1358) was Provost of the merchants of Paris under King John II of France, called, according to his Wikipedia entry, "John the Good (Jean le Bon). He distinguished himself in the defence of the small craftsmen and guildsmen who made up most of the city population. As a delegate of the Third Estate, he played an important role in the general assemblies held during the Hundred Years' War. In 1357, he found himself at the head of a reform movement that tried to institute a controlled French monarchy, confronting the royal power of the Dauphin or heir to the throne. This set is comprised of a tall, heavy, folio hardcover format volume, measuring 10 1/4" x 13 3/4" wide and tall, respectively, featuring bright yellow, newer endpapers in stiff card stock, creased, mildly soiled, and with some moderate chipping of paper to spine head and foot, lightly along extremities. Light toning to first free endpaper, very light waffling to text block, but remarkably bright and clean of interior. Clearly enough, unused. Published in Paris, France in 1874. From the publisher's blurb, "Le present ouvrage, agree en 1869 par l'ancienne Commission municipale des Travaux histroriques, et imprime en placards, aurait paru en 1870, si les circonstances en avaient permis la publication. Repris en 1871, dans l'etat ou les evenements l'avaient lasse, c'est-a-dire prive des reproductions de miniatures et de documents originaux reunis par l'auteur et detruits dans l'incendie de l'Hotel de Ville, il eut pu etre publie dans les premiers mois de 1872; mais d'autres ouvrages.........". This volume covers the period 1354-1358, with xliii, 395 pp., complete with a Table Alphabetique des Matieres.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.