La joyeuse & magnifique entrée de Monseigneur Françoys, fils de France, et frere unicque du Roy, Duc de Brabant, d'Anjou, Alençon, Berri, &c. en sa tres-renommée ville d'Anvers. by FRANCOIS, DUKE OF ANJOU (1555-1584)

Antwerp: Christophe Plantin, 1582. Folio (12 6/8 x 8 4/8 inches). Title-page with fine engraved allegorical border, 21 fine double-page engraved and etched plates, including one folding, attributed to Abraham de Bruyn and Crispin van den Broeck, woodcut initials (short tear in plate XVIII without loss, some pale marginal staining). Contemporary vellum over pasteboard, two pairs of leather ties (crease in front cover, lightly soiled); modern cloth folding box. Provenance: Later ownership inscription of Sarah Sophia Banks (1744-1818), antiquarian and sister of Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) signed "S.S. Banks 1813" in the top left-hand margin of the preface); Richard Gurney (sold to Gourary 1954). The Paul and Marianne Gourary Collection of Illustrated Fete Books "Splendid Ceremonies", with their small bookplate on the front paste-down. THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING First edition and the only and spectacularly illustrated edition of an anonymous account of the triumphant entry into Antwerp of Francois, Duke of Anjou (1555-1584), the youngest son of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici, and younger brother of King Henri III of France, on the 19th of February 1582. In 1579, Francois was invited by William the Silent (William I, Prince of Orange 1533 -1584), to become hereditary sovereign to the United Provinces. On September 29, 1580, the Dutch States-General (with the exception of Zeeland and Holland) signed the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours with the Duke, who would assume the title "Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands" and become the sovereign. In 1581 the United Provinces formally declared their independence from Philip II and Spain. The ambitious Francois had spent much of the previous two years engaged in wooing Queen Elizabeth I of England, and attempting to maneuver a marriage that would have resulted in his becoming King of England, and so arguably the most powerful man in the world. He was the only one of Elizabeth's many suitors to court her in person. Although he was more than half her age and badly disfigured by smallpox there is much evidence that the Queen was genuinely fond of him and seriously considered his suit. She endearingly referred to him as her little "frog": whether on account of a frog shaped jewel he gave her, his fearsome looks, or the fact that he was French, history does not relate. Unfortunately many of Elizabeth's advisors and the mood of the English people were against the union. In a letter to Elizabeth Sir Philip Sydney wrote in 1579: the "hearts [of the English people] will be galled when they shall see you take to husband a Frenchman, and a Papist...the very common people well know this: that he is the son of the Jezebel of our age". The magnificent plates include a very fine and detailed map of the city of Antwerp, its harbour and fortifications, showing the moment of Francois's disembarkation and reception by William of Orange; Francois's coronation as sovereign of the United Provinces; his procession through the city; the many tableaux, triumphal arches, and floats depicting classical figures and beasts; and an elephant with a castellated houda; and the oath of loyalty on the crowded great square in front of town hall. Less than a year later Anjou's political ambition led him to attack Antwerp, which ended in a military debacle. From the distinguished library of the sister of celebrated botanist Sir Joseph Banks, Sarah Sophia Banks, whose large collection of coins and ephemera are now in the collections of the British Musem. Berlin 2942; Funck 309; Destailleurs 222; Landwehr 38; Vinet 476; Voet 1211. Catalogued by Kate Hunter.