The Unvarnished Poet – 1696 First Edition – Satire – Old Book – 17th Century

Satirical speeches in verse, in Cologne First edition of 1696: Collection of epigrams, odes, songs, tales, by François Gacon (1667-1725). Leather binding, brown calfskin. Ribbed spine, red and gold title label, garlands on the cuts. Format in-12, (9.5 x 15 cm) Complete collection. 183 pages + Preface (4 pages) + Speech to the King (5 pages) + Table in-fine (4 pages). Edition without Privilege, published outside France: “unauthorized” work, known as “peddling”. Beautiful solid work (caps present), easy to read, with wear and tear over time: slightly rubbed binding, slightly cracked joints, slightly blunted corners, cracks on the spine (caused by reading), and some scattered foxing of the paper. The work ends with the famous Tale of Boudin, a magnificent scene from the life of the 17th century couple between a “Manant” and “his wife”. Beautiful cul-de-lampes adorn the text. François Gacon (1667-1725), nicknamed “unvarnished poet”, was known for his satirical writings on his contemporaries of the 17th century: Boileau, Fontenelle, Bossuet, Rousseau, etc. His epistles on La Fontaine (page 103), in particular, earned him several months in prison. He received the Poetry Prize from the French Academy in 1717, without ceremony in order to draw attention to his work, which was highly contested but recognized as a “beautiful pen”. He died in 1725 at the priory of Baillon where he resumed the habit in 1723, tired of the literary and political quarrels with which he was burdened.