Oeuvres du Comte Antoine Hamilton. Paris, 1760–1762. In six volumes, complete.

The collected works of Antoine Hamilton (c.1646–1720), the Franco-Irish court writer best known for his elegant and often playful prose, composed within the orbit of the exiled court of James II of England at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Hamilton’s writings blend court memoir, satire and conte, and his celebrated Mémoires du comte de Grammont remains one of the most vivid and enduring portraits of late seventeenth-century aristocratic life. His shorter tales, including Le Bélier and Les Quatre Facardis, reflect the French conte tradition, combining wit, fantasy and refined irony.

Printed by the Didot press in Paris, this is a well-produced eighteenth-century collected edition of his works. The present set comprises six volumes and appears complete as issued in this format, concluding with the second part of the Mémoires du comte de Grammont and a final “Fin” at the end of Volume VI. While some bibliographies record seven-volume configurations, six-volume sets such as this are also encountered and considered complete depending on issue.

Comprises:

Vol I: Le Bélier, conte (261pp) & Œuvres mêlées en prose et en vers; poésies (pp.262-335), 1762;

Vol II: Histoire de Fleur d’Épine, conte (205pp) & Œuvres mêlées en prose et en vers; De la vie dans la vieillesse (pp.206-318), 1762;

Vol III: Les Quatre Facardis, conte (256pp) & Œuvres mêlées en prose et en vers; chansons (pp.257-318), 1762;

Vol IV: Œuvres diverses du comte; avis du libraire; Œuvres mêlées en prose et en vers; lettres et épîtres (235pp) & Œuvres mêlées en prose et en vers; Zénéyde à Madame Dep... (pp.236-383), 1762;

Vol V: Mémoires du comte de Grammont, I. partie; Avertissement + épître à Monsieur le comte de Grammont (xxxvi) & Mémoires de Grammont (315pp), 1760;

Vol VI: Table des chapitres + Mémoires du comte de Grammont (340pp), 1760. With “Fin” at the end of this volume.

Published “De l’Imprimerie de Didot, rue Pavée”. In six volumes, complete. An early collected edition of the works of Antoine Hamilton, printed in Paris by Didot, 1760–1762.

A very good set of 6 volumes in full contemporary calf leather. With gilt tooled spines, raised bands, and burgundy and dark olive title labels. Covers with scuffing, bumping and wear, and joints rubbed, but all soundly bound. Gilt decoration to board edges, now largely rubbed.

Provenance: Although these volumes do not contain bookplates, they are from the library at Rossie Priory, the Perthshire seat of the Kinnaird family, Lords Kinnaird, a long-established Scottish family active in parliamentary, civic and reforming circles during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Endpapers with mild offsetting. Text is very good throughout – bright and clean with occasional usage marks.

An attractive and well-preserved eighteenth-century set.

Text in French.

Dimensions: each volume approx 144mm high x 90mm wide x 22mm deep.

Weight: approximately 1060g (the set, unpacked).