Le Trésor des Almanachs, Etrennes nationales, considérablement augmentées. Etrennes nationales, curieuses et instructives enrichies de figures, d’anecdotes historiques, et d’une infinité de traits remarquables. Année bissextile 1788. Paris, chez Cailleau, [1787]. In-32 (9,5 x 5,7 cm). 143 pp. including table, half-title and title. Contemporary green morocco, smooth back adorned, gilt arms on covers in a gilt fillet with gilt floral spandrels, inner gilt wheel extending to the cuts, pink pastdowns with full gilded triangular motifs, gilded edges.
Almanac printed in very small type, Le Trésor des Almanachs covers the years 1779 to 1823. “The years 1788 and 1792 are in attractive bindings with lace and small trophies on the covers” (Meunié catalog), here replaced by the Queen’s coat of arms.
The copy includes a frontispiece, popular woodcut representing the “Apperçu de l’Assemblée des notables, tenue à Versailles, en Février 1787”, the title in red and black, and 12 woodcut vignettes in bandeau representing the main episodes in the reign of the kings of the second race (Pepin le Bref, Charlemagne, Louis le Débonnaire, Rolon, Hugues Capet, etc.) printed opposite each month. “ Valuable for popular imagery, this almanac, despite its horribly badly drawn illustrations, seems to have been a great sales success.” (Carteret).
Le Trésor des almanachs is also of great interest. By reading the table of contents, we can appreciate the importance of the information provided: solar and lunar astronomical table, chronology of the kings of France, royal family of France, genealogy of Louis XVI, State of France, Wonders of Paris with their dates of access to the public, administration of Justice, ecclesiastical France, historical and curious description of the provinces, public and private libraries, generalities of the provinces, Persons in place with their days of audience, Universities, academies and literary societies, arts and crafts, fairs and markets, weights and currencies, states of empires, kingdoms and republics with their wealth and populations, stagecoach and boatcoach schedules, Paris public carriages and their prices, mail collections with taxes, curious experiments on the probabilities of longevity, Mont-de-Piété, weights and measures (including salt and coal), currency exchange, etc.
Depicted on the frontispiece, “L’Assemblée des notables”, convened by Louis XVI, was held from February 22, 1787, at the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs in Versailles, to May 25 of the same year, to submit the financial recovery program proposed by Calonne. The project, which Calonne had presented to the King on August 20, 1786, envisaged making up the deficit by introducing a tax, the subvention territoriale, to be levied on land that had hitherto been free of rights. The program also included a stamp tax and the abolition of chores.
The assembly included the 7 major princes of the blood (the Count of Provence, the Count of Artois, brothers of the King, the Duke of Orleans, the Prince of Condé, his son, the Duke of Bourbon, his grandson, the Duke of Enghien, the Prince of Conti), 7 archbishops, 7 bishops, 6 dukes and peers, 6 non-peer dukes, 8 marshals of France, intendants, parliamentarians, deputies from the Pays d’États, representatives of the town councils of the kingdom’s largest cities, making a total of 147 people. Made up of property owners, the majority were hostile to the proposed reforms. Calonne was dismissed by Louis XVI on April 9. On April 23, the King gave a speech based on Loménie de Brienne’s proposals. He announced the maintenance of yhe tax of twintieth and the extension of the stamp tax. The assembly was thanked on May 25 for agreeing to a new loan, but it had referred the decision on new taxes to the Estates General and wanted the King to be placed under the supervision of a financial committee.
Almanach with Marie-Antoinette’s coat of arms. Cohen mentions a precious copy of the Trésor des Almanachs with Marie-Antoinette’s coat of arms for the year 1786 (no. 72 in the Savigny collection), without specifying whether it is a Morocco or what colour. Our copy could be of the same type.
Grandcarteret, Les Almanachs français, 617 ; Savigny de Moncorps, Almanachs illustrés du XVIIIe siècle, n° 110 [in another binding]; Catalogue d’une jolie collection d’almanachs illustrés des XVIIIe & XIXe siècles […] provenant du cabinet de feu M. Félix Meunié, n° 592 [copy without coat of arms] ; Précieux Almanachs du XVIIIe siècle […] collection de M. Marcel Silvain, n° 83 [in another binding]. Cohen, Livres à gravures, col. 73. Armes: J. Guigard, p. 97, very slight variant tool n° 2 ; OHR, pl. 2508, very slight variant tool n°4.
Slight wetness on last leaf, a few discreet brown spots on binding, faded gilding on edges. A rare and precious copy.
2 500 €