Rare unsigned book bound for King Louis XV: Les Statuts de l'Ordre du St. Esprit estably par Henri IIIme du nom Roy de France et de Pologne au mois de Decembre l’An M.D.L.XXVIII. Paris: l'Imprimerie Royale, 1740. Hardcover bound in contemporary French red morocco gilt, 8.5 x 11.5, 296 pages. The handsome binding features dentelle gilt cornerpieces incorporating the dove of the Holy Spirit in a Rococo aureole; center gilt arms of Louis XV; the spine in 6 compartments, with 5 raised bands, of which 5 semé with fleur-de-lys and Pentecostal flames and one lettered with the title. Book condition: VG/None.
Olivier notes that royal copies of 'Les statuts de l’ordre du St. Esprit' [Statutes of the Order of the Holy Spirit] always bear this armorial (Olivier 2494.12) with its radiating crown in conjunction with the emblematic dove and surmounted by a Pentecostal flame. The New Order of Chivalry, the most illustrious of French Monarchy, was founded by Henry III, on December 31, 1578, dedicated to the Holy Spirit in memory of his accession to the throne of Poland (1573), then France (1574), on the day of Pentecost. The status was abolished in 1830, after the July Revolution. The order was also identified with the Order of the Knot ('Ordre du Noeud') and also as the Order of the Holy Spirit of the Right Will ('Ordre du Saint Esprit au Droit Désir') which had been founded in 1352/3 by Louis de Naples.
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