Bidspirit auction | Moreyra, Manuel de Sousa –

Moreyra, Manuel de Sousa – THEATRO HISTORICO, GENEALOGICO Y PANEGYRICO ERIGIDO A LA IMMORTALIDAD DE LA EXCELENTISSIMA CASA DE SOUSA, &c. Paris. En La Emprenta Real. Por Juan de Anisson, Director de dicha Emprenta. 1694. 48 – 986 – (14) pp. 36 cm x 26, 6 cm. Bd. - Moreyra, Manuel de Sousa – THEATRO HISTORICO, GENEALOGICO Y PANEGYRICO ERIGIDO A LA IMMORTALIDAD DE LA EXCELENTISSIMA CASA DE SOUSA, &c. Paris. En La Emprenta Real. Por Juan de Anisson, Director de dicha Emprenta. 1694. 48 – 986 – (14) pp. 36 cm x 26, 6 cm. Bd. “This book is without doubt, for its time, a remarkable monument of the typographical art, and for us, important for the information it contains (…) It is said that this work was composed at the request and through the diligence of Cardinal [D. Luís de] Sousa, who, wishing to eternalise the memory of his ancestors, chose for that undertaking Dr Manuel de Sousa Moreira, regarded as one of the most judicious men of his age (…). The same cardinal, at great expense, ordered it to be printed in Paris, at the Royal Press, at his own cost, and likewise had engraved the thirty portraits, exquisitely executed by Giffart, representing the forebears of the House of Sousa from its origins to the time of the book’s publication.” (Innocêncio, T. VI, pp. 114-115). This work — indeed a monument of typographical art — opens with an allegorical frontispiece dated 1693, by the painter and engraver Brás de Almeyda (1649–1706), and includes 32 engravings by Pierre Giffart (1637–1723), a member of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. These engravings comprise 30 portraits of the Lords of the House of Sousa and two additional plates depicting monuments associated with the family. Beyond these, the book’s graphic excellence is evident in its 31 allegorical headpieces, 32 decorative initials opening the chapters, 25 tailpieces, and in the additional engravings on p. 171 (arms of the Sousa family) and p. 179 (a knight mounted on a horse caparisoned with the Sousa arms), together with other details that make this volume a landmark of seventeenth-century typographic art. The text recounts the history of the illustrious House of Sousa, represented by the branches of Arronches and Lafões, but the common trunk of many noble houses — Miranda, Palmela, Angeja, Vimieiro, Borba, Nisa, Melo, among others — whose genealogies include many figures of great importance in the history of Portugal. At the opening, the work — dedicated to Charles, Prince of Ligne (husband of the 2nd Marchioness of Arronches) — includes several poems dedicated to its author, Father Manuel de Sousa Moreyra (Mogadouro, c. 1648 – 1722). A graduate in Canon Law from Salamanca and a member of the Royal Academy of History, Sousa Moreyra was also considered in his day a poet of distinction. Verses in his honour were written by such eminent contemporaries as the Counts of Tarouca and Ericeira, Heitor de Brito Pereira, Viscount of Asseca, Manuel Nogueira de Sousa, Francisco Mascarenhas Henriques, João Pereira da Silva, Francisco Bernardes de Figueiredo, Júlio de Melo e Castro, Sebastião Pereira Pimentel, and others. Good general condition. Solid early binding with competent later restoration to the spine. All edges gilt, though now slightly dulled. Minor rodent nibbling to the top edge, of no significance (cf. photographs). Interior generally clean, with only occasional browned or acidified leaves. Minor and very marginal worm traces, and small recent restorations to the leaves corresponding to pp. 25–26 and pp. 91–92. A good, well-preserved copy.