The Bourbon Prince: The History of The Royal Dauphin, Louis XVII of France
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1853. First American edition. Hardcover. 12mo (6 3/4 x 4 1/2"). X, [11]-202, 6pp (Publisher's advertisement). Original blind-stamped olive cloth, with gold lettering to spine. Engraved frontispiece portrait of the Dauphin.
First American edition on the life, captivity, and death of Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France (1785-1795), the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette.
When his father was executed on January 21, 1793, during the middle-period of the French Revolution, he became (nominally) King of France and Navarre in the eyes of the royalists. However, since France was by then a republic, and Louis XVII had been imprisoned from August 1792 until his death from illness in 1795 at the age of 10, he was never officially king, nor did he rule. His title was bestowed by his royalist supporters and acknowledged implicitly by his uncle's later adoption of the regnal name Louis XVIII rather than Louis XVII, upon the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1814.
This little book is illustrated with six full-page engravings (including frontispiece).
Some rubbing to head and tail of spine. Binding sunned along spine and edges. Minor age-toning along paper margin. Binding in overall good-, interior in very good condition. g- to vg. Item #41480
Price: $75.00