BEAUCHAMPS (Pierre-François Godard de).Recherches sur les th - Lot 11

BEAUCHAMPS (Pierre-François Godard de).Recherches sur les théâtres de France, Depuis l'année onze cens soixante-un, jusques à présent.Paris : Prault père, 1735. - 2 volumes in-4, 300 x 230 : (6 ff.), 166 pp., (1 f.), 160 pp. 1 table ; pp. 161-334, (1 f.), 321 pp. 1 table. Bradel-style boards, smooth spine, untrimmed (19th-century binding).Bibliothèque dramatique de Monsieur de Soleinne, vol. V, Paris, 1843-1844, p. 270. First edition, dedicated to the Duc de Villeroy, of this key work on the history of theater in France, from its medieval origins to 1735. Beauchamps offers a unique synthesis, combining biographies, chronological analyses and repertories, which still make it a major reference. The author traces the evolution of theatrical forms - from mysteries and farces to ballets and comedies - and draws on a wealth of documentary material, without explicitly revealing the contributors. The edition includes two fold-out tables out of the text, and is decorated with copper engravings (title vignette, 10 headbands, 10 lettering and 6 culs-de-lampe). A precious and rare copy in in-4 format, fully interleaved and enriched with 18th-century handwritten notes. Although some annotations may have been attributed to Beauchamps, their content suggests an external hand, probably that of someone close to the author. These valuable additions complement the original text with corrections, biographical additions and bibliographical references, including works published up to 1769 - a date later than Beauchamps' death (1761). From the libraries of Henri Tronchin (1794-1865), federal artillery colonel and founder of the Société Évangélique de Genève, and Swiss lawyer and art collector Pierre Sciclounoff (1926-1997). Cracked hinges. Provenance: Henri Tronchin, with bookplate and label of the Domaine de Bessinge. - Pierre Sciclounoff, with bookplate.