ACADEMIE FRANCAISE. Recueil de plusieurs pieces d'eloquence et de poesie presentees a l'Academie Francoise pour le prix de l'annee M.DC.LXXIII [M.DC.LXXVII]. Paris, chez Pierre Le Petit, 1673-77.
12mo. 2 vol. 180 + 98ff. In contemporary sprinkled calf (not uniform), gilt spines.
FIRST EDITIONS of the second and fourth biennial prizes for eloquence in prose and poetry given by the Academie Francaise and still in existence today. This prize was first conceived by Jean Louis Guez de Balzac, the celebrated writer, in 1653, one year before his death and he willed to the Academie a sum of two thousand livres (invested with the publishers, Camusat, Courbe and Petit) for a prize of two hundred livres (in the form of a gold medallion) for the worthiest piece from a list of his ten chosen subjects. After a delay of seventeen years the first awards were made in 1671 with the prize for poetry being funded separately by three unknown academicians. In 1673 the prose subject (which had been set by Balzac) was De la science du salut oppose aux vaines & mauvaises connoisances, & aux curiosites blamables & defendues. There were eleven entries and the prize was won by the Abbe de Melun de Maupertuis. The poetry prize was won by Charles Claude Genest for an ode Sur l'honneur que le Roy a fait a l'Academie francoise, en acceptant la qualite de son Protecteur & la logeant au Louvre. In 1677 the prose prize (another set piece by Balzac) was won by Nicolas le Tourneux for his essay on Sur la purete de l'Esprit & du corps... and the poetry winner was La Monnoye for his Sur l'Education de Monseigneur le Dauphin. There were four runners-up in each section. First editions of the early Recueils are now rare.
£350
This item is listed on Bibliopoly by Hesketh and Ward Ltd.; click here for further details.