SAINT-MAURICE, Robert-Alcide de Bonnecase, Sieur de] - Fleur - Lot 431

SAINT-MAURICE, Robert-Alcide de Bonnecase, Sieur de] - Fleurs, fleurettes, et passe-temps, ou les divers caractères de l'Amour Honneste. Paris, Jacques Cottin, 1666. In-12, (11) ff. 619 pp. yellowed paper, one leaf of the liminaires cut shorter, gilt morocco boards decorated in the Du Seuil style, spine ribbed and gilt. LEVER 165. First edition. Contains ten short stories. A rare and very singular work: these are little novels, interwoven with facetiousness and buffoonery, which the author calls Passe-temps. There are three of these Passe-temps that we recommend to fans of the genre: the Loterie des curieux; the Mariage de toute la nature, with the wedding feast, and a Récit à la Suisse; Almanzor, under the name of the Chevalier errant, or the Carrousel gothique. It's hard to imagine the weirdness of the said Passe-temps, which are sometimes very joyful (V. Bulletin du bibliophile 1858, p. 1242).