Noms Surnoms, Qualités, Conditions et Armoiries blasonnées de Messieurs les Prevost des Marchands et Echevins de la Ville de Lyon [.] Présenté à Noble David Flachat Ecuyer. Par son trés humble et trés obeissant serviteur P. F. Chaussonet Armorialiste de la Ville.

Chaussonet, Pierre-François.

Published by [Lyon, 1749-1755].

About this Item

4to (270 x 220 mm). French manuscript, ink and watercolour on paper. (125) ff. with 10 written pages and (82) pp. with pasted, hand-coloured printed coats of arms. Contemporary full calf. All edges red. Armorial with the coats of arms of 270 Lyonnais city officials from 1595 to 1750, with later additions to 1755. The title-page with the dedication is followed by a 9-page alphabetical index of family names and the years of service of 258 officials, many serving several terms, until 1750. A full-page coat of arms of the dedicatee David Flachat (1708-54), "Écuyer" (Steward) of Lyon in 1749/50, heads the arms section. On all but five of the 81 pages, the coats of arms are organized in tree diagrams with the "prévôt des marchands" (dean of the city guilds, the de facto mayor) on top and his four deputies or "échevins" (jurymen) in a single row below. The five other pages record only two "échevins". The coats of arms include the names, titles, and tenure of office in letterpress printing (with two handwritten exceptions). All coats of arms and captions or empty cartouches, for the few handwritten records, were printed, hand-coloured, cut out, and pasted into the manuscript. Starting with the title-page, all pages are framed within hand-drawn brown and yellow borders. - The offices of the "prévôt des marchands" and "échevin" of Lyon were established by King Henry IV of France in 1595, as stated in the full title of the manuscript, and the men elected for the two-year terms were automatically ennobled. The city-government of Lyon was organized as decreed by Henry IV until 1790, following the example of Paris. - In his office as official chronicler and herald of Lyon, Pierre-François Chaussonet produced a very limited number of almost identical copies of this armorial, dedicated to members of the city government such as Flachat. One copy is in the municipal archive of Lyon (shelfmark 17Fi 129), another was sold in 2011 at Kapandji Morhange in Paris (lot 155, 2600). - Binding rubbed and chafed, edges and spine scuffed. Pages foxed with some staining, several pages wavy from the glue, some minor tears. Seller Inventory # 52835

Bibliographic Details

Title: Noms Surnoms, Qualités, Conditions et ...

Publisher: [Lyon, 1749-1755].