L’Imitation de Jésus-Christ / Traduite et paraphrasée en Vers François Par P. Corneille. — A Paris, Chez Pierre Rocolet, Imprimeur & Libraire ordinaire du Roy, au Palais, en la Gallerie des Prisonniers, aux Armes du Roy & de la Ville. M. DC. LVI. Avec Approbation des Docteurs, et Privelege de sa Majesté.

Paris: Pierre Rocolet, 1656.

Half-title: Les Quatre Livres de L’Imitation de Iesus-Christ. Traduites et paraphrasez en vers françois Par P. Corneille.

— pp.: ff [2 pictorial ht, verso blank] [2 title, blank] [10 epistre] [2 av lecteur] [2 approbation, frontis.] 1-551 [552-60 table, privilege] bf.

8vo, 24.7 x 18.7 cm, hardcover; full speckled brown calf, gilt double-ruled boards, spine with raised bands, gilt double-ruled compartments with lozenges, sprayed margins; pages darkened. Purple ink stamp of Diocèse de Valencia to half-title. Nut ink ex libris handwriting on front paste-down.

Plates: Half-title: unsigned copper engraving with the coat of arms of Pope Alexander VII (r. 1655 – 1667) which contains an oak tree in the top left and bottom right quarters (from Della Rovere family, Dukes of Urbino), the top right and bottom left quarters feature a mountain of six coupeaux in base with three stars above (from Chigi family). Four copper engravings inbound at the beginning of each book signed ‘F. Chauueau in et fe.’:

Page 1: Jesus teaches His disciple.

Page 113: Annunciation.

Page 183: Jesus meets Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.

Page 459: Last Supper.

François Chauveau (10 May 1613, Paris – 3 February 1676, Paris), a French painter and engraver.

Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 25 July 1471), a German-Dutch canon regular.

Pierre Corneille (1606 – 1684), a French poet and playwright.

Pierre Rocolet (1610 – 1662, active circa 1638 à 1662), a French publisher and printer.