La Haye, Steucker, La Haye, Steucker1674 ; in-12, veau fauve marbré, dos à nerfs et décor doré, tranches rouges. (Reliure du XVIIIe siècle) 10 ff. n. ch., 361 pp.Traduction française (par LE VASSEUR) des observations de W. Temple sur les Pays-Bas qui avaient paru en Angleterre en 1672. Le chevalier Temple avait accompli diverses missions diplomatiques. Il avait négocié le mariage du prince d’Orange avec la princesse Marie d’Angleterre ainsi que la Triple Alliance de 1668. En 1685 Temple s’éloigna définitivement des affaires publiques et se retira dans une propriété qu’il avait acquise dans le Surrey. Il prit Johnathan Swift pour secrétaire. Après sa mort, Swift publiera en partie ses mémoires. Exemplaire bien relié au XVIIIe siècle. Coins supérieurs de qq. cahiers légèrement rongés, petit accroc au bas d’une charnière, sinon bel exemplaire.
La Haye, Jean & Daniel Steucker, 1685. 12mo. In contemporary full calf with four raise bands and gilt lettering and ornamentation to spine. Parts of gilting worn off and small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Previous owner's name in contemporary hand to title-page. (28), 270, (1) pp.
Later edition, first published in 1673, of Temple’s exposition on the tumultuous events of 1672, often referred to in Dutch history as the Rampjaar (""Disaster Year""), the book examines the internal and external challenges facing the Dutch Republic. The year 1672 was marked by a coordinated attack on the Dutch Republic by France, England and the German areas of Münster and Cologne.It is regarded as being one of the most significant crises in Dutch history, a time when the Republic’s survival was under threat. Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet (1628 –1699) was an English diplomat, politician and writer. An important diplomat, he was recalled in 1679, and for a brief period was a leading advisor to Charles II of England, with whom he then fell out.