(GAUDEN, John or Charles I).

Rouen, Iean berthelin, dans la Court du Palais, 1649. 4to. Engr. extra title,+ (50),+ 144, 143-158, 161-352 pp. The engraved title, the title and the following leaf with paper reinforcement and repair at top margins, as on leaf 6, Aa1-Aa3, small tear at top of pp. 329-332. Slighlty worn contemporary full calf, richly gilt spine with four raised bands, gilt initials HT on top comparatment under a crown, boards with gilt Coat-of Arms, red marbled edges. Owner signature Bennet? on the title leaf. From the library of Ericsberg. The third edition of the French translation of ”The Porutraicture of his Sacred Maiestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings” (1648). The engraved extra title is here by Rawlins, and differs slightly from the frontispiece by Marshall for the English edition. The book is a ”spiritual autobiography of Charles I, published ten days after his execution. The royal authorship however was immediatly disputed. After the restaration John Gauden claimed to be the sole author of the work, and he was by Charles II made bishop of Exeter as a reward. The book that describes Charles I as a christian martyr became very popular and went into 36 editions in 1649 alone, depsite the official disapproval of the protectorate.