1748 Le Triomphe de la foi catholique | 3-Volumes

Le triomphe de la foi catholique, sur les erreurs des protestans (The Triumph of the Catholic Faith over the Errors of Protestants), volumes 2, 3, and 4. Published by Chez Geofroy Regnault, Lyon, France. Published 1748. French Language. 

The work was anonymously written in 1748 by François Vernet, a converted Swiss Protestant. It systematically disputed the arguments of Bénédict Pictet, an influential Calvinist theology professor in Geneva. 

The volumes are bound in brown leather with five raised bands on the spines, red contrasting panels for improved legibility, decorative gilt tooling featuring flower sprigs flanked by corner flourishes in the spine panel spaces and roulette roll borders along the spine bands. 

They were printed on cotton rag paper, a high-grade paper made from pulverized textile scraps. Worn cotton garments and even sails were collected, sorted, washed, cut into scraps, and then left in vats to break down the textile fibers. 

Water-powered wooden mallets pounded the fermented cloth into a fibrous pulp. The paper-maker then dipped a flat, wire-mesh sieve into the mixture to capture a thin layer of the fibers. The excess water was removed, and the pages were left to dry. 

If you hold the paper up to the light, you can still see a faint grid called laid lines. These are physical impressions left behind by the wire mesh sieve used to make the paper 270+ years ago. 

102 mm W x 165 mm H

Condition:

Volume II - The bottom right corner of the front cover board has been cut (missing approximately 2 - 3 mm), and the first 24 pages have the bottom corner slightly cut as well, with some minor wear to the corners and spine. Interior pages have a small hole going from the front endpaper to page 205, likely from a bookworm. This is very old damage, quite common in 18th-century French books. The book was treated as an extra precaution. 

Volume III - Some wear to the corners, some wear to the top of the spine, marks to the front and back covers; hinges have some wear but are intact. 

Volume IV - Wear to the corners and top of the spine, marks and some discoloration to the front and back covers, and some light wear to the hinges but intact. Interior pages have a small hole going from the back endpaper to page 430, likely from a bookworm. This is very old damage, and the book was treated as an extra precaution.

Good condition. 

Please review all photos closely and reach out with any questions.