Histoire des Églises du Désert - Charles Coquerel - First edition 1841

A complete two-volume first edition of Histoire des Églises du Désert chez les Protestants de France by Charles Augustin Coquerel, published in Paris by Librairie Ab. Cherbuliez et Cie in 1841.

In this work, Coquerel describes the history of French Protestantism from the final years of the reign of Louis XIV until the French Revolution. Central to this is the period known within French Protestantism as Le Désert, during which Reformed communities continued to practice their faith clandestinely under severe restrictions and persecution after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

The extensive work covers, among other topics, the secret Protestant congregations and synods, the persecution of ministers, the Cévennes and Languedoc, Antoine Court, Paul Rabaut, Jean Calas, prisoners in the Tour de Constance, and the gradual development towards religious tolerance. In addition to the historical text, several original documents and lists are included, including documents on Protestant legislation, persecuted ministers, galley slaves, and prisoners.

This set consists of the original Tome Premier and Tome Second and together forms the complete work. The books are bound in matching 19th-century half-leather bindings with marbled boards, gilt lines, gilt titles on the spine, and the original volume numbers.

The bindings show clear signs of their long history. The leather is dry and damaged in places, and both spines have visible older repairs. The text blocks themselves have been preserved considerably better: they are still firmly bound and complete, with scattered foxing and age-related discoloration appropriate for books from 1841.

Details:

• Author: Charles Augustin Coquerel (1797-1851)
• Title: Histoire des Églises du Désert chez les Protestants de France
• Subtitle: Depuis la fin du règne de Louis XIV jusqu'à la Révolution française
• Edition: first edition
• Year: 1841
• Publisher: Librairie Ab. Cherbuliez et Cie
• Place: Paris, also listed as Geneva
• Printer: H. Fournier et Cie, Paris
• Tome I: XII + 564 pages
• Tome II: 616 pages
• Language: French
• Subject: history of French Protestantism
• Period covered: end of the reign of Louis XIV to the French Revolution
• Binding: 19th-century half-leather bindings with marbled boards
• Decoration: gilt titles on the spine, gilt lines, and volume numbers
• Materials: paper, cardboard, and leather
• Dimensions: approx. 22 × 14 cm per volume
• Thickness: approx. 3.8 cm and 4 cm
• Condition of bindings: clearly used, with dry and damaged leather and visible old spine repairs
• Condition of text blocks: good and firm, with scattered to locally heavy foxing and normal age-related discoloration