Original Documents And Proceedings From The Trial Of Robert François Damiens; First Edition, 1757
- Original documents and proceedings from the trial of Robert-François Damiens, both in the Provost’s Court of the Hôtel and in the Court of Parliament.
- Printer: At Pierre-Guillaume Simon, Printer to Parliament, located on Rue de la Harpe at the Hercule, Paris.
- Date of publication: M. DCC. LVII. (1757)
- Edition: Genuine first edition in in-4 format, published by official order of the Court in the same year as the judgment. It should not be confused with later or simultaneous reprints in in-12 format in multiple volumes.
- Typographical feature: Magnificent two-color title page (red and black), adorned with a banner and a central engraved medallion depicting the attributes of Justice and Royal Power intertwined with foliage. Features a handwritten signature from the period ("maces") beneath the main title.
- The Account of the Regicide: A textual account of the assassination attempt that took place on January 5, 1757, in Versailles, where Damiens stabbed Louis XV with a pocketknife.
- Initial Interrogations: Transcripts of the initial questioning of the accused immediately following his arrest in the guardroom.
- Jurisdictional Dispute: Official documents governing the transfer of the accused from the Provost’s Court at the Hôtel de la Cour to the Conciergerie of the Parliament of Paris.
- Interrogations on the Sellette: Complete, word-for-word transcription of the terrifying interrogations conducted by the commissioners of Parliament. Damiens is pressed with questions about his religious motivations (linked to the convulsionary and parliamentary disputes of the time) and about the search for possible accomplices.
- The Confrontations: Transcripts of direct confrontations between the condemned man and various witnesses, relatives, servants, and suspects arrested subsequently.
- The Transcript of the Interrogation: A section of rare historical intensity detailing the application of legal torture (“Ordinary and Extraordinary Interrogation”) endured by Damiens in order to extract his final confessions before execution. The victim’s responses are recorded in real time by the court clerks.
- The Sentence: Official legal text sentencing Damiens for the crime of lèse-majesté against God and man to the “Supreme Punishment”.
- The Execution at Place de Grève: A factual account of the famous and horrific quartering on March 28, 1757. The book details the stages of the sentence: the public apology, the sulfur fire on the right hand, the pincers tearing away the flesh, molten lead poured onto the wounds, and the use of four horses for the quartering.
- An extremely precise alphabetical and analytical index of all names cited, places mentioned, and charges brought—an indispensable tool for legal researchers and historians.
900 €
Period: 18th century
Style: Louis 15th - Transition
Condition: Good condition
Material: Paper
Reference (ID): 1845722
Availability: In stock
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