HOW TO ADVISE A SPECIAL EIGHT-YEAR-OLD

Navarra y de la Cueva, Pedro, Marquès de Cabrèga: Logros de la monarquia en aciertos de un valido. Al Rey nuestro señor Don Carlos Segundo [...] Con Privilegio. En Madrid: por Julian de Paredes, Año de 1669.

First edition of this book of advice on being a perfect favourite (valido) to a king. The Spanish king in question, Carlos II (1661-1700) was seven or eight at time of publication! This royal juvenile's oval portrait faces the first page of text. The author was majordomo to the regent, the queen mother Mariana de Austria.  Despite the king's young age, the favourite's role was emphatically not to teach him, but something more subtle. The author notes (sig. ⁋2 r-v): "kings are born learned: with the blood they inherit all the doctrine they need for the government of their monarchy". 

Description 

One volume, 19.9 cms. x 15 cms., quarto, fols. [20] 83 + 1 frontispiece leaf with intaglio portrait of king to verso. Signed: ⁋4 ⁋-⁋⁋⁋⁋4 A-X4. Lacking sig. X4 (blank). Roman and italic letter, printed side-notes. Title-page within border of typographical decoration, woodcut initial. The frontispiece made with two plates (in this copy, the background "frame" plate inked a lot less than the "portrait" plate, which has also not been aligned well with the frame). Light browning, light foxing, worming to bottom corner of gutter at beginning (affecting the odd guide word), some splitting to text block. Bound in an early limp vellum laced-case binding, ties removed. (Binding loosening from text block). MS correction, sig. D2 recto.

Bibliography

CCPB000033790-0. Palau 187993. OCLC shows physical copies outside Spain at: Illinois, Harvard; Oxford, ULL, NLS; BSB, Württembergische Landesbibliothek.