THE GOLDEN SEAL OF LOUIS XII: A POLITICALLY-INFLECTED NUMISMATIC TREATISE. Large 8vo. [23.3 x 14.8 cm]. (7), 8-29 pp, (1), plus folding engr. plate signed R. de Launay. Bound in publisher’s pink wrappers. A perfectly fresh, unsophisticated copy, as issued from the press. Rare first edition in book form (preceded by an offprint) of this treatise on a large golden seal from the reign of Louis XII (1462-1515). The choice of a numismatic study of a French king was no accident in 1814, following the Bourbon Restoration on the 3rd of May of that year. As Millin states in his preface, “every Frenchman will repeat, as he gazes upon the image of a Prince whose memory is held so dearly to all hearts: The return of Louis XVIII gives to France another Louis XII.” (p. 6) Millin notes that the seal was formerly in the possession of the Prince of Monaco, and that it was purchased by the Bibliothèque du Roi after his death. “The magnificent golden seal of which I offer a representation here is equally curious for its purpose, as for the material from which it is made, and the manner in which it was executed…”; the text offers a detailed account of the symbolism of each element of the seal. Imprisoned during the Revolution, Aubin Louis Millin (1759-1818) subsequently served as curator of the Cabinet des Médailles et Antiques at the Bibliothèque Nationale and was the author of a large number of antiquarian publications. The present work is rare in census. OCLC shows just one physical copy in US libraries, at Michigan State. An earlier version of the work appeared in 1808 (before the Restoration) as an “extrait du Magasin encyclopédique" (this offprint is not recorded in any US library). * Cicognara 2933