Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres. By Henry Adams. Illustrated by Gonzalo Fonseca. Limited Edition. Franklin Library. Franklin Center, 1978.

Henry Adams was a historian, professor, and descendent of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. He lived through the Civil War, Western colonization, the Industrial Revolution, and the onset of WWI. During his lifetime, he was praised for his massive nine-volume series on Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. From this reputation, he was able to live a writer’s life, drafting non-fiction texts on numerous subjects. Of his many works, Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres stands out for its playful reflections and its subject matter in medieval history and culture. The work takes readers from the Mont-Saint Michel Abbey to the Chartres Cathedral, ruminating on their history with engaging prose. While initially just meant for private publication, the work found favor among architects and medieval historians and eventually rose to one of Adams’s most popular texts.

This limited edition is in fine condition. In the original leather, finely gilt stamped. Raised bands. Gilt spine label. Text block fine. Gilt edges. Silk moire endpapers and bookmark sewn in.

A fine collector’s copy of Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres.