Medicea hospes, sive descriptio publicae gratulationis, qua serenissimam, Augustissimamque reginam, Mariam de Medicis, excepit senatus populusque Amstelodamensis.Amsterdam, Johan & Cornelius Blaeu, 1638. Folio. With woodcut coat-of-arms of Amsterdam on title, full-page engraved portrait of Maria de Medici with terras and view on the Amstel after G. Honthorst, 16 double-page, 2 double-page folding, fine engraved views of Amsterdam and of the splendid ceremonies at the occasion of Maria de Medici's visit to Amsterdam by S. Savery, several after S. de Vlieger, and P. Nolpe after Cl. Moyaert. All engravings are in either early or first states, before numbers, letters, etc. Contemporary vellum, title in ink on spine.

[14], 76, [2 blank] pp.First edition of a beautifully illustrated baroque Dutch Royal Entree book, with all of the plates in either early or first states, before numbers and letters. Published simultaneously in French and in Latin, it is the first official description of an entrance in the Northern Netherlands, a tradition which had flown over from the South. Maria de Medici, born at Florence in 1573, married the French King Henry IV and after his death she became Regent of Louis XIII. But when Louis XIII came of age and claimed his throne Maria de Medici was exiled and fled the court. The splendid ceremonial entrance of the queen-mother of France in 1638 was an important moment in the history of Amsterdam. She had already been in the Southern Netherlands, where she was received with great marks of honour as well. Her royal presence in the Netherlands though was of great political susceptibility, and actually the Dutch government tried to get rid of Maria as soon as possible. She died at Cologne in 1642. The beautiful plates are in two, quite different, styles. Nine plates are engraved by Nolpe after Moeyaert, depicting allegorical subjects from the queen's life. The remaining plates, engraved by Saverij, represent the festivals and are remarkable for the detailed views, with 3 plates after the renowned painter Simon de Vlieger etched in the best style of Dutch landscape scenes. The plates are here bound together, following the text. The plates are:Portrait of Maria de Medici, with Amsterdam in the background, engraved by Salomon Saverij after a painting by Honthorst, second stateArrival in the Haarlemmermeer, engraved by Salomon Saverij after J. Martsen de Jonge, first stateCavalcade entering the triumphal arch at the Dam, engraved by Salomon Saverij after J. Martsen de Jonge, first stateMarriage of Henry IV and Maria de Medici, engraved by P. Nolpe after Cl. MoeyaertTriumphal arch, engraved by Salomon Saverij after J. Martsen de Jonge, second state,Allegorical plate, engraved by P. Nolpe after Cl. Moeyaert, coat-of-arms of lady at the left mirrored, first stateView on the Amstel, engraved by Salomon Saverij after S. de Vlieger, first stateFrançois de Medici marrying Johanna of Austria, engraved by P. Nolpe after Cl. MoeyaertMaximilian offering the crown to Amsterdam, engraved by P. Nolpe after Cl. MoeyaertSeries of 5 allegorical plates, engraved by P. Nolpe after Cl. Moeyaert, depicting the fall and rise of France under Henry III and IVTournament on the Amstel, engraved by Salomon Saverij after S. de Vlieger, second stateView on Amsterdam from the river Y, engraved by Salomon Saverij after S. de Vlieger, second state with the two coats-of-arms in the upper right and left cornersThe Haarlemmermeer Poort, engraved by Salomon Saverij after J. Martsen de Jonge, second state.Splendid copy.l Landwehr, Splendid Ceremonies, 109; Frederik Muller auction catalogue, Wurfbain-Slagregen-Kroese, 6-11 mei 1912, nr. 407; Snoep, Praal en Propaganda, pp. 39-76; Hollstein XIV, Nolpe 86-94; Hollstein XXIV, Saverij 144 a-h; Muller, Historieprenten, 1793 (plate 16, the Haarlemmermeer Poort); L'Art Ancien, cat. 26, nr. 398; Kat. Berlin 2949; Lipperheide 2665; Verzameling Amsterdam W.J.R. Dreesman, p. 476; Vinet 489; cf. Collections A.J. Nijland troisième partie, nrs. 443-447.