Presented before Henry III, King of France, as part of the celebrations for the wedding of Anne, duc de Joyeuse, and Margaret of Lorraine-Vaudemont. It took place in the Great Hall of the Louvre on the evening of Oct. 15, 1582.

Baltasar de Beaujoyeulx conceived, directed and choreographed the work. Music was composed by Lambert de Beaulieu with the help of Jacques Salmon and others. Libretto by La Chesnaye. Decor by Jacques Patin, who also did the plates for the present work. See leaf 3r and McGowan, p. 37-38.

Device on t.p. depicting Pegasus, Apollo and muses. Coat of arms, leaf [8]v, with monograms formed of the initials of Henry, Anne, and Margaret. Most of the ill. depicting scenes from the ballet are on folded leaves. Leaves 65-73 depict emblematic medals exchanged by members of the audience at the conclusion of the ballet; see McGowan, p. 22. Headpieces, initials.

McGowan, M.M. Le balet comique

Leaves 65-68 repaired in Library's copy.

Ill. on leaf 35r of Library's copy colored in blue and pink.

Binding: vellum. Foredges slightly lapped. Black spine label with title in gilt. The edges red.

At upper left corner of front pastedown is label of J.B. Weckerlin, who published the music of the Balet comique in 1882; see McGowan, p. 46, note 61. Mounted next to it is slip from bookseller's catalog describing the present book.