VERTOT (René d'Aubert de). HISTORY OF THE HOSPITAL KNIGHT HORSES OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, called from the Knights of Rhodes, and today the Knights of Malta. Paris, Rollin, Quillau, Desaint, 1726. 4 volumes in-4°, blond calf, triple gilt fillet on covers, spine ribbed, very ornate, gilt edges on marbling (period binding). FIRST EDITION. It is decorated with a portrait of the author, 6 maps and plans including 5 leaflets and 70 portraits of the knights. Among these, the only portrait of a woman is that of the reformer Galiote de Saint-Anne de Genouillac de Vaillac, prioress of the convent of Fieux, near Miers, a convent belonging to the Order of Malta. With two worn headdresses, the copy is nicely bound in blond calfskin of the time.