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5 - BERNARDIN DE SAINT PIERRE (Henri).
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Estimate €400 - €600

Description

BERNARDIN DE SAINT PIERRE (Henri). Studies of Nature. — The Wishes of a Solitary Man, to serve as a sequel to Studies of Nature. Paris: printed by Mr Pierre-François Didot, 1784 [Volumes 1 to 3]; Paris: printed by Mr P. F. Didot the Younger and Méquignon the Elder, 1788–1789 and 1792 [Volumes 4 and 5]. — 5 volumes in-12, 169 x 95: frontispiece, (2 ff.), 623 pp., 1 map; (2 ff.), 631 pp., 3 plates; (2 ff.), 574 pp.; (2 ff.), lxxxviij, 532 pp., (2 ff.); (2 ff.), xxxiv pp., (1 f.), 248 pp., (2 ff.), pp. (249)–411, lvj, 72 pp., (1 f.). Rooted sheepskin, gilt roulette framing the covers, plain decorated spine, marbled edges (early 19th-century binding). Tchémerzine, V, pp. 647–648 First edition of this famous work by Bernardin de Saint Pierre. ‘This is a vast project in the philosophy of nature, in which an understanding of nature must form the basis for a theodicy, a science, an aesthetic, a moral and political philosophy, and even a literary art’ (Colas Duflo, The Aesthetic Finalism of Bernardin de Saint-Pierre’s *Études de la nature*, 2010). The *Études* first appeared in three volumes published in 1784, illustrated with a frontispiece, a map and three plates. The fourth volume was published in 1788 and notably contains the first edition of *Paul et Virginie*, a pastoral and pre-Romantic novel that tells the tragic story of two children, Paul and Virginie, raised as brother and sister on the Île de France (now Mauritius). Their idyllic life, set against a backdrop of paradisiacal nature, is gradually disrupted by social realities: slavery, class prejudice, and the awakening of sensuality during adolescence. The fifth volume, published in 1789, is entitled *Vœux d’un solitaire*, intended as a sequel to *Études de la nature*. It is divided into two parts with continuous pagination, though the second part was not published until 1792. It is introduced by a half-title and a specific title (‘Suite des Vœux d’un solitaire’), dated 1792. This second part includes, at the end and with separate pagination, the short story *La Chaumière indienne*. It is very rare to find all the parts in their original edition, as is the case here. A fine copy in uniform binding. Spine faded, some leather wear. Holes and wormholes in the bindings and on some leaves.

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Auction time 10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM

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5 - BERNARDIN DE SAINT PIERRE (Henri). See original version (French)

5 - BERNARDIN DE SAINT PIERRE (Henri).
See original version (French)