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Description
DEFOE (Daniel).
The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, containing, amongst other events, his twenty-eight-year sojourn on a desert island situated on the coast of America, near the mouth of the great River Oroonoque.
Amsterdam: L’Honoré & Chatelain, 1720–1721. — 3 volumes in-12, 158 x 96: frontispiece, (1 fol.), XII, 629 pp., 1 map, 6 plates; frontispiece, (1 fol.), VIII, 588 pp., 6 plates; frontispiece, XXXIV pp., (1 f.), 632 pp., 6 plates. Red morocco, triple gilt fillet framing the covers, decorated ribbed spine, gilt interior edging, gilt edges (Pouillet).
First edition of the first French translation of Daniel Defoe’s famous adventure novel, translated by Thémiseul de Saint-Hyacinthe (1684–1746) and Justus Van Effen (1684–1735).
In this work, slavery plays a central role, although it is often normalised or justified by the attitudes of the time. Robinson Crusoe is, in turn, a slave, a slave trader and a master, without this giving rise to any moral reflection. Friday, although rescued from the cannibals, remains a subordinate, thus illustrating the racial hierarchy of colonial society. The novel thereby trivialises slavery whilst condemning other forms of violence.
The third volume is entitled: ‘Serious and Important Reflections by Robinson Crusoe, Made during the Surprising Adventures of his Life’. With its angelic worldview.
This edition is illustrated with a copperplate engraving by Bernard Picart, adorning each title page, a fold-out map of the Earth, ‘on which is marked the Journey of Robinson Crusoe’, and 21 beautiful plates also produced by Bernard Picart, including three frontispieces. The artist’s signature appears only on the first frontispiece. The fold-out map is not repeated here in the second volume, as is almost always the case in later-bound copies.
A very fine copy bound by Louis Pouillet, in excellent condition.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time
10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Lot description modified on 10/02/2026 at 9:40 AM
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