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[ENCYCLOPAEDIA] – DIDEROT, D’ALEMBERT – Encyclopédie, or a r…
See original version (French)
84
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[ENCYCLOPAEDIA] – DIDEROT, D’ALEMBERT – Encyclopédie, or a r…
See original version (French)
Estimate €1,500 - €2,000
Voluntary lot
Description
[ENCYCLOPAEDIA] – DIDEROT, D’ALEMBERT – Encyclopédie, or a reasoned dictionary of the sciences, arts and trades, by a society of men of letters. Paris, then Neuchâtel (from Volume VIII onwards), Briasson, David, Le Breton, Durand, then Samuel Faulche, 1751–1765; folio, approx. 14,000 pp., contemporary marbled full calf binding, spine decorated with 5 raised bands (various designs), edges painted red, normal signs of wear for an 18th-century book, damaged caps, dulled corners. All 29 volumes. First edition of this very famous book, which is unfortunately incomplete: volumes 3, 5, 12, 16 and 17 of the text are missing. There are at least two different spine designs, indicating two different editions of the plates; volume 3 of the plates is duplicated. The table of contents and supplements for the text are complete, as the supplementary plates are missing. Otherwise, the condition of the binding is consistent and good, except for one volume of the text. One of the greatest publishing ventures of the 18th century. Five volumes of the text are missing. The plates volumes appear to be complete. 29 volumes out of 34. Denis Diderot, born on 5 October 1713 in Langres and died on 31 July 1784 in Paris, was a French writer, philosopher and encyclopaedist of the Enlightenment, who was also a novelist, playwright, storyteller, essayist, dialogue writer, art critic, literary critic and translator. Diderot is renowned for his erudition, his critical mind and a certain genius. He left his mark on the history of every literary genre he attempted: he laid the foundations for bourgeois drama in the theatre, revolutionised the novel with *Jacques the Fatalist*, pioneered literary criticism through his *Salons*, and oversaw the compilation of one of the most influential works of his century, the famous *Encyclopédie*. In philosophy, too, Diderot distinguished himself by offering readers more material for independent reasoning rather than a complete, closed and rigid system.
See original version (French)
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