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23 - DIDEROT (Denis). A Letter on the Blind, for the Use of Those…
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Estimate €400 - €700
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Description
DIDEROT (Denis). A Letter on the Blind, for the Use of Those Who Can See. London [Paris], n.p., 1749. 220 pp., (1) unnumbered folio. 6 copper-engraved plates, correctly placed. First edition of this text, printed clandestinely in Paris by Simon for Durand, which earned Diderot several months’ imprisonment at Vincennes due to the materialist theories he set out therein. A copy displaying the characteristics of the first printing: a title finial ‘in the shape of a set of scales’, p. 210 unnumbered and left blank, uncorrected errors in the table of contents — ‘leur Methaphysique’ on p. 212 and ‘Existence continuée des êres’ on p. 214 — as well as the ‘Note to the bookbinder’ on the front of the last unnumbered leaf. Bound with: MONTESQUIEU (Charles de Secondat de). Defence of the Spirit of the Laws, to which some clarifications have been appended. Geneva, Barrillot & Fils, 1750. 207 pp. First edition. Vigorously attacked upon its publication in 1748, *De l’Esprit des lois* provoked numerous criticisms, to which Montesquieu himself responded in this *Défense*, published anonymously in 1750. In it, he refutes the accusations levelled against his work and clarifies his thinking, particularly on religious matters. *The Spirit of the Laws* was eventually placed on the Index in 1751. Bound with: MONTESQUIEU (Charles de Secondat de). *The Temple of Gnide*. New edition. London, n.p., 1755. 108 pp. A collection of three major texts brought together in a 12mo volume, in full contemporary calfskin, with a decorated ribbed spine.
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About the sale Antique and modern books: catalogued sale
Auction location
Auction time 11/14/2026 at 10:30 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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