Diderot and d'Alembert, Encyclopedie, Paris & Amsterdam, 1751-1777, 33 volumes, contemporary calf

Denis Diderot and Jean d'Alembert

Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une société de gens de lettres (Nouveau dictionnaire, pour servir de supplément). Paris: Briasson, David, Le Breton and Durand, 1751-1757 (vols 8-17: Neuchâtel: Samuel Faulche & Cie, 1765); Plates: Paris: Briasson etc., 1762-1772; Supplement: Paris: Panckoucke, Stoupe and Brunet; Amsterdam: Rey, 1776-1777

33 volumes (of 35), comprising 17 volumes of text, 11 of plates, 5 of supplement (4 text volumes and one plate volume), folio (395 x 255mm.), half-titles (except in text vols 8-17), woodcut device on title-pages, some woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, 7 folding letterpress tables, a few woodcut illustrations, 2788 (of 2789) engraved plates (some double-page or folding), contemporary uniform cat's-paw calf, spines gilt in compartments, modern tan morocco lettering-pieces, red edges, lacking 2 volumes of tables, lacking engraved frontispiece in vol.1, occasional staining or worming most bindings with repairs to extremities and ends of spines, some with joints repaired (for more details see condition report)

FIRST EDITION of the Enlightenment's monumental contribution to universal knowledge, and a good copy. The Encyclopédie was the result of a massive collaborative effort, with contributions by the leading French intellectuals of the day, including Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu.

LITERATURE:

Norman 637; PMM 200

PROVENANCE:

Schmitt, embossed stamp in some volumes