DIDEROT, LETTRE SUR LES AVEUGLES, A L'USAGE DE CEUX QUI VOYENT. LONDON, 1749

8vo (158 x 92mm.), 6 engraved plates, instructions to bookbinders leaf at end, contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt, red edges, joints worn with slight loss

bought from Roger Gaskell, Warboys, 1993, Catalogue 7, item 25, £800

Tomash & Williams D47; ESTC n033493; Anton Gerrits, "A short contribution towards better bibliographical recording of important eighteenth-century publications" in Quaerendo 18 (1988), pp.286-297; David Adams, Bibliographie des oeuvres de Denis Diderot, 1739-1900 (Ferney-Voltaire 2000), II, pp.215-218 no. LG1

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This essay illustrates a system, devised by the blind Nicholas Saunderson, to represent both numbers and geometric figures by means of pins stuck into a board in pre-drilled holes. Owing to the author's expressed denial of the existence of God, the book was suppressed, and the writer served six months in prison. Four different editions are known, each dated 1749 and declaring the place of publication to be "A Londres". Three of these editions were printed in France, two probably by a printer named Simon, with their clandestine sale in the hands of Durand, one of the publishers of the Encylopédie; the fourth most likely was published at Amsterdam by Marc Michel Rey. All four editions have the same pagination, however their title-pages differ slightly, they have different vignettes on p.3, and other dissimilarities. According to the studies of Anton Gerrits and David Adams, the present edition is the earliest.