Gissey

First edition. The second work, bound with the first and with only a half-title (without lack), is by Aubert de la Chesnaye des Bois.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Upper joint cracked at head and tail. Corners slightly bumped.
Satirical work mocking the Cartesians and the question of the soul and reason. Bougeant proposed that animals had recovered the souls of the wicked; this allusion, even ironic, to the transmigration of souls resulted in exile from the Jesuits at the college of La Flêche. The work enjoyed great success in Europe, and is primarily an attack against Descartes' mechanistic conception.

First edition.

Contemporary full blonde calf binding with marbled decoration. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Head worn. 2 corners slightly bumped. Headcaps rubbed. A reasonably good copy.
This police treatise is undoubtedly the best testimony one can find on the customs and daily life of the French in the 18th century. It shows what was done regarding wolves or masterless dogs, plague, games in fairs and markets, latrines... Compared to the famous police treatise by Delamare, which the author mentions in his preface, this present treatise has a more practical aim, which is why it has been put in dictionary form. It contains not only all the edicts relating to a question but also precious commentaries by the author. Colbert defined police in these terms in an ordinance of 1669: 'Police consists in ensuring public peace and that of individuals, in procuring abundance and in making each person live according to their condition'.

Label: Librairie Raymond Clavreuil.

NB: This work is available at the bookshop on request within 48 hours.