Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, par une société de gens de lettres

DIDEROT Denis & ALEMBERT Jean Le Rond d’
Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, par une société de gens de lettres [Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of Sciences, Art, and Trades]
Chez Jean-Léonard Pellet, Geneva 1777-1779, in-4 (19 x 25,5 cm), 39 volumes, contemporary calf
Third edition of the Encyclopedia, with a portrait of Diderot and d’Alembert at the beginning of volume one, drawn by Charles-Nicolas Cochin and engraved by Louis-Jacques Cathelin, as well as numerous borders and culs-de-lampe. The engravings in the collection of plates are the work of Bernard Direx and Richomme and make up a total of 469 plates (volume 1: 101, volume 2: 197 and volume 3: 171).
Contemporary spotted brown calf, spine in six compartments with delicate hatching, fleurons, roulettes and gilt fillet frames, red morocco title pieces and green morocco volume labels, triple gilt fillet to edges of covers, all edges red.
It was in 1750 that Diderot made public his Prospectus, announcing the forthcoming publication of his Encyclopedia, the first volume already being prepared. The publication of his Prospectus caused quite a stir and the Encyclopedia was, all during its publication, plagued by censorship. It was first banned in 1752. A Royal Warrant declared that the Encyclopedia contained maxims that were “liable to undermine royal authority, promote erroneous thinking and the corruption of public morality, encourage irreligion and disbelief.” The first two volumes were thus pulped. Diderot and d’Alembert did have the support of a number of literary figures of the day, including Voltaire and Malesherbes. But the attacks on this monumental undertaking did not stop there. In 1757, following Damien’s attempt on Louis XV’s life, the police redoubled their vigilance for all books liable to damage royal authority and religious dogma. In 1759, the Encyclopedia was ordered to be torn up and burnt by the public executioner and the Royal Privilege, which is to say permission to publish, was withdrawn. The loss of the Royal Privilege was accompanied by a Papal condemnation. There was thus the danger that the Encyclopedia, having reached Volume VII at the time, would have to be abandoned, to the great chagrin of the booksellers, who had invested a great deal in the enterprise. A new privilege was therefore granted, but only for the publication of eleven volumes of plates. The last ten volumes of text were printed secretly and offered for sale six years later, in 1765, with the fictitious statement “published in Neuchâtel”. Following the publication of the first edition of the Encyclopedia between 1751 and 1772, in a folio format, other editions quickly followed. Thus, between 1771 and 1776, there was a folio reprint in Geneva in 1,250 copies (compared to the 4,225 copies of the first edition). The subscription fee was lower, which reflected the publishers’ desire to produce a text identical with the original, but more affordable. It was thus in a similar vein that the quarto edition was finally published between 1777 and 1779. Of a more manageable size and a lower cost, it was printed in 8,011 copies by Pellet, also in Geneva, and was thus a competitor to the folio versions.
This success meant that copies were widely distributed, which explains the rarity of finding a complete set, uniformly bound. This copy is very much the exception, being complete in 36 volumes of text and three volumes of plates.
Rare complete set in a perfectly repaired uniform binding.