Essais historiques sur Paris

Stated third edition. It should be noted that the 6th and 7th volumes which will appear in 1777 and which will be added to the collection do not concern Les essais sur Paris, since they will contain Les Lettres turques, and various pieces. At the end of volume 5 has been added: Lettre de M. de Saintfoix au sujet de l'homme au masque de fer, in which he studies and seems to resolve from everything that has been written on the subject this famous affair.
Near-contemporary half brown sheep bindings. Smooth spines decorated with 2 fleurons and 2 grotesque compartments. Black calf title and volume labels. Upper joint cracked at foot of volume 1. Lacks to joints at foot of volume II, same for volume 5. Corners rubbed. Handsome decorative set.
It is difficult to give an exact idea of a work whose title does not truly account for the work, so abundant is the material, sometimes extravagant. Mercier himself affirmed, faced with criticism, that he had endeavored to retrace and extract from history the spirit of the people of Paris, given that the great history of Paris had already been written. And indeed, what these essays were criticized for is precisely what gives them their distinctive character and originality among all books on Paris; Saint-Foix having collected incredible anecdotes, not from great History, but from that of common people, popular legends...