Le pornographe, ou idées d'un honnête-homme sur un projet de règlement pour les prostituées

Second edition from the same publisher, the first having been published the year before in 1769. We know that the publisher was actually Delalain and that it was printed in Paris, but the publisher used a false address to evade censorship.
Contemporary brown calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with acorn tools. Red morocco title label. Upper joint narrowly split at head. Handsome copy.
Le pornographe is a manifesto for the regulation of prostitution. The author is the inventor of the neologism that combines two Greek roots and literally means: one who writes about prostitutes. This project for regulating prostitutes has the originality of having a literary form, Restif using letters to Madame des Tianges to detail the situation of prostitutes. The author's main thesis being as follows: This appearing as a necessary evil, it must be controlled by creating specialized houses, supervised by police and doctors, and administered in a manner to guarantee an establishment for the children of women of pleasure. The most surprising thing for the reader is to observe that the author has created rules for everything: food, linen, hygiene... There is certainly a real fascination of Restif for prostitution, but it never descends into immorality; on the contrary, the author seems to be seeking a new morality that takes immorality into account. The second part deals with the situation of prostitution in several countries and cities of Europe.
Bookplate of F. M. Caye.