Rare and genuine posthumous first edition of the first six books of the Confessions, the remaining volumes not appearing until 1789. Several other editions were issued shortly thereafter, but the evidence provided by the commentary published in the June 1782 issue of the Journal Helvétique clearly establishes that this separately printed edition, known as the "large type" issue, is indeed the very first (F. Michaux, "L'Édition originale de la première partie des 'Confessions' de J.-J. Rousseau" in Revue d'Histoire littéraire de la France, 35th Year, No. 2 (1928), pp. 250-253).
Contemporary half calf bindings, flat spines tooled with gilt fillets and decorated
A unique combination of French translations of the first two philosophical works on the Sublime, marking the beginning of the most important reflection on aesthetics in Western history.
Extremely rare first edition of the first French translation of a philosophical work by Immanuel Kant, and the second ever translation of a Kantian text. The others were only translated during the 19th century. Illustrated with a portrait of the author by Benezy. The first edition in German was published in 1764 in Königsberg under the title "Beobachtungen über das Gefühl des Schönen und Erhabenen".
Contemporary half brown roan binding with vellum corners, smooth spi
New quarto edition, revised and corrected by the author, with numerous decorated headpieces, initials and tailpieces.
Full brown calf, spine in six compartments with five raised bands richly gilt-tooled, red morocco lettering-piece, triple blind fillet border to boards, double gilt fillet to board edges, red edges, marbled pastedowns and endpapers.
Light scratches and scuffing to boards, corners slightly bumped, otherwise a very
First edition of this paean to intoxication, adorned with a charming engraved frontispiece depicting Bacchus seated on a barrel, holding a wine cup in one hand and a bunch of grapes in the other.
Cf. Vicaire 326. Bitting 415. Barbier II, 75 d. Oberlé, Une bibliothèque bachique, 523 (for the 1798 ed.).
Bound in contemporary fawn half-calf with corners, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, corners slightly worn, edges speckled red.
This work abounds with anecdotes and quotations drawn from the history of many lands. It asserts "that wine gives wit," offers "a catalogue of some illustrious drinkers," and claims "that win
Third edition, revised, corrected, and enlarged with several important Additions by the author published posthumously, and with Remarks by the Translator (our own translation), with the portrait of John Locke by Godfrey Kneller, engraved by François Morellon de La Cave.
Contemporary full brown calf, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments, brown morocco lettering-piece, triple fillet border to covers in blind, red edges, marbled pastedowns and endpapers.
Headcaps missing, surface los
Second edition, illustrated with a macabre engraved frontispiece (cf. Quérard II, 516; Cioranescu, XVIII, 13544, for the original 1712 edition).
Contemporary handwritten annotations on the title leaf.
Full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands richly gilt in compartments with decorative tools, red morocco title label largely missing, gilt fillet framing the covers, sprinkled edges, corners rubbed, contemporary binding.
Headcaps worn down, some rubbing to spine and boards.
Second edition of this highly engaging work of early “libertine” philosophy, in the original sense of the term.
The project of the Réflexions was inspired by a remark fro
First edition of the French translation, based on the sixth English edition.
Copies listed in the CCF only at the BnF, Dijon, and Rouen libraries.
Our copy is preserved in its original state, in contemporary marbled paper wrappers.
The only edition of this curious political pamphlet, seemingly without any real connection to an English original, which proposes to reorganize Europe through joint—particularly military—control by the four principal continental powers (Austria, France, Spain, and Prussia) over all the others, in order to ensure peace and balance across the continent.
These prophetic, if still utopian, reflections are preceded by an analysis of Europe’s
Extremely rare first edition, probably printed in Prussia, of this essay written directly in French by Baron de Bielfeld (1716–1770), inspector of Prussian universities and a friend of Frederick the Great since the time when he was still Crown Prince of Prussia.
GV 1700–1910, vol. 111, p. 374. Not in Conlon (who only cites the Amsterdam edition of the same year). No copy located in the U.S.A.
Full red morocco with gilt decoration, smooth spine elaborately tooled in the grotesque style, gilt rolls on the caps, triple gilt fillet border on the covers, gilt fillets on the edges, star-patterned gilt paper endpapers and doublures, gilt dentelle border on the inside covers, all edge
The ‘Kehl edition’, the most renowned edition of Voltaire's works, illustrated and published on deluxe paper. It was printed on five different types of paper, and only the deluxe editions, such as ours on laid paper, feature engravings. These are naturally the most sought-after and rarest copies.
Binding in full painted sheep decorated with a “honeycomb” motif, smooth spine tooled with gilt fleurons, fillets and compartments, light beige calf lettering and volume pieces, gilt chain-roll border on covers, marbled endpapers, gilt roll on edges, all edges marbled, contemporary binding. Two volumes (nos. 50 and 70) with slight variations in gilt tools on the spines and
New edition after the 1562 original. Rare. Brunet II, 789. Italic typeface edition illustrated with about twenty curious figures in and outside the text, notably associating objects with letters. One copy at Manchester library, we found nothing in France and Germany.
Contemporary full vellum binding, smooth spine with handwritten title lengthwise in pen. One tear on the spine (1 cm). Endpapers restored, the title page has been reinforced with two small pieces of paper on the verso.
Lodovico Dolce (1508-1568), Venetian man of letters and humanist, worked on editions of Italian classical texts (Dante, Petrarch...) in collaboration with the publisher Ferrari and renewed
First edition (cf. Sabin 47206. Leclerc 952.).
Some joints cracked at head and tail, minor marginal losses of no consequence to the temporary wrappers.
The author, Italian by birth, emigrated to America before the Revolution and settled in Virginia near Monticello.
His book, written in collaboration with Condorcet, is of particular interest with regard to the history of independence and the government of the United States, cf. Fay pages 24-25: "Compilation très exacte, qui réfute les théories de Mably et de Raynal et constitue un répertoire précieux de renseignements de tous ordres sur les États-Unis."
Rare and appealing copy preserved in its original stit
First edition, of great rarity (cf. Sabin 4182).
Bradel-style binding in full orange paper-covered boards, with a brown shagreen spine label; modern binding.
A very good copy.
A vindication of France’s conduct during the uprising of the British colonies in America.
First edition, very difficult to find complete, as the third volume was published eight years after the first two.
Bound in full mottled bronze-green calf, smooth spines richly decorated with gilt floral compartments, red morocco labels for title and volume number, gilt rolls on the caps, joints slightly rubbed, gilt roll-tooled borders on the covers entirely adorned with oblong geometric patterns in blind, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt Greek-key borders framing the pastedowns, bookplate mounted on the pastedown of the first volume, gilt fillets on the edges, all edges gilt, contemporary bindings.
Contains anecdotes about Rousseau, Poivre, Turgot, Helvétius, Benjamin
First collected edition of the author's works (see Quérard, V, 642; DSB, IX, 186–189; Poggendorff I, 85).
Printed in Dresden by George Conrad Walther ["Printed in Leipsic by Jean Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf"]
Full mottled fawn calf, spine with five raised bands richly gilt in compartments with floral tools, red morocco label, joints restored, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges; contemporary binding.
Some occasional foxing; restorations to the joints, edges and corners of the boards.
First edition of the "Works" of Maupertuis. Pages 95 to 142 contain the "Mesure de la terre au Cercle Polaire"; pages 311 to 326 feature the "Relation d'un Voyage fait dans la L
New edition. A steel-engraved portrait frontispiece, printed on China paper and mounted. Printed in very small type, arranged in two columns.
Full polished blond calf binding, signed by Thouvenin at foot of spine. Smooth spine with blind-stamped Gothic architectural elements heightened with gilt dots, gilt fillets and title. Covers blind-stamped with a large Gothic window surrounded by architectural ornaments. Multiple blind-ruled frames with corner fleurons and gilt fillets. Inner dentelles. All edges gilt. Joints discreetly cracked at head. Some foxing and occasional browning to a few pages. Minor rubbing. Spine slightly dulled. A handsome copy.
First edition of the complete works of Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède and de Montesquieu, edited by François Richer under the supervision of the author's son. Volumes 1 and 2 contain the celebrated Spirit of the Laws, introduced by a headpiece depicting the 1753 Dassier medal and illustrated with two maps—a world map and one of Europe—in the second volume. This copy is enriched with a frontispiece, painted by Jacques de Sève and engraved by Claude-Antoine Littret, from the 1767 London edition, as well as 10 additional pages containing the "Additions" in volume 3.
An intriguing first edition, complete with its engraved frontispiece of the author by Giovanni Volpato after Domenico Corvi, and its introductory poem by the Abbé Luigi Godard. A copy unrecorded in non-European libraries according to WorldCat.
Contemporary binding of fawn mottled calf, smooth spine divided into five gilt compartments by gilt rolls, brown morocco lettering-piece, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, double gilt fillet on the board edges, blue speckled edges, and shell-pattern marbled pastedowns and endpapers.
The lower cap lacking, some surface w
First quarto edition, complete with all volumes and plates, commonly referred to as the “Third Edition” of the Encyclopédie, and also known as the “Encyclopédie de Pellet” or “Encyclopédie de Lyon” or “Encyclopédie du Lac” by Simon-Nicolas-Henri Linguet.
Full marbled and polished brown sheepskin contemporary bindings, spines with five raised bands and four gilt compartments decorated with pomegranate gilt tools, two gilt decorative rolls at foot, title and volume lettering-pieces in red and green morocco, boards twice framed in blind, board edges gilt, all red edges, marbled pastedowns and endpapers
To make the strength of marriage consist in that of love is to go so far as to misunderstand the spirit of this institution.
First French edition, after the first edition published in 1608 in Mainz, where the author worked as a teacher. Illustrated with a title-frontispiece, allegory of the 7 deadly sins represented by monsters, Christ in medallion at the top with his feet on a seven-headed dragon.
Contemporary beige morocco, spine elaborately decorated in gilt, sides with central gilt armorial stamps, full quartered arms on the lower plate, boards elaborately framed in gilt using the same tools as the spine, with gilt cornerpieces, gilt edges, traces of laces. Upper spine restored, as well as spine-ends. Brown stain to second board, 1cm in diameter. Leaf 553, a hole to the lower margin, a few pale t
New deluxe edition printed by Didot on deluxe vellum paper. Includes two superb engravings by Moreau, engraved by Giraud. Critical edition with preface, annotations, and Plutarch's Life of Phocion in Amyot's translation.
Copy bearing the crowned cipher of Louis-Philippe stamped on both boards. Once on the throne of France, Louis-Philippe abandoned the arms of the Duke of Orléans in favor of his crowned cipher, a symbol of his role as constitutional monarch. Later in his reign, the crown would even be removed, leaving only the bare cipher.
Later Restoration binding in red long-grain morocco, attributable to Simier, Louis-Philippe's bookbinder (Louis-Philippe had several copies bound
New edition, following the original published in 1766 in Berlin.
It is illustrated with a large folding plate containing 22 Masonic emblems. The first edition includes a frontispiece; it is possible that it is lacking in this later edition.
Contemporary half red shagreen binding, circa 1860, spine with flat false raised bands decorated with gilt fillets, red shagreen title label, some rubbing, particularly at the head.
Title page browned. Some foxing.
The work opens with a history of Freemasonry, followed by a detailed study of the seven following Scottish high degrees: Perfect Elected Mason, Elected of P., Elected of the Fifteen, Little Architect, Grand Architect, Knigh
First edition.
Contemporary speckled brown calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. 2 corners slightly bumped. Handsome copy.
3 treatises present in this collection all concern a reflection on the honest man. The fourth is entitled Le commerce du monde. If Faret had already treated the qualities of the honest man, it is the chevalier de Méré, through his three treatises published after his death, who would be its true theorist, founding his principles on a philosophy of life in society, combining the qualities of the heart with taste, culture and wit.
It was regarding honesty that Méré and Pascal formed a long friendship. Pascal would subseq
New edition.
Contemporary full marbled brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Tan morocco title and volume labels. Lacks at head of volume I. Tailcap of volume II split off. Upper joint of volume III opened at head. Upper corners very bumped and worn bare.
Collection of moral letters on contemporary manners. According to the author's preface which criticizes epistolary novels, these letters would be real and addressed to a certain Count.
First French edition, rare. Translated by Etienne François de Sennevert. A fine printing on handsome laid paper.
Contemporary full polished mottled calf, smooth spines richly decorated with gilt tooling in compartments and rolls, black morocco lettering-pieces, tan morocco volume labels, triple gilt fillet borders on the boards. Some surface abrasions to the boards, joints, and borders. Slight brown waterstain in the upper margin of the preliminary leaves of volume 1. A small loss at the foot of volume 4. Headcap of volume 2 lightly worn. Loss at the lower joint of volume 1. Despite a few minor defects, a very handsome copy.
First edition. The second part is regarded as rare, since Prussia ordered the manuscript to be seized and the copies burned, although in fact the second part is found in many sets.
Contemporary full mottled brown calf binding. Spine with raised bands richly gilt. Red morocco lettering-piece. Lower headcap partly torn. Abrasion to the lower cover with loss along the joint. Two corners rubbed. A brown stain in the upper margin of p. 49, about 2 cm. Loss in the margin at the corner of p. 144, not affecting the text. Marbled endpaper with a cut along the outer margin. Some gatherings browned. A good copy.
Complete first edition in six volumes, illustrated with decorative headpieces.
Contemporary bindings in full marbled brown calf, spines with six raised bands decorated with red morocco title and volume labels, fleurons and double gilt frame fillets, triple fillets stamped in blind framing the boards, double gilt fillets on the leading edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, all edges marbled. Title pages in red and black. Headcaps worn, title labels of volumes 1, 3, 4 and 6 and volume labels of volumes 4, 5 and 6 missing, some lacks to the compartments, leather split at the joint of the first volume, joints of other volumes often slightly cracked at head or foot, boards and l
First edition. Dorbon no. 4403: "rare, full of singular documents." Caillet [III, 9922]
Contemporary full brown calf binding. Spine gilt-tooled in compartments. Brown morocco title-piece. Loss at head of spine. Corners worn and somewhat clumsily restored. A filled loss on lower cover. Scattered foxing. A waterstain at one corner of the final leaves. Several gatherings protruding.
Rare first edition.
Contemporary full tree calf bindings. Smooth spines decorated with two gilt tools and two grotesque panels. Red morocco title labels. Black wax volume labels, heavily rubbed and faded. Head- and tailcaps and the upper and lower joints and corners very discreetly restored. A scratch on one board. A handsome, clean copy.
First French edition translated by Arnaud de la Chapelle. Title page in red and black.
Later 19th-century full red morocco binding with straight grain (Russia leather) signed by Thouvenin at tail. Spine with raised bands decorated with compartments framed by gilt fillets. Title and date in gilt. Gilt fillets framing the boards with trefoils in the corners. Inner gilt fillet. All edges gilt. Spine slightly faded. Rubbing to headcaps, joints and corners. Upper joint narrowly split at tail for 3 cm. One tear on p. 274, another on p. 302, both in the middle of the page. Despite some defects, a handsome copy.
20th-century engraved bookplate of E. Crawshaw.
First edition, rare.
Half blond sheep bindings. Smooth spines decorated in the grotesque style. Red morocco title labels and beige morocco volume labels. Library labels at foot. Two small wormholes along the lower joint of volume I. A split with loss at the lower joint of volume II. A good, decorative copy.
New edition, following the first collected edition also published in Amsterdam in 1775 and produced by d'Holbach.
Contemporary full blonde calf bindings. Smooth spines richly decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, as well as red morocco title labels and green volume labels with red morocco inlay. Fine gilt decorative board-edges framing the boards. Gilt roulettes on the leading edges and headcaps. All edges marbled.
Headcaps slightly rubbed and some minor wormholes. Each volume shows dampstaining to outer margin. Quite good copy, of handsome appearance.
The first volume contains the author's most famous text: L'Antiquité dévoilée, the second the Recherches su
Rare first edition, comprising 9 plates, including 3 folding plates.
Contemporary full mottled brown calf bindings. Spines with raised bands, gilt decoration. Title and volume labels in brown morocco. Blue mottled edges. A handsome copy.
First French edition, after the original German published in 1732 under the title: Psychologia empirica.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title-label. One lack at head, similar lacks at foot. Joints cracked at head and foot. Corners slightly bumped. Title page with browning to margins.
Wolf sought to redefine philosophy as a whole based on a stable principle of knowledge founded on deduction and the model of geometry; a rationalist, he was a disciple of Leibniz from whom he borrowed many concepts. And yet for the first time in the history of philosophy, Wolf conferred an autonomy on psycholog
New edition.
Half sheep bindings in bottle green, smooth spines decorated with quadruple fillets and gilt typographical motifs, two upper headcaps slightly worn, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some corners very slightly bumped, contemporary bindings signed by Flore.
Some minor foxing of no consequence. Handsome set.
Two editions appeared simultaneously with the same collation, one with the address of the hôtel de Thou and this one, presumably the privilege was given to both publishers for this first edition; it is illustrated with a portrait of the author as frontispiece by Louis-Joseph Duplessi engraved by Nicolas de Launay; some head- and tailpieces on wood.
Copy in original wrappers under pale pink temporary covers, spine with manuscript title. Half-title page torn at top as well as some dampstains; lacks at head, otherwise good copy.
