XVIIeme siècle, lettres, sciences et arts. France, 1590 - 1700

Second edition statement. Work illustrated with 17 chromolithographs and 300 wood engravings in the text (including 16 full-page). Title page in red and black. Fine luxurious production by Didot, carefully executed in all aspects (typography, illustration, paper...).
Publisher's red half-shagreen binding with corners, spine very richly decorated by Souze, and bound by Engel. Fillets on boards. Corners rubbed, 2 small paper lacks on boards (edges). Very pale stain from old dampstain in right margin of some pages, but overall very fresh. Handsome copy, with decorative appearance.
The work's interest manifests itself as much through its erudition as through its ease of approach and reading (historical anecdotes...). We owe it to Paul Jacob, who was a great bibliophile, writer and scholar, and curator of the Arsenal library. If the entire series has become a great classic in the field, it is because it happily combines the work of editor, printer, bookbinder, historian, illustrators, and documentation, and few books have ultimately achieved this amalgamation that we owe to Firmin-Didot, at a time when books had become quite mediocre.