DE L'ESPRIT
by HELVETIUS, Claude-Adrien
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
1758. [HELVETIUS, Claude-Adrien]. DE L'ESPRIT. Nouvelle edition. Revue et corrigee sur un Exemplaire non chatre de la premiere Edition. Paris: Chez Durand, libraire, 1758. Two octavo volumes. Vol. I: [4],xiv,318 pp.; Vol. II: xiii,334 pp. Contemporary bindings; full calf, gilt labels and decoration at spine, all edges speckled red. Large armorial bookplate at front pastedown of each volume. Except for occasional light foxing, the volumes are clean internally. Bookblocks are lightly foxed at exposed edges and are dust-soiled at top-edges. The bindings are a bit edgeworn, with shallow loss at spinal ends. The top joint of volume one and the lower joint of volume two are cracked (though the boards are still attached); and the other boards have been professionally re-hinged. One spine label is missing and another is nicked. The leather was varnished at one point and the finish has rubbed off in some places. Very good overall. Helvetius (French, 1715-71) was one of the encyclopedistes and De l'esprit is his major work. It was written as a response to Montesquie's L'Esprit de lois and was first printed in 1758. It attracted immediate attention and aroused formidable opposition because of its utilitarian philosophy. The Sorbonne, the Parlement of Paris, the Pope, the Bishop of Paris, as well as various other bishops, condemned the book. It was even publicly burned by the hangman. The attendant controversy caused it to be widely read and many editions were printed within a short time to satisfy the demand. This is a later edition by the publisher of the original edition, printed the same year as the first edition. (Smith, "The Publication of Helvetius's De l'espirit," in French Studies, Vol. 18, pp. 332-44).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Boston Book Company (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 71633
- Title
- DE L'ESPRIT
- Author
- HELVETIUS, Claude-Adrien
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Date Published
- 1758
Terms of Sale
Boston Book Company
15 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 15 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Boston Book Company
Biblio member since 2006
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
About Boston Book Company
Specializing in East Asian Books with Aesthetic Interest, Japanese Books with Original Art, English and American Literature, Women's Books and the Generally Intriguing!
Established in 1979, Boston Book Company offers rare and interesting books in a broad range of subjects. Our areas of particular expertise: Japanese artist books of all eras, East Asian art in general, photographica, local history, women's books, English and American literature..
We are always eager to learn something new.... Every collector brings a novel approach to our shared love of books.
Welcome!
Helen Kelly
Charles Vilnis
David Fredette
James Desrosiers
Elizabeth Fragala
Established in 1979, Boston Book Company offers rare and interesting books in a broad range of subjects. Our areas of particular expertise: Japanese artist books of all eras, East Asian art in general, photographica, local history, women's books, English and American literature..
We are always eager to learn something new.... Every collector brings a novel approach to our shared love of books.
Welcome!
Helen Kelly
Charles Vilnis
David Fredette
James Desrosiers
Elizabeth Fragala
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Foxed
- Foxing is the age related browning, or brown-yellowish spots, that can occur to book paper over time. When this aging process...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Spine Label
- The paper or leather descriptive tag attached to the spine of the book, most commonly providing the title and author of the...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...