CUREAU DE LA CHAMBRE (Marin). - Lot 23

CUREAU DE LA CHAMBRE (Marin). Discours de l'amitié et de la haine qui se trouvent entre les Animaux. Paris: Claude Barbin, 1667. -In-8, 177x116: (3 ff.), 248 pp. (2 ff. last blank). Long-grained brick morocco, double gilt fillet and cold roulette framing the boards, ornate ribbed spine, inner gilt roulette, gilt edges (P. Ducastin). First edition. This was one of the works that refuted the Cartesian "animal-machine" thesis, according to which animals had no soul and were reduced to mechanics. It was written by Marin Cureau de La Chambre (1594-1669), physician to the king and chancellor Pierre Séguier, and member of the Académie Française. In it, the author studies the relationships between animals, concluding from his observations that animals were endowed with souls and thought, and even going so far as to consider the existence of animal mores. A precious copy bound by Pierre-Alexis Ducastin (1785-1860), who has retained the original endpaper on which appears an AUTOGRAPHIC SENDAL SIGNED BY CUREAU DE LA CHAMBRE to a certain Monsieur Tartiere: Pour // Monsieur Tartiere // par son tres humble // serviteur // La Chambre Copies with dispatch from this period are very rare. We have found no evidence of this Tartiere. Spine and edges of boards faded, some wear rubbing. Provenance: Tartière, with dispatch from the author.