DIDEROT (Denis) - ALEMBERT (D'). - Lot 20

DIDEROT (Denis) - ALEMBERT (D'). Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une société de gens de lettres. Paris, Neuchâtel, Amsterdam, 1751-1777 ; Lucques, 1765-1768 (for 2 volumes of plates). - 33 (of 35) volumes in-folio, tan calf, ornate ribbed spine, marbled edges (period bindings). This work is a monument of capital importance in the history of ideas. The aim of the Encyclopedists was above all to promote the triumph of reason and modernity, at a time when, after centuries of obscurantism, we were witnessing a renaissance of intelligence. Diderot, who had been entrusted with the management of the Encyclopédie, devoted 20 years to this undertaking, for which he edited, synthesized and wrote over a thousand articles on subjects as diverse as philosophy, aesthetics, morality and the mechanical arts. In the early years, he was assisted by D'Alembert, who abandoned publishing in 1759 after the encyclopedic enterprise was condemned. From then on, D'Alembert was solely responsible for the mathematical part of the work. Contributors to this prestigious undertaking included Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu. This copy comprises 33 volumes published over a wide period, from 1751 to 1777. It comprises 17 volumes of text published between 1751 and 1765, 11 volumes of plates published between 1762 and 1772, and 5 volumes of supplements printed between 1776 and 1777. The only missing items are the two volumes of tables published in 1780. The set is composite. The 17 volumes of text are in original editions, except for the second, which is a copy of the forgery given by Panckoucke from 1770. The eleven volumes of plates are in first editions, except for volumes 1 and 4, which come from the second edition published in Lucca, bearing the dates 1765 and 1768 respectively. The supplement volumes are all in first edition. The 17 volumes of text include three tables, the first in volume 1 ("Systême figuré des connoissances humaines"), the second in volume 7 ("Tableau du manche de la guitare"), and the last in volume 8 ("Tableau des mesures itinéraires anciennes..."). The 11 volumes of plates comprise 2579 (out of 2580). The first plate of the "Chirurgie" section is missing from volume three of the plates, replaced by a duplicate of the ninth engraving of the "Chymie" section. The 5 supplement volumes total 4 folding tables (general divisions of Africa, America and Asia (volume 1), as well as the Système figuré des parties de la géographie (volume 3)), and 214 (out of 215) plates, including 10 folding maps, collected in the fifth, which constitutes the "Suite du recueil de planches". The first of three plates on hermaphrodites is missing. Copy in period bindings, but not uniform. Some headbands missing, some corners dulled, occasional traces of wetness. The bindings of volume 7 of the text and volume 2 of the supplement are damaged by damp. The errata at the end of volume 5 of the text is missing, as is the false title of volume 7. Few traces of wetness, except in volumes 7 of the text and 2 of the supplement, where they are very present.