DEFOE (Daniel). - Lot 12

DEFOE (Daniel). The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Containing, Among Other Events, His Twenty-Eight-Year Stay on a Deserted Island, Located on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great Oroonoque River. Amsterdam: L’Honoré & Chatelain, 1720–1721. — 3 volumes in-12, 158 x 96: frontispiece, (1 f.), XII, 629 pp., 1 map, 6 plates; frontispiece, (1 f.), VIII, 588 pp., 6 plates; frontispiece, XXXIV pp., (1 f.), 632 pp., 6 plates. Red morocco, triple gilt fillet framing the covers, decorated ribbed spine, gilt interior edging, gilt edges (Pouillet). First edition of the first French translation of Daniel Defoe’s famous adventure novel, translated by Thémiseul de Saint-Hyacinthe (1684–1746) and Justus Van Effen (1684–1735). In this work, slavery plays a central role, although it is often normalized or justified by the prevailing attitudes of the time. Robinson Crusoe is, in turn, a slave, a slave trader, and a master, without this giving rise to any moral reflection. Friday, though saved from the cannibals, remains a subordinate, thus illustrating the racial hierarchy of colonial society. The novel thereby trivializes slavery while condemning other forms of violence. The third volume is titled: *Serious and Important Reflections by Robinson Crusoe, Made During the Surprising Adventures of His Life*. With its angelic worldview. This edition is illustrated with a copperplate engraving by Bernard Picart, adorning each title page, a fold-out map of the Earth, “on which is traced the Journey of Robinson Crusoe,” and 21 beautiful plates also created by Bernard Picart, including 3 frontispieces. The artist’s signature appears only on the first frontispiece. The fold-out map is not repeated here in the second volume, as is almost always the case in later-bound copies. A very fine copy bound by Louis Pouillet, in excellent condition.