1) Le monde, son origine, et son antiquité. 2) De lame, et de son immortalité. 3) Essai sur la chronologie
Hardcover
1751 · London [ie. Paris]
by [BERNARD, Jean-Frédéric] (c. 1683-1744) MIRABAUD, Jean Baptiste de (1675-1760)
London [ie. Paris]: [Briasson (Barbier)], 1751. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo, three parts in one volume, each with separate pagination and title (160 x 100mm). [xii], 244, 8 leaves blank, [4], 172, 3 leaves blank, 72 pages. 18th-century mottled calf ruled in gilt, spine gilt in compartments with titles for three parts on morocco labels, marbled endpapers, edges gilt; (light toning at edges, lovely copy). Jean-Frédéric Bernard, a Huguenot refugee and writer, settled into his life as a bookseller in Amsterdam and authored several translations, critical editions, as well as historical and literary works, many in his native tongue. Because Bernard chose to remain anonymous as an author, there remains ambiguity in the imprint of the three parts in this work. They are, first, Le monde, son origine, et son antiquité. Premiere partie by Bernard but the imprint is false; it was printed in Paris by Briasson (Barbier). The second part has a separate title page, De lame, et de son immortalité, by Jean Baptiste de Mirabaud, printed in Paris (Londres [i.e. Paris], 1751). The third part has caption title, Essai sur la chronologie with Partie III. on the lower left corner. With a half-title for the second part (Londres [i.e. Paris], 1751). Despite being the work of a French Protestant who had fled to Holland, the book gives a favorable view of world cultures, even of those idolatrous peoples. Bernard sought to find commonalities rather than differences through accurate comparisons. His rehoming to the Dutch Republic, at the heart of the European book trade, gave Bernard ample opportunities to publish and explore topic of interest, like this second part on the immortality of the soul.
French Protestant Jean-Frédéric Bernards Enlightenment-era encyclopedic work on the history of cultures of the world, a wealth of knowledge for eighteenth century readers, written while in exile in Holland. (Inventory #: D11179)
French Protestant Jean-Frédéric Bernards Enlightenment-era encyclopedic work on the history of cultures of the world, a wealth of knowledge for eighteenth century readers, written while in exile in Holland. (Inventory #: D11179)