Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes

Description

"Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes" with its cosmology plate. First edition of 1686 in Paris, published by the widow C. Blageart. 1 volume, in-12 (16 x 9 cm) "in its original state". This edition is practically impossible to find. This copy has its contemporary binding in dark calfskin. Its spine has six raised bands with gilt floral motifs and gilt lettering. All in all, it is of course more than 330 years old... This 359-page book is complete with its folding cosmology plate, engraved in chalcography by the Spanish artist Juan Dolivar (1641-1692), which is found at the end of the book. The binding is solid and presents no problems. As for the defects: The cover is rubbed, the corners are bumped and there is a small loss at the top of the spine. There is also a worm hole at the bottom. The endpapers are darkened, but nothing serious. The interior is in very good condition, apart from light damp stains on pages 1, 52-53 and page 109. Furthermore, we can clearly see the typical pagination errors of this original edition: page 301 is numbered as 303 and page 339 as 349. This is an essay on astronomy published by Fontenelle in 1686. The work is composed of five popular science lessons on the knowledge of Descartes and Copernicus, given to a marquise and divided into 5 evenings: