The history of the heavens, considered according to the notions of the poets and philosophers, compared with the doctrines of Moses [Provenance]
by PLUCHE, Noël-Antoine (1688-1761)
- Used
- Fine
- Condition
- Fine
- Seller
-
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: prinied [sic] for J. Osborn; and sold by C. Rivington, C. Davis, T. Longman, T. Astley, S. Austen [and 7 others in London, 1 in Bath], 1741. Second Edition. Full Calf. Fine. Translated from the French of the Abbé Pluche by J. B. de Freval, in two volumes. 8vo: [2],x,[2],288,[8]; [2],312,[8],92pp, with 25 engraved plates, captioned in French, cut (from original 12mo edition) and mounted. A note in Volume I requests the bookbinder "to paste the cuts (which are the original ones, engraven at Paris) upon an octavo leaf, the size of this work." Twelve of the plates are signed as engraved by J. P. Le Bas; the others are unsigned. Armorial book plate of William Constable, of Burton Constable Hall, to front paste-down of each volume. English speckled calf, spines in compartments between raised bands, reddish-brown leather lettering pieces and green leather numbering pieces gilt, page edges speckled red, board edges decocted with gilt role. A spectacular set, with notable provenance, virtually flawless, with crisp, bright pages (save for offsetting to end papers), printed on heavy stock and tightly bound. Sale (Samuel Richardson) 266. Newton and Newtoniana 403.288. ESTC T105818. The second edition. "To which is added, a revisal of the work." First published, in Paris, in 1741, under the title Histoire du ciel. Noël-Antoine Pluche, a controversial professor of rhetoric at Rheims, published his most famous work, Spectacle de la nature, in nine volumes between 1732-1742. It was widely translated, making Pluche famous, but it was a work of popularization, not of science. Here, he attempts to make science conform with the teachings of Genesis. Burton Constable Hall is a substantial Elizabethan country house in East Yorkshire, with a fine 18th century cabinet of curiosities (apparently the most complete in any English country house), assembled by William Constable (1721-1791), probably the original owner of this set. Interesting, in 1760, soon after he may have acquired the set, Constable purchased the world's first equatorially mounted telescope from the famous York clock maker Henry Hindley. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Fine Editions Ltd (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- BB1568
- Title
- The history of the heavens, considered according to the notions of the poets and philosophers, compared with the doctrines of Moses [Provenance]
- Author
- PLUCHE, Noël-Antoine (1688-1761)
- Format/Binding
- Full Calf
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Second Edition
- Publisher
- prinied [sic] for J. Osborn; and sold by C. Rivington, C. Davis, T. Longman, T. Astley, S. Austen [and 7 others in London, 1 in
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1741
- Keywords
- Mythology—Early works to 1800. Cosmology—Early works to 1800. Creation—Early works to 1800. Religion and science—Early works to 1800.
- Bookseller catalogs
- HAND-PRESS PERIOD;
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Fine Editions Ltd
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About the Seller
Fine Editions Ltd
Biblio member since 2005
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
About Fine Editions Ltd
Fine Editions specializes in First Editions of English and American Literature, Landmarks In Science and the History Of Ideas, Natural History and Color-Plate books, Travel and Voyages, and books on Gardening and Landscape Design. Our hallmark is condition: with few exceptions (mostly relating to our antiquarian stock), all books sold are in Near Fine or better conditions and all are highly collectible.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Paste-down
- The paste-down is the portion of the endpaper that is glued to the inner boards of a hardback book. The paste-down forms an...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...