Introduction a L'Histoire Generale et Politique de L'Univers; Où l'ou voit l'Origine, les Révolutions, l'Etat Présent, & les Interêts des Souverains.

Introduction a L'Histoire Generale et Politique de L'Univers; Où l'ou voit l'Origine, les Révolutions, l'Etat Présent, & les Interêts des Souverains.

Tome Premier.

Mr. [Samuel] le Baron de Pufendorff

Amsterdam: Chez Zacharie Chatelain

1732

Nouvelle Edition, Plus ample & plus correcte que les précedentes. On y a continué tous les Chapitres jusqu'à présent, & ajonté un Eloge Historique de L'Auteur.

This book has smooth light brown covers that have a narrow blind-stamped border around the edges of the covers. Located in the middle of both covers is an armorial, which sadly cannot be identified. Wealthy book collectors had their coats-of-arms cut in type to give the binder to use to mark the covers of books. This coat-of-arms has several different ethnic influences: the crown denotes a connection with a royal family and is in the same style as Italian armorials; the scroll around the center circle looks like the Imperial Russian double-headed eagle; and the rampant lion is Scottish.
The edges of the covers were worked in an abstract gilt design and the compartments on the spine have several borders surrounding some flowers and more rampant lions. There are two blank compartments which probably used to have leather inserts with the title and volume information, but now the entire spine is covered with a piece of clear tape.
Only one of the endpapers remains and it is a comb marbling pattern in red, green, blue, yellow, and white. The back endpaper is gone, but this reveals the sewing structure. Sadly, the only pre-printing manuscript in our collection is found cut up in this book. Manuscript "waste" was used for the interior structure of later books. In addition to the chords that were tied into the boards, these manuscript tabs would have been glued to the boards helping to secure the textblock within its cover. With time, this glue has dissolved leaving the manuscript tabs flapping.
The edges of the textblock have been dipped in red dye, the paper is made of old rags, and the type bites into the paper leaving indentations.
The maps appear to have been tipped in and some have come loose. The few vignettes and the maps appear to be a mix of both copper plate engravings and wood block engravings, as different techniques are visible through a microscope.
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Samuel, Baron von Pufendorff was not born into nobility, but given the title as an honor. He is best known for his many books giving a legal defense to natural law, but he was also a historian. One of the hallmarks of his writings that had ramifications in the 18th century, was that civil law was greater than religious law, except on ecclesiastical matters, which were the purview of the church.
Pufendorff lived from 1632-1694.

History

SPECIAL D18 .P84 1732

Hardcover book, 6.75 x 4 inches

French

This book has another record in the "Beautiful Books" Exhibit Collection.
This book can be seen in the photograph, Display Case 2.

Book