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101 ROUSSEAU, Jean Jacques. Principes du droit politique (Du contrat social). [Bound with:] Discours sur l’oeconomie politique. Amsterdam: Marc Michel Rey [Discours: Geneva, Du Villard], 1762 & 1758 one of the most important single works in the history of political philosophy First edition, Dufour’s variant B, the definitive version of the Contrat Social , Rousseau’s greatest book. It is bound here with the first edition in book form of Rousseau’s Discours sur l’œconomie politique , first published in 1755 in the Encyclopédie , volume V. The story of the first edition of the Contrat Social is somewhat complicated. The letters sent by Rousseau to his publisher, Marc Michel Rey, establish that variant A was abandoned in favour of variant B, which became the definitive version. The changes the author required concern the title page and the last pages. The title vignette of variant A copies depicts Justice, but Rousseau wrote to Rey asking for a vignette of Liberty. It was to be based on the vignette that had been used in Rousseau’s Discours sur l’inégalité (1755), although he found the illustration distasteful, as it made the allegorical figure look like “une grosse joufflue”. Rousseau subsequently found the title page too crowded, hence the move in
variant B of the first half of the title (“Du Contract Social”) to the half-title, where it is followed by a semicolon. Additionally, the 24-line note on civil marriage at the end of the text was removed in variant B, thus suppressing page 324, due to fears that it might cause the book to be censored in France. “The Contract Social remains Rousseau’s greatest work. With no particular learning, no gift for logic, and a total lack of practical experience, he yet contrived to write a work of compelling eloquence . . . His work had the most profound influence on the political thinking of the generation following its publication” ( PMM ). Two works bound in one volume, octavo (188 × 120 mm). Contemporary polished marbled calf, spine elaborately gilt-tooled in compartments with red label and raised bands, marbled endpapers, red edges. Contrat Social : engraved title vignette of Liberty by Boily after Bolomey. Discours : woodcut title vignette with motto “Labor improbus omnia vincit”. To both: engraved head- and tailpieces, initials. Lightly rubbed, professional restoration at spine ends, boards superficially marked, spine label chipped, contents crisp and evenly browned, with sporadic foxing and a few faint patches of damp stain, contemporary ownership signature on title page of Contrat Social , and some brown marks to pp. 17–22 of same. Overall in very good condition. ¶ Contrat Social : Dufour 133; En français dans le texte 162; Printing and the Mind of Man 207; Tchemerzine V, 543. Discours : Dufour 68; Higgs 1627; Tchemerzine X, 33 (b). £15,000 [156781]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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