ENTRETIENS SUR LA PLURALITE DES MONDES. Par de Fontenelle.
Paris: Menard et Desenne, Fils, 1818. Calf & Boards. pp: (iv), xxiv, 194, (4); frontispiece portrait with tissue guard, folding plate with tissue guard at rear, depicting the solar system with Herschell [Uranus] as the eighth planet. Bound in calf-backed marbled boards; gilt spine rules, devices and title; ends of joints barely started, lacking the rear free endpaper. 6.75" x 3.75" Very Good. Item #039260
This famous work, first published in 1686 and arranged as six lectures given over the course of six evenings, was "a lucid exposition of astronomy according to Copernicus and Descartes, enlivened by speculations concerning life on other planets and elegantly presented in the form of after-dinner conversations with a Maraquise. It represents the first major attempt to present scientific knowledge to the layman in an attractive literary form, and was highly successful." (Penguin Companion to European Literature).
Price: $120.00