Œuvres complètes.

[Poinçot], [Paris], 1788-93

A significant edition of the philosopher’s collected works. Complete set in rare amber-coloured bindings, with the hand-coloured botanical plates twice bound in volume 38 and also in volumes 5 and 6.

Description: 39 vols. in 38, contemp. buff calf; gilt palmette borders to boards, gilt meander roll to turn-ins; spine decorated with paired gilt fillets, guilloches and dotted lines enclosing a gilt stylised sun symbol; with two contrasting red morocco lettering pieces and an escutcheon bearing the number of vols.; marbled endpapers. Octavo: 21 × 13 cm; pp.: (vol. 1–4, La Nouvelle Héloïse) 488; 468; 488; 484 (vol. 5–6, Lettres élémentaires sur la bontanique) 393, [22 ll.]; 286, [16 ll.], 287–507, [6 ll.] (vol. 7–9, Politique) 479; 485; 459 (vol. 10–14, Émile) 413; 361; 450; 384 (vol. 15–17, Sciences, arts et belles-lettres) 485; 476; 538 (vol. 18, Théatre) 444 (vol. 19–22, Musique) 456; 460; 459; 397 (vol. 23–26, Confessions) 472; 406, [2]; 414; 478 (vol. 27–28, Pièces diverses) 434; 408 (vol. 29–30, Philosophie) 463; 515 (vol. 31–35, Lettres sur divers sujets) 480; 428; 433; 434; 534 (vol. 36, Pensées et maximes) 480 (vol. 37 [vols. xxxvii–xxxviii], Recueil des œuvres de musique) 319, vi (vol. 38, Recueil de plantes coloriées) [45 ll., title-page and plate descriptions)]. With 41 frontispieces, 144 plates (of which are: 43 full-page plates, 13 fold-out plates with sheet music, 44 hand-coloured botanical plates, double-bound in volumes 5, 6 and in volume 38) and numerous illustrations in the text. Blue silk bookmarks. All edges gilt.

Ref.: Brunet iv, 1422; Cohen/R. 910–11; Dufour ii, 33; Stewart 2012, p. 128–42

Condition: Bindings occasionally somewhat stained and show light wear to the extremities. Endpapers occasionally lightly browned, partly up to the first few pages and around the plates. Textblock occasionally stained (more in some parts, hardly any in others). A few coloured plates with slight offsetting to versos. Cohen/R. lists 3 [?] frontispieces for volume 37, whereas there are only 2 in this copy. However, Cohen/R. contradicts himself by listing a total of 42 frontispieces, but only mentioning 40 in the descriptive text. On the whole a very well preserved copy, despite occasional minor blemishes.

Notes: The primary editor, Louis-Sébastien Mercier (1740–1814), was a great admirer of Rousseau. His motivation for publishing the Œuvres complètes stemmed from his deep admiration for Rousseau, whose ideas on the social contract and popular sovereignty deeply influenced revolutionary thought. After Rousseau’s death in 1778, Mercier wanted to create a monument to Rousseau “that would be worthy of him and would last longer than marble and bronze” (Stewart 2012, p. 128). As primary editor, working with notable figures such as Abbé Gabriel Brizard, François de L’Aulnaye and Pierre Le Tourneur, Mercier organised Rousseau’s writings thematically into a complete work. This edition is based on the Geneva edition of 1780–82 but includes revisions and additions, some of which are based on Rousseau’s own preparations. Among many other previously unpublished texts, Rousseau’s Confessions appear in full for the first time in this edition.

This ambitious project was undertaken at a time of intense political and social upheaval. In order to finance the publication, the volumes were sold by subscription. As a result, it is not uncommon for volume 38, with its hand-coloured botanical plates, to be missing from the complete edition. Hand-coloured plates were very expensive to produce. They were an expensive and luxurious addition and were often sold separately. It is likely that volume 38 was added to our copy at a later date. This is supported by the slightly different binding and the fact that the 44 botanical plates already appear in volumes 5 and 6.