Principes du droit politique. Par J.J. Rousseau, citoyen de Geneve.
Amsterdam: Chez Marc Michel Rey, 1762.
The Authorized Issue of the Scarce First Edition of
One of the Most Important Works of Philosophy
ROUSSEAU, J[ean-] J[acques]. Principes du droit politique. Par J.J. Rousseau, citoyen de Geneve. Amsterdam: Chez Marc Michel Rey, 1762.
First edition, second issue, approved by Rousseau, with "Du Contract Social;" on half-title instead of title and different title-page vignette. This is the earliest obtainable edition. Only one copy of the "A" edition on Rare Book Hub in the past 80 years. Octavo (7 7/8 x 4 3/4 inches; 200 x 122 mm). [4], viii, 323, [1, ads] pp. Engraved vignette on title-page
Contemporary mottled calf, spine decoratively tooled in gilt in compartments with raised bands. Red morocco spine label, lettered in gilt. Boards double-ruled in gilt. Board edges tooled in gilt. Marbled endpapers. All edges stained red. Overall a superb copy, very bright and fresh throughout.
Upon receiving the first proofs in February 1762, Rousseau wrote to Rey that he was displeased with the appearance of the title-page and vignette. These were consequently changed almost immediately after printing had begun to reflect Rousseau's wishes, with "Du Contract Social;" moved from the top of the title-page to the half-title and the title-page vignette altered. At the same time, Rousseau also omitted a note on marriage from the end of his work; Rey used the resulting blank page to add a single-page catalogue of books at the end.
Numerous pirated versions of this book were printed soon after the true first edition—generally still bearing the "Amsterdam: M.M. Rey" imprint, but with differing collations, in either octavo or twelvemo, they sometimes included a supplemental letter falsely attributed to Rousseau. These piracies appear at auction far more frequently than the genuine first edition, in either the second or the almost unobtainable first issues. A rare and desirable work in lovely condition, our copy belongs to the only issue of the authentic first edition of which the author himself approved.
"The Contrat 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. He was, as has been seen, fundamentally at odds with the established beliefs of his time. In the Age of Reason he advocated the greater force of intuition: against artificial refinement, he urged a return to the natural state. So, observing that under the French monarchy the effect of government was the greatest misery of the greatest number, his convinced and sincere republicanism needed to look no further....[H]is fundamental thesis that government depends absolutely on the mandate of the people, and his genuine creative insight into a number of political and economic problems, give his work an indisputable cogency. It had the most profound influence on the political thinking of the generation following its publication. It was, after all, the first great emotional please for the equality of all men in the state....Rousseau believed passionately in what he wrote, and when in 1789 a similar emotion was released on a national scale, the Contrat Social came into its own as the bible of the revolutionaries in building their ideal state. Still in print, translated into every language in cheap editions and paperbacks, it remains a crucial document of egalitarian government" (Printing and the Mind of Man).
Tchermerzine X, p. 43 (b). See Le Petit, p. 565. Printing and the Mind of Man 207 (first issue). Dufour No. 133 (Varient "B").
HBS 68778.
$20,000.
Price: $20,000.00
Item #68778