Essai sur Le Méchanisme des Passions en Général
Paris: Chez Pierre-Alexandre le Prieur, 1751. First edition. Hardcover. 12mo. [5], ii-xxvii, [1], 1-56, [13], 2-199 (should be paginated as 189), [3] pp. Contemporary mottled calf with the spine in six compartments, gold tooling and floral decorations on the spine; all edges sprinkled red. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Bound with the half-title. Illustrated with woodcut head and tailpieces and woodcut initials, also with a folding chart. A treatise on emotions of passion and their causes. The author was a physician at the University of Paris. The first portion of his book examines the causes of passionate emotions, specifically, music and alcohol (much of the text is devoted to how music can stir a person's passions, examining which parts of music stir which emotion). The second portion of this book considers how strong emotions affect various parts of the human body. Very Good. Item #000016066
Rubbing to the crown and foot of the spine, the boards' top corners rubbed through, a few wormholes to the top of the spine, impacting the gutter at the end of the textblock. No loss of text.
Price: $350.00