L'An deux mille quatre cent quarante. Rêve s'il en fut jamais
by [ Mercier, Louis-Sebastien ]
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
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Los Angeles, California, United States
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About This Item
A Londres: 1775 Early edition of this influential utopian novel, noteworthy for being set in the future. "L'an deux mille quatre cent quarante was first published in 1771. It was swiftly banned in France and was put on the Inquisition's list of forbidden books in 1773, but it became a runaway best seller, going through at least twenty-five editions. Later mottled sheep. Gilt, flat spine, edges stained red. . Small octavo. Light dampstain in margin of half-title, a little light foxing. A very good copy. Gershon Legman's copy, with his signature and the date 1984 in ink on the front free endpaper. Mercier (1740-1814) was a prolific writer of plays, novels, and pamphlets. Firmly in the tradition of the Enlightenment, he was influenced by Rousseau, Diderot, Holbach, Mably, and others. Robert Darnton writes: "There is no better writer to consult," Robert Darnton writes, "if one wants to get some idea of how Paris looked, sounded, smelled, and felt on the eve of the Revolution" (The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France, p. 118). despite its self-proclaimed character of fantasy...L'An 2440 demanded to be read as a serious guidebook to the future. It offered an astonishing new perspective: the future as a fait accompli and the present as a distant past. Who could resist the temptation to participate in such a thought experiment? And once engaged in it, who could fail to see that it exposed the rottenness of the society before his eyes, the Paris of the eighteenth century?" (ibid, p. 120). Gershon Legman (1917-1999) pioneered the serious academic study of erotic and taboo materials in folklore. He is particularly known for his work, Rationale of the Dirty Joke: An Analysis of Sexual Humor (1968) and for his several books on limericks.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Michael R. Thompson, Booksellers, ABAA/ILAB (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 14501
- Title
- L'An deux mille quatre cent quarante. Rêve s'il en fut jamais
- Author
- [ Mercier, Louis-Sebastien ]
- Format/Binding
- Later mottled sheep. Gilt, flat spine, edges stained red.
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Early edition of this influential utopian novel, noteworthy for
- Place of Publication
- A Londres:
- Date Published
- 1775
- Pages
- [viii], 472, [4] pp.
- Size
- Small octavo
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Michael R. Thompson, Booksellers, ABAA/ILAB
CWO Visa, MC , American Express, Discover SHipping: $12.00 1st ordinary-sized book within the U.S., at cost for others. Our normal method of shipping within the U.S. is U.P.S. International orders shipped at cost; please inquire about costs of air and surface shipment. All books guaranteed as described. Items returnable within ten days if the customer is dissatisfied; please phone or e-mail first. Customers are encouraged to e-mail us with any questions before ordering.
About the Seller
Michael R. Thompson, Booksellers, ABAA/ILAB
About Michael R. Thompson, Booksellers, ABAA/ILAB
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...