This 1878 edition of XVIIIe Siècle: Lettres,
Sciences et Arts en France 1700–1789 is a large-format illustrated book
covering a wide range of French achievements in the 18th century. It features
16 color chromolithographs and over 250 in-text engravings. The subjects
include painting, music, furniture, porcelain, architecture, and jewelry.
Bibliographic Details
- Title: XVIIIe
Siècle: Lettres, Sciences et Arts en France 1700–1789
- Author(s): Paul Lacroix
- Publisher: Paris, Librairie de Firmin-Didot et Cie
- Edition: First printing, 1878
- Format: Large Octavo, single volume
- Binding: Red leather and gilt spine, decorative red cloth
boards, all edges gilt, gilt endpapers
- Size: 11.5in X 8.25in (29cm x 21cm)
- Collation:
XIII, [3], 560 pp
- Illustrations: 16 chromolithograph plates, approx. 250 in-text
engravings
- Contents
Include:
- Painting
across royal and academic circles, from Louis XIV to David
- Artists
such as Watteau, Chardin, Greuze, Boucher, Rigaud, and Coypel
- Sculpture
during and after the reign of Louis XIV, including Girardon and the
Coustou brothers
- Architecture
in both royal and public spaces, including Versailles, the Panthéon, and
the Invalides
- Engraving
styles and key names like Audran and Edelinck
- Music
under Lully, Rameau, Gluck, and Mozart
- Furniture
design styles from Rocaille to early bourgeois interiors
- Decorative
objects made by Cressent and Lazarre Duvaux
- French
porcelain, especially Manufacture de Sèvres and its Asian influence
- Jewelry,
goldsmithing, and small personal items like snuffboxes during the years
leading to the Revolution
Condition:
Original red publisher’s leather and cloth shows
ornate gilt tooling to both spine and boards, with minor wear consistent with
age. Gilt edges are bright and intact, protecting the text block. Marbled
endpapers. Beautiful illustrations throughout, clean display.
Why
Collect This?
- 1878 folio with broad coverage of 18th-century French decorative
and fine arts
- Contains 16 chromolithographs and over 250 detailed illustrations
- Stunning red leather, gold-gilt display
- Well suited for collectors of French Enlightenment-era culture,
design history, and fine bindings
·
INVENTORY
NUMBER (SKU): #28763