Plates to the Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts, et des métiers, vol. 1 thumbnail 1
Plates to the Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts, et des métiers, vol. 1 thumbnail 2
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Plates to the Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts, et des métiers, vol. 1

Book
1762 (published)
Artist/Maker
Briasson (printer)
Diderot, Denis (editors)
Alembert, Jean Le Rond D' (editors)
Place of origin
Paris (published)

Volume 1 of the Plates for Diderot's Encyclopedia, published as Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonnée des sciences, des arts, et des métiers, between 1751 and 1765.

Object details

Categories
Books
National Art Library
Caribbean
Object type
Book
TitlePlates to the Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts, et des métiers, vol. 1 (published title)
Brief description
Book, Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts libéraux et les arts méchaniques, by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert, vol. 1 (1762), Paris: Chez Briasson, rue Saint Jacques, à la Science : David, rue & vis-à-vis la Grille de Mathurins : Le Breton, imprimeur ordinaire du Roy, rue de la Harpe : Durand, rue du Foin, vis-à-vis la petite Porte des Mathurins.
Physical description
Part of a set of 11 volumes.
"C'est M. Besnard, graveur, qui a dirigé l'execution des planches le quatrième volume inclusivement jusqu'à la fin de la collection" -- Avertissement, v. 11, p. [ix].
Library stamp: Science & Art Department. Library.
Binding: Library's set bound in red goatskin, gold-tooled, gilt edges, marbled endpapers. Repaired by Winstanley of Salisbury in 1975.
Dimensions
  • Height: 45cm
Gallery label
(09/12/2015)
The Encyclopédie

The Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts (1751–72) was one of the great works of the Enlightenment. Its aim was to gather all available knowledge, to examine it critically and rationally, and to bring it to a wide public. With 17 volumes of text and 11 of illustrations, this was a vast collaborative project that involved many of the leading thinkers of the day, including Voltaire. The bulk of the work fell to Denis Diderot as author, editor and compiler.

Sugar Production
1762

Many of the engravings in the Encyclopédie show agricultural processes and the production of raw materials. Sugar – an essential of daily life in Europe – was grown in European colonies in the West Indies and South America using slave labour. The authors of the Encyclopédie deplored the use of slavery as an affront to the dignity of every human being.

France (Paris)
Etching and engraving
Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d’Alembert, eds, Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences, les arts libéraux et les arts méchaniques (plates to the Encyclopédie), Vol. 1
National Art Library

The Encyclopédie, Vol. 5, 1755:

‘Slave trade is the purchase of Negroes made by Europeans on the coasts of Africa, who then employ these unfortunate men as slaves in their colonies. This purchase of Negroes to reduce them into slavery is a trade that violates all religion, morals, natural law, and human rights.’
Object history
The term "negro" was used historically to describe people of black African heritage but, since the 1960s, has fallen from usage and, increasingly, is considered offensive. The term is repeated here in its original historical context.
Summary
Volume 1 of the Plates for Diderot's Encyclopedia, published as Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonnée des sciences, des arts, et des métiers, between 1751 and 1765.
Collection
National Art Library
Library number
38041800786162

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Record createdMay 13, 2014
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1293829/plates-to-the-encyclopédie-ou-book-diderot-denis/
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