Diderot and the Encyclopaedists

London: Chapman and Hall, 1878. Cloth. Good. 9" by 6". None. A fascinating biography of Denis Diderot, the notable co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the 'Encyclopédie'. Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, writer, and prominent figure during the Enlightenment best known for co-founding the 'Encyclopédie' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. The 'Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers', or, as it is known in English, the 'Encyclopaedia or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts and Crafts', was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. Diderot worked extensively on the text, producing several hundred articles, some very slight, but many of them laborious, comprehensive, and long. He damaged his eyesight correcting proofs and editing the manuscripts of less competent contributors, yet the ''Encyclopédie' was his most monumental product, and one that earned him the reputation as one of the most important figures of the Enlightenment period. Complete in two volumes. This biography was written by John Morley, a notable British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor who produced several monographs on Voltaire, Rousseau, Burke, Walpole, and in this text, Diderot. In a brown cloth binding. Externally, sound with some bumping and a few marks. Hinges are strained. Internally, binding strained in places. Pages are bright, and generally clean, with just a few instances of spotting. Good