CORNEILLE (Thomas), FONTENELLE (Bernard le Bovier de) - Dict - Lot 363

CORNEILLE (Thomas), FONTENELLE (Bernard le Bovier de) - Dictionnaire des arts et des sciences. Paris, Libraires Associés, 1731; in-folio, VI-678 + 645 pp. bound in contemporary full calf, 6-rib spine, edges painted red, red morocco title-piece. All 3 volumes. New edition, corrected and enlarged by Fontenelle. Volume I runs from A to L, volume II from M to Z. 2 title vignettes and initials engraved by Mariette. Title pages in red and black. 2-column printing. This dictionary of terms used in the sciences and arts originally appeared in 1684. Fontenelle noted numerous errors and approximations, due in particular to a lack of knowledge of the origins of words, especially Greek ones. Fontenelle also extended the dictionary to other registers, such as the natural sciences, with birds and fish, but also religious and military orders, and certain Old French words... His work places him among the first encyclopedists of the 18th century. Expert: Mr. Philippe HENRY