BOUGEANT, Guillaume-Hyacinthe or PERNETTI / PERNETY, Jacques - Lot 489

BOUGEANT, Guillaume-Hyacinthe or PERNETTI / PERNETY, Jacques. Lettres philosophiques sur les physionomies. Published in The Hague by Jean Naulme in 1748. 2 volumes in 1 volume, format In-duodecimo / In-12 (155x95 mm). Brown shagreened calf. Spine ribbed and decorated with gilt flowered boxes. Red speckled edges. Contemporary binding. 6 ff.n.ch.-132 pages- 2 ff.n.ch.-120 pages- 2 ff.n.ch., 2 engraved frontispieces and 2 engraved title pages. Excellent condition, first cover slightly rubbed. Pagination error in the second part, from page 111, which is actually page 109, to the end. Quite a sought-after second edition of this work, which sets out to reflect on the question of whether nature has given us rules for judging men by their physiognomies. Barbier relates an anecdote giving the abbé Bougeant as the author, rather than Pernety: ''Bougeant is said to be the true author of this work, and to have given Pernetti his manuscript so as not to risk being exiled again by his superiors at the house of La Flèche, as had already happened to him for his ingenious work on the language of beasts''. Barbier II, Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes, 1285-d - Quérard VII, La France littéraire, p. 56 - Cioranescu II, Bibliographie de la littérature française du XVIIIème, 49507 (for the 1746 original).