HELVÉTIUS, Claude-Adrien. De l'esprit. - Lot 160

HELVÉTIUS, Claude-Adrien. De l'esprit. Published in Paris by Durand in 1758. In quarto / In-4 (250 x 195 mm) format. Brown marbled calf, spine ribbed, lemon leather title-piece, decorated with double gilt fillets and small gilt irons, double gilt fillets at the edges, guilloche-trimmed headpieces, red edges. 3 ff.n.ch., XXII and 643 pages. Binding rubbed, spine slightly cracked, upper corner of second board blotched, two thin red lines on title page, rare foxing, tear at lower margin page 52. First edition, second issue known as "B". The title page of our copy conforms well to Smith's description, and likewise shows the typos in the running title on pages 67, 97, 179 and 237 (Bibliography of the writings of Helvétius, 2001, pp. 127-133). Written during the 1750s, Helvétius's De l'esprit is probably the most systematic and successful attempt to create a sensualist materialist movement, far removed from the empiricism of Locke and the British thinkers. Immediately banned and placed on the Index - some copies were even publicly burned in 1759 - this essay was to see numerous reprints and counterfeits. Goldsmiths, n°9432; Kress, n°5710; Tchemerzine, III, 672. A good, fresh copy with wide margins.