Catalogue Number 12 - Susanne Schulz-Falster

First Amsterdam Edition
73 ROUSSEAU, J. J. Emile, ou de l’éducation. Selon la copie
de Paris. No place (i.e. Amsterdam, J. Néaulme), 1762. £950
Four parts bound in two volumes, 8vo, pp. [iv], viii, 224; [iv], 192;
[iv], 168; [iv], 243; with an engraved frontispiece and Wve engraved
plates by J. v. Schley and S. Fokke after C. Eisen; volume I with a small
dampstain in the upper blank margin; occasional dust-soiling;
contemporary polished calf, gilt ornamental border on sides, gilt back
with raised bands and gilt lettering; expert repairs to head and foot of
spines; a good copy with some pencil annotations in the blank margins.
First Amsterdam edition, of Rousseau’s Émile, one of the most inXuential
texts in the history of Western education. The Amsterdam printing is especially
rare, since it was banned before publication.
Émile represents to a large extent a synthesis and continuation of
Montaigne and Locke. The attack launched upon it by church and state – it
was banned by the archbishop of Paris, by the Sorbonne and by the civil
government – centred, however not on Rousseau’s pedagogical theory, but
on his statement on natural religion, which he proposed to substitute for
the dogma of revealed religion. Few books have had greater immediate
eVect on educational thought than Rousseau’s Emile. Its ideas fused with
those of radical and scientiWc thinkers to create new insights into children,
into methods of teaching and into the scope of the educational process, and
these gave new directions to educational thought.
Though the printing history of this book is extremely complicated, the
most recent research by McEachern indicates that the Wrst edition was published
the same year in Paris by Duchesne, though with the imprint ‘Amsterdam,
J. Néaulme’. That edition was banned almost immediately, on
June 9th, 1762 and soon afterwards Rousseau was forced into exile. The
present edition was indeed printed by Néaulme, with the approval of both
Rousseau and Duchesne. It was copied from the sheets of Duchesne’s
12mo edition, and intended for distribution outside France, in particular in
the Netherlands and Great Britain. The correspondence between Néaulme
and Rousseau shows that the latter revised and corrected at least part of the
sheets. Because Duchesne had published his edition some months earlier
with the false imprint ‘A Amsterdam, chez J. Néaulme’, Néaulme was called
before the Dutch magistrates, where he had to explain that he had not
printed that edition but that he had printed the work now and had obtained
a privilège for it. He was then immediately prohibited from delivering a
single copy and was requested to submit two copies to the authorities for
examination. Shortly afterwards, Néaulme’s privilège was withdrawn and
all sales of Émile were forbidden. Thus Émile was banned in Holland before
Néaulme had sold a single copy of his edition there.
McEachern, nr. 2; Dufour 195; Le Petit, p. 563–4; Peignot, ii, p. 94.
susanne schulz-falster rare books catalogue twelve
74 [ROUSSEAU.] CLAPAREDE, David. Considerations sur les
Miracles de l’Evangile, pour servir de Response aux DiYcultés de
Mr. J. J. Rousseau dans sa 3.e Lettre Ecrite de la Montagne. Geneve,
Claude Philibert, 1765. £280
8vo, pp. xi, [I], 251; uncut in the original marbled wrappers, rebacked
and somewhat dog-eared; with book-plate of H. Tronchin on front
paste-down.
First and only edition of Claparede’s well-reasoned critique of Rousseau’s
theories on miracles. Claparede (1727–1801), Genevan professor of theology,
maintains ‘Rousseau n’admet ni ne rejette les miracles; il nie que notre
Seigneur les ait employés comme une preuve de sa mission; il entasse des
diYcultés contre ce genre de preuve; quelquefois même il employe la
raillerie, cette arme favorite des Incrédules’ p. v-vi).
Cioranescu 19716.
Critique of Rousseau’s Emile
75 [ROUSSEAU. GERDIL, Hyacinthe-Sigismond.] ReXexions
Sur la Théorie, & la Pratique de l’Education contre les principes de
Mr. Rousseau par le P.G.B. Turin, Chez les Frères Reycends, &
Guibert, 1763. £800
8vo, pp. 192, contemporary vellum covering marbled boards; corners
a little bumped, else Wne; shelf mark in ink to front paste-down,
eighteenth century ownership inscription by marquis Mayan?; a good
copy.
Rare Wrst edition and one of the author’s most important books, a critical
and detailed exposition of Rousseau’s educational principles as expounded
in his Émile. The work is an attempt to expose the fallacies and contradictions
in Rousseau’s work and argues in favour of an education based on ‘des
principes plus conformes à l’esprit du genre humain et à la paix des familles’.
Amongst the numerous publications criticial of his ideas, Rousseau deemed
this the only one worth reading and studying: ‘Voila l’unique écrit publié
contre moi que j’ai trouvé digne d’être lu en entier.’
The cardinal Hyacinthe-Sigismond Gerdil (1718–1802) was a member
of many scientiWc and literary institutions throughout Europe, such as Bologna,
Turin, London, etc. and a tireless opponent of the Enlightenment
and its intellectual origins. His learning was immense and he wrote on a
wide range of subjects, in general defending the rights of the church and the
Christian truth. He was one of the most strident defenders of catholic philosophy
during the enlightenment.
Conlon, Ouvrages Français relatifs à Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1751–1799. Bibliographie
Chronologique, 242; Conlon 63:868; Melzi, ii, p. 416; Barbier, iv, 156.