1767 SENSATIONS & PASSIONS of the FIVE SENSES - TWO VOLUMES w/ 19 PLATES - Rare
TRAITÉ DES SENSATIONS ET DES PASSIONS EN GÉNÉRAL, Et Des SENS En PARTICULIER, by Claude-Nicolas LE CAT. (TREATISE on SENSATIONS and PASSIONS in General, and on the SENSES in PARTICULAR) PARIS: Chez VALLAT-LA-CHAPELE, Libraire au Palai, fur le Perron de la Sante-Chapell, M. DCC. LXVII. (1767). Ouvrage Divisé En Deux Parties / TWO VOLUMES - Complete in these Two Volumes. (A year later, in 1768, a third volume was issued "La théorie de l'ouie" - "theory of the eye" - which is not here; but this work is complete as originally issued in two volumes in 1767.) TWO VOLUMES. Hardcovers, leather covered boards, spine decorated and lettered in gilt, marbled page edges, marbled endpapers, xcv, [1], 264; lvi, [4], 201-684. (Note that the numbered pages at the end of Volume One and the beginning of Volume Two are not consecutive - i.e. Volume one ends at page number 264, Volume Two begins with page number 201. This is as the Two Volumes were originally published - probable printer's error. Both volumes have been collated by me with rare copies from major National Libraries that have been digitized online.) PRESENTATION COPY. Each Title-Page is INSCRIBED with a HAND-WRITTEN PRESENTATION by THE AUTHOR: "JEAN CHARLES GROSSARD... ex Dono auctoris". CONDITION: TWO BOOKS. The leather covers of both volumes are rubbed and scraped, the spine ends are chipped, the bottom of the spine of Volume Two is peeling, the front spine hinge of each volume is split but holding well; overall the covers are worn but remain attractive and are still doing their job well. Internally, the front pastedown has a long vertical scrape, as if from the removal of a piece of tape at some point. There are relevant handwritten margin notes and marks, in pencil and in English, here and there throughout. I do not know who might have written them, but they are certainly by someone carefully studying the work. The inner pages of both volumes have a bit of toning, foxing and some margin shorelining, here and there throughout, but overall the inner pages are tight, bright and clean, a remarkably well kept, sharp, clear and lovely printing of this scarce book. ILLUSTRATED with 19 ENGRAVED PLATES: ENGRAVED PORTRAIT by Thomiers at the front of Volume One, Lovely FRONTISPIECE ENGRAVING by Bacheley at the front of Volume Two (showing Women using all five senses: Sight - looking in a mirror, Sound - playing music, Taste - pouring wine; Smell - smoke from an incense burner; Touch - toughing a newly hammered helmet); PLUS 17 additional engraved PLATES (16 of which FOLD-OPEN). Also ILLUSTRATED with lovely ENGRAVED VIGNETTES at the head of many chapters, and with ENGRAVED HEAD and TAIL PIECES. This specific work by LE CAT, TRAITÉ DES SENSATIONS ET DES PASSIONS, is VERY SCARCE. About Claude-Nicolas LE CAT (from Wikipedia): ******Le Cat (1700-1768) surgeon, anatomist, & physiologist. In 1736 he established a school for anatomy & surgery in Rouen. The 'Traité Des Sensations Et Des Passions'; is considered to be Le Cat's most important work. The work grew as much out of his researches in physics as in physiology. In it Le Cat presented a theory of the propagation of light contrary to that of Newtonian attraction. He further reported on the pigmented choroid coat of the eye and assigned it a common embryonic origin with the pigment of the skin. Le Cat's reputation in France and Europe is reflected by his numerous academic awards, publications, and by surgical renown.******