Lettres de Mr Descartes où sont traitées plusieurs belles questions touchant la morale, physique, médecine et les mathématiques. Nouvelle édition revue et augmentée by DESCARTES, Rene - 1666

Paris: Charles Angot, 1666. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. 1666-1667. Three volumes. 4to (222 x 168 mm). [24], 540; [16], 564, [4]; [24], 646 pp., titles with woodcut device, woodcut initials and headpieces, woodcut text illustrations and diagrams throughout. Bound without final blank leaf 4M4 in vol. III. Contemporary uniform sprinkled calf, spines with 5 raised bands each, gilt-lettered and gilt-decorated in compartments, sprinkled edges, original endpapers (minor rubbing to extremities). Text somewhat browned (some gatherings stronger), occasional minor spotting. First pp. of vol. I with minor brown-staining to outer margins, upper corner of first flyleaf and text leaf H3 of vol. I torn off not affecting text; short wormtrack at lower inner blank margin of vol. III. Provenance: from a French private collection. In all a very good, textually complete set. ----

VERY RARE FIRST COMPLETE EDITION OF THE LETTERS OF DESCARTES, by Claude Clerselier. FIRST EDITION FOR VOLUME III. These letters, which deal with philosophy, optics, medicine, chemistry and mathematics, are a landmark in the history of ideas and Cartesianism. The volume titles are: I: Où sont traittées plusieurs belles questions touchant la morale, [la] physique, [la] medecine, & les mathematiques; II: Où sont expliquées plusieurs belles difficultez touchant ses autres ouurages; III: Où il répond a plusieurs difficultez qui luy ont esté proposées sur la Dioptrique, la Geometrie & sur plusieurs autres sujets. - Visit our website to see more images!