LELARGE DE LIGNAC, abbé Joseph Adrien

Lot 121
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LELARGE DE LIGNAC, abbé Joseph Adrien
Letters to an American on the general and particular natural history of Monsieur de Buffon. First [-fifth] part. Hamburg, 1751. 3 volumes in-12 (152 x 85 mm) of 1 f.n.ch., 127, 50, 57, 66 pp. 1 f.n.ch. with a printer's mark, 1 f.n.ch. of errata for the volume I; 66pp, 1 f.n.c., 31, 96, 69 pp. for volume II; 78pp. 1 f.n.c., 92 pp. 1 f.n.c., 185 pp. 1 folding f.n.c. (errata) for volume III. Spotted calf, spine gilt, red edges (contemporary binding). Sabin, 41054 (volume II only); Nat. Lib. of Medecine, p. 263 (9 parts); Tous les savoirs du monde no. 105. Complete collection of the 12 letters. The publication of the first three volumes of Buffon's Histoire Naturelle in 1749 was a great success and a scandal. Buffon explained the way to treat natural history, the theory of the earth, a comparison between animals, plants and minerals, man and reproduction and finally long descriptions of anatomy by Daubenton. In 1751, the Sorbonne condemned the first volume. The publication of Lettres à un Amériquain reflects the thinking of Buffon's detractors. Lelarge de Lignac (1710-1762), a philosopher born in Poitiers, studied with the Jesuits and then entered the Oratory congregation where he became imbued with the ideas of Descartes and Malebranche. The main criticism of Buffon is that his theories on the formation of the earth are in contradiction with the Holy Scriptures. A complete copy of the 12 letters, most bibliographies mention 2 volumes or 9 parts. Covers skilfully restored.
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