Tous les livres de A. Gerits & Son b.v. - Antiquarian booksellers

LAVELEYE, A. DE & A. DE GRANDSAGNE.

Paris, Imprimerie de Decourchant, 1831. With one folding map. 78, (2) pp. 8vo. Modern half morocco with gilt lettering and marbled boards. Goldsmiths 26898; not in Kress; not in Einaudi; not in Jouffroy, Recherches sur les sources de la création d'une Grande Lignes de Chemin de Fer au XIXe siècle; not in The Pioneer Period of European Railroads. First edition. Discusses the problems of unemployement, and proposes to put the unemployed to work by developping large-scale railroad projects, which in its turn will greatly contribute to the economy, and discusses the financial implications of the project. The folding map shows France indicating railroads in red (north-south) and blue (east-west). - Very lightly spotted.

LAVOISIER -

A Paris, Chez Clousier, 1789. Two pieces in 1 volume. 24 pp.; 8 pp. 8vo. Modern boards. First work: Kress B.1679; not in Goldsmiths; not in Einaudi; not in INED; not in Duveen & Klickstein; Martin & Walter, Anonymes, 11194. Second work: Kress B.1521; Goldsmiths 13850; not in Einaudi; not in Kress; not in Duveen & Klickstein; Martin & Walter, Anonymes, 228. Original editions of both works: the texts of these two publicatons can hardly have been prepared without the support of Lavoisier, if they have not been written entirely or edited entirely by him.

(LAVOISIER, A.L.)

(Paris, 1789). With three tables, of which 2 on 1 folding leaf. 56 pp. 8vo. Modern half morocco. Kress B.1553; not in Goldsmiths; not in Einaudi; INED 4742; Stourm, p. 173; Martin & Walter, Anonymes, 1914; Tourneux, iii, 13715; Duveen & Klickstein 251. First edition. This interesting report details the continuous pressure on the Caisse which the government maintained during 1788-1789 to make ever increasing funds available to them -against the judgement of the administrators of that body and, eventually, against its clearly defined statutes (Duveen & Klickstein).

LE CLERC (DE BEAUBERON, N.F.)

A Caen, Chez Gilles le Roi, 1765. (2), 57, (1) pp. 4to. Modern marbled boards. INED 2728; not in Kress; not in Goldsmiths; not in Einaudi; not in Conlon. First edition. 'Mémoire historique et économique exprimant la misère des curés 'portionnaires' et les moyens d'y remédier' (INED). - Two small holes in inner margin of title-page.

LE COUTEULX DE CANTELEU, (J.B.)

A Paris, De l'Imprimerie nationale, 1789. 36 pp. 8vo. Modern boards. Kress B.1648; Goldsmiths 13921; INED 2747; Stourm, p. 172; Martin & Walter 20379. First edition. The projects under discussion emanated from Mirabeau, Talleyrand, La Borde and Dupont de Nemours. 'Jean-Barthélemy Lecouteulx de Canteleu, homme politique, né en 1749, mort à Paris le 18 septembre 1818. Premier échevin de Rouen (1789), il fut envoyé aux États généraux, où il s'occupa presque uniquement de finances. Membre du Conseil des Anciens, il devint sous l'Empire sénateur et comte, puis pair de France sous la Restauration' (Lalanne, Dictionnaire Historique de la France, ii, p. 1109).

LE FLO.

(Paris), Impr. E. Duverger, (1849). Small folio leaflet of 1 page. Speech by General Le Flo: The honour of the French army is at stake!

(LE LABOUREUR, J.)

A La Haye & Francfort sur Meyn, Aux dépens de la Compagnie, 1743. With engraved frontispiece, title printed in red and black. (2), 378, (2, catalogue of Jean van Duren, La Haye) pp. 12mo. Contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt with raised bands. Monod, Bibliographie de l'Histoire de France, 1015; De Réal, Science du gouvernement, viii, pp. 252 ff. First published in 1740 as Histoire de la Pairie de France ....... and reprinted in 1743 under the present title. 'Le Laboureur est l'un des écrivains qui ont le plus contribué à éclaircir l'histoire de France' (Michaud). 'L'auteur entreprend de prouver que ..... le Parlement de Paris représente les Etats du Royaume quand le Roy y va avec les Pairs' (De Réal). The work has sometimes been attributed to De Boulainvilliers.

(LE MERCIER DE LA RIVIERE, P.P.F.J.H.)

A Londres, Chez J. Nourse et se trouve à Paris, Desaint, 1767. Two volumes. xiv (misnumbered xvi), 353, (1) pp.; (4), 547, (1) pp. 8vo. Contemporary marbled calf, spines gilt in compartments, red and green labels, marbled edges, a bit rubbed. Goldsmiths 10270; Einaudi 3307; INED 2794; Higgs 3980; Weulersse, i, 136; not in Kress. First 8vo edition in 2 volumes. In the same year a 4to edition was published which is considered to have preceded the 8vo edition. It is considered the 'second textbook of Physiocrat orthodoxy' (Schumpeter, p. 225) and the author the 'ablest expositor of this (the Physiocrat) system' (McCulloch). Important physiocratic work, considered as the best survey of the doctrine. Adam Smith praised it and Catherine II of Russia invited the author to her court. It provoked Voltaire's L'homme aux quarante écus and De Mably's vehement criticism in his Doutes proposés aux philosophes économistes. - Modern bookplate on front paste-down.

(LE MERCIER DE LA RIVIERE, P.P.F.J.H.)

A Londres, Chez J. Nourse, & se trouve à Paris, Chez Desaint, 1767. (2), vii, (1, Fautes à Corriger), 511, (1) pp. 4to. Contemporary marbled calf, spine richly gilt with raised bands, red label with gilt lettering, paper label in upper compartment of spine, marbled edges. Weulersse, i, p. xxviii; Kress 6475; Goldsmiths 10269; Higgs 3979; INED 2794; Einaudi 3307 (the 8vo edition in 2 volumes). First edition, the rare 4to edition. The rare 4to edition by 'the ablest expositor of this (the physiocratic) system' (McCulloch). Adam Smith and Diderot praised it among many others, Catherina II of Russia invited the author to her court, and according to Palgrave, the work was at the time considered more highly than l'Esprit des Loix by some contemporaries. It provoked Voltaire's l'Homme aux quarante écus and Mably's vehement criticism in his Doutes proposés aux Philosophes économistes. Schumpeter lists this work as the second text-book of physiocrat orthodoxy (the first being Mirabeau's Philosophie rurale). - Corners a bit bumped, a large armorial plate on the front paste-down, copy from the Fürstlich-Starhemberg'sche Familien Bibliothek, Schloss Eferding, small stamp on title reading 'Aus Schloss Haus 1893', a very nice copy with large margins.

(LE MERCIER DE LA RIVIERE, P.P.F.J.H.)

A Londres, Chez J. Nourse, & se trouve à Paris, Chez Desaint, 1767. (2), vii, (1, Fautes à Corriger), 511, (1) pp. 4to. Contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt in compartments, label with gilt lettering, joints starting to split but holding firm, a bit rubbed and worn. Weulersse, i, p. xxviii; Kress 6475; Goldsmiths 10269; Higgs 3979; INED 2794; Einaudi 3307 (the 8vo edition in 2 volumes); May, Le Mercier de la Rivière, 163. First edition, the rare 4to edition. The rare 4to edition by 'the ablest expositor of this (the physiocratic) system' (McCulloch). It was written following Le Mercier's retirement from Parliament in 1759. Praised by Adam Smith and Diderot amongst others, L'Ordre naturel was, according to Palgrave, considered more highly than l'Esprit des Loix by some contemporaries. The author argues that there is a natural law of property which is based on the physical order of nature, and which underlies all other laws. Taxation and the use of public revenue by the ruler are both governed by natural law of property. Schumpeter lists this work as the second textbook of Physiocrat orthodoxy.Catherina II of Russia invited the author to her court, and it provoked Voltaire's l'Homme aux quarante écus and Mably's vehement criticism in his Doutes proposés aux Philosophes économistes. - Faint library stamp on half-title, handwritten ex-libris of Lussac in blank upper outer margin of title.

LE (MERCIER DE LA) RIVIERE, (P.P.F.J.H.)

A Paris, Chez l'auteur & chez les marchands de nouveautés, 1790. 32 pp. 8vo. Modern half morocco. Not in Kress; not in Goldsmiths; not in Einaudi; INED 2794bis; Martin & Walter 19320; May, Le Mercier de la Rivière, 164. First edition, very rare: COPAC lists one copy (British Library), while Worldcat adds two further copies (Bibliothèque Nationale and Stanford). INED, May and Martin & Walter all list an edition published by Baudouin from the same year. Disciple of Quesnay, the author demands a fundamental political and administrative reform of all the educational institutions, universities, academies, etc. so that they may serve and further strengthen the revolution and the regeneration of France. - Somewhat stained.

LE TROSNE, (G.F.)

A Basle, et se trouve à Paris, Chez P.J. Duplain, 1788. 2 volumes. (4), xvi, 605, (1) pp.; (4), 556 pp. 8vo. Contemporary speckled calf, spines gilt in compartments with red labels and gilt lettering, slightly rubbed. Kress B.1438; Goldsmiths 13644; Einaudi 3357; INED 2867; Peignot, Les Livres Condamnés, ii, p. 164. The second edition, published posthumously, augmented with the author's Dissertation sur la féodalité and Manière de simplifier le plan proposé. It was originally published in 1779 in 4to which edition is almost impossible to find. The work was seized already in 1780, although Necker favoured its publication: ' ..... en 1780 il devait y avoir une réunion du clergé à Paris, le garde des sceaux craignait que ce livre n'indisposait les êveques ..... pour éviter tout bruit et tout scandale, il le fait saisir .....' (Peignot). 'En 1755, les difficultés occasionées par la perception de l'impôt et l'insuffisance des moyens procurés par lui, font penser à un projet émis par le Marquis de Mirabeau dans sa brochure de 1750 sur l'utilité des États provinciaux. L'Académie de Toulouse reprend cette question et invite les auteurs à donner leur avis sur la généralisation des Administrations provinciales. Le Trosne répond en 1755 par un mémoire qui remporte le prix offert par l'Académie. C'est ce mémoire qui sera transfromé en ouvrage en 1779' (Leblanc, M., De Thomas More à Chaptal. Contribution bibliographique à l'histoire économique.) 'Source importante de renseignements sur l'organisation de la société avant 1789' (INED). A follower of Quesnay, Le Trosne (1728-1780) was a lawyer by training. He joined the Physiocrats in 1764 and published a book defending the free trade in grain: 'La Liberté du commerce des grains, toujours utile et jamais nuisible in 1765', and articles in the 'Ephémerides', and other journals. The present work discusses the fiscal administration of France and brought to attention the projects and ideas of Mirabeau. Palgrave notes that the work 'from the point of view of the financier had the advantage of appearing four years before the work of Necker on the administration of the financial affairs of France; and from the point of view of the politician, of appearing ten years before the celebrated night of 5th August 1789.'

(LE TROSNE, G.F.)

A Soissons, et se trouve à Paris, Chez P.G. Simon, 1764. With woodcut device on title. (2), 76 pp. 8vo. Modern marbled boards, red label with gilt lettering (Laurenchet). Kress 6201; Einaudi 3362; Higgs 3306; Mattioli 1971; INED 2877 (edition 1765); Weulersse, i, xxvii; not in Goldsmiths; Granier, Bibliographie Charitable, 1330; not in Dada. Very rare first edition. Guillaume François Le Trosne (1728-1780) joined the physiocrats in 1764, contributing articles to their journals, and writing works defending their ideas. 'He became one of the most lucid exponents of the physiocratic doctrine; his views express most clearly the evolution of the school. At first an enthusiastic, inflexible adept of the abstract physiocratic system, he nevertheless evidenced a preference for practical questions, as reflected in his La liberté du commerce des grains, toujours utile et jamais nuisible (Paris, 1765).In this work, Le Trosne condemns the vagabond as a parasite on, and an enemy of, society. 'Only in politics did he remain absolutely faithful to absolutism ..... and hostile to democracy, that 'bizarre and monstrous' government which he doubtless pictured in the form of the violent popular demonstrations against the dealer in wheat or as personified by the vagabonds who had set fire to one of the farms of the magistrate' (ESS). Discusses the current situation in France, measures, legal and otherwise, taken to combat or remedy the situation, discusses the distinction to be made between vagabonds and beggars, and discusses possible solutions, one of which is condamning vagabonds to the galleys, and ends with a project for beggars and ways to combat mendicity. 'Ils provoquent le renchérissement de la main-d'oeuvre, car leur oisiveté diminue le nombre des travailleurs; ils favorisent encore l'augmentation des tailles' (INED: They cause the increase of cost of manpower, of labour, as their idleness reduces the number of workers; they rather favor the increase of the "tailles" (a tax)" (our translation)).

(LECLAIRE, E.-J.)

Paris, Imprimerie de Madame Veuve Bouchard-Huzard, 1865. 24 pp. 8vo. Modern boards, original green printed covers preserved. First edition. The author was 'entrepreneur de peinture' and after founding the 'Maison Leclaire' was the first in France to grant workers a share in the profits of the company. The system of Leclaire served as a model for Louis Blanc in the 4th edition of his 'Organisation du travail' (1845).The earliest example of co-partnership comes from France. In 1843 a master painter of Paris, Edme-Jean Leclaire, divided among his permanent hands (43 out of about 300 employed) the sum of 12,266 francs. The scheme met with approval and up till 1870 this " kernel," as he called it, of permanent workmen, who were members of the firm's mutual provident society, continued to take their share of the increasing profits. At no time did the members of the mutual provident society amount to more than a third of those employed. In 1870 the profitsharing was extended to all the men employed, for however short a time, and upon this basis it has continued as " Brugniot, Cros et Cie. (ancienne maison Leclaire)."

(LECLUSE, H. DE).

A la Grenouillere; Et se trouvent à Paris, Chez Duchesne, no date (1755?) 48 pp. 12mo. Modern boards. Cioranescu 38382; Conlon 48:604. Originally published in 1748 with the title 'Léclusade, ou déjeuné de la Rapée', 18 pages. A niece piece, characteristic for the literature written in vulgar speech (litterature poissairde) of the 18th century. The author was actor at the Opèra-comique and as such greatly appreciated by Voltaire, as well as dentist (of the king of Poland) - A few leaves with a stain in the blank outer margin, one leaf with a small repair to blank upper margin.

(LEDRU-ROLLIN, A.-A.)

(At end:) Paris, Imprimerie Panckoucke, (after 1842). (2), 34 pp. 4to. Disbound. Upon his admission to the bar in 1830, Ledru added to his surname that of his maternal great-grandmother, Rollin, in order to avoid confusion with another lawyer named Charles Ledru.The matter dealt with in this trial is: 'Un prêtre catholique romain peut-il adopter?

(LEFEVRE DE BEAUVRAY, P.)

A Amsterdam, 1770. (12), 557, (5) pp. 8vo. Contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt with raised bands. INED 2756; Einaudi 3297; Goldsmiths 10608; Higgs 5135; not in Kress. First edition. 'Chaque article est accompagné d'abondantes reférences bibliographiques' (INED). Interesting overview of the political and economic thought of the Enlightenment, including long chapters on Holland, Great Britain, political economy, commerce, women, liberty, Rousseau, colonies, etc., etc. The bibliography on political economy is found under the word 'connoissance' and deals mainly with the physiocratic school, each entry contains an important bibliographical section.

(LEGROS, J.C.F.)

A Geneve, Chez Barthelemy Chirol, et à Paris, Chez la Veuve Duchesne, 1785. 234 pp. 8vo. Original blind wrappers, spine somewhat defective, a nice uncut copy with ample margins. Conlon, Ouvrages français relatifs à Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 695; INED 2772; L'Illuminismo francese alla Fondazione Feltrinelli, 511. First edition. Analysis of two essays by Rousseau (his famous prize winning Discours from 1750 and the Discours sur l'Origine et les fondemens de l'inégalité) and of several works of Court de Gebelin, particularly his Les Devoirs and his Monde Primitif and in general discussing the question of the origins of man and criticizing the hypothesis of the 'homme sauvage.' The Abbé Legros was member of the Assembly of the Clergy in 1760 and represented the clergy at the Etats-Généraux in 1789. He was also the author of an important critical analysis of the theories of the "Économistes", the physiocrats.

(LESCHASSIER, J.)

No place, 1626. 32 pp. Small 8vo. Modern hard-grained half morocco, marbled boards, gilt lettering to spine. Bourgeois & André 1974; Lindsay & Neu 5490; Welsh, 993; BMSTC, French books 1601-1700, D.689. Second edition, first published in 1613 as 'Discours pour la sureté de la vie et de l'état des rois'. Against the theory of the Jesuits, and as stated again by Sanctarel in his Tractatus (1625), that 'le Pape peut disposer les Roys; il peut les faire tuer.'Jacques Leschassier (1550-1625), lawyer and partisan of the royal party at the time of the Ligue. His collected works were published in 1649. 'Oeuvre d'un avocat très réputé' (Bourgeois & André). - Somewhat browned.

LEVASSEUR, E.

Paris, A. Rousseau, 1911-12. With 10 folding tables. 2 volumes. xxxiii, 611 pp.; xlv, 869, (2) pp. Large 8vo. Modern half morocco, marbled boards, spine with raised bands and gilt lettering. Guide to Historical Literature, (8th ed.) VC 596. First edition, rare. Vol. 1. Avant 1789. - Vol. 2. De 1789 à nos jours. Important and valuable work with extensive bibliography.Levasseur was a French historian and economist and the author of a number of very important works and one of the first to apply the historical method to the study of economic phenomena. - A very fine copy.

LEVASSEUR, R. (DE LA SARTHE).

Paris, Rapilly (volumes 3 & 4: A. Levavasseur), 1829-1831. With portrait. 4 volumes. (4), 396 pp.; (4), 396 pp.; (4), viii, 384 pp.; (4), 380 pp. 8vo. Contemporary half calf, spine gilt in compartments, green labels with gilt lettering. Drujon 248; Kuscinski, Dictionnaire des Conventionnels, pp. 406-408. First edition. Forbidden for containing 'attaques à la dignité royale et des outrages à la religion de l'État ainsi qu'à la morale publique, l'apologie de la souveraineté du peuple, de l'égalité absolue, l'éloge du régime de 93, etc'. The volumes 3 & 4 were published not only later, but also by a different publisher. Drujon knows the first two volumes only: the volumes 3 & 4 were condamned, seized and destroyed, being too much an apology of the revolutionary government, hence complete sets are of extreme rarity. The author was a supporter of Robespierre and these memoirs deal for the major part with the period August 10, 1792 upto the fall of Robespierre. The rest deals with his activity as a "représentant en mission" with the armies operating at the borders and in the Vendée.

(LEVESQUE DE POUILLY, L.J.)

A Paris, Chez Debure père, 1774. With engraved frontispiece and 2 engraved folding plates. xxxii, 352, (4) pp. 12mo. Contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt with raised bands, red label with gilt lettering, red edges, a very, very good copy. Schosler, p. 114; Bibliothèque Voltaire, 2111; Dictionnaire des Journalistes 1600-1789, 516; Cohen, Livres à Gravures, 989. First published in 1736, this is the 5th and best edition of this famous work, enlarged with the Eloge historique de l'auteur (by the abbé de Saulx), and two discourses the author had held in Reims, including his description of an antique monument found in Reims. The content of this work is described in Michaud as 'le dessein de Levesque est de prouver que le bonheur est dans la pratique des devoirs.' Levesque was born in Reims, where he studied at the local university. He went to Paris to continue his studies, especially philosophy, and it was there that he started working on Newton's famous Principia. At the age of 22 he tried to explain the difficulties of Newton's famous work and make it accessible to readers. He lived for a year in London, was a friend of Voltaire and Bolingbroke, whom he introduced to a French audiance, and he received David Hume in Reims, one of Hume's first intellectual contacts in France. - With manuscript ex-libris on title-page: Petit Thouars: Georges Aubert du Petit-Thouars (1724-1794) lieutenant and commander of the city and castle of Saumur.

LINGUET, (S.N.H.)

Londres, 1787. 88 pp. 8vo. Modern half morocco. Kress B.1266 (other edition); Goldsmiths 13454 (other edition); Einaudi 3412 (other edition); INED 2915 (other edition); Stourm, pp. 145-146 (other edition). One of three editions from the same year, no priority has been established. The French crown faced bankruptcy when the Controller-General, Calonne, presented a financial scheme to end the crisis. The keystone in his program was a tax to be levied on all property owners without discrimination of estate. Calonne also proposed liberating commerce in grains from all internal tariffs. When Calonne was unable to pass this in the Assembly of Notables, he was replaced by Loménie de Brienne. 'Linguet lent the support of his publicity to the Calonne property tax and published this work just after the Notables had turned down Calonne's master plan. (.....) Linguet viewed it as a means by which the government, provisioned in grains, could compete with entrepreneurs, control the market price of wheat, and in that way guarantee the lives of an impoverished and progressively more restless population of dispossessed persons. Linguet saw the unpopular tax program as a key government stratagem for warding off two spectres: bankruptcy and a people's revolution' (D. Gay Levy, The Ideas and Careers of Simon-Nicolas-Henri Linguet, p. 240). - Name on title.

LINGUET, (S.N.H.)

No place, (1788). 2 works in 1 volume. 144, (2) pp.; 12 pp. 8vo. Modern boards. First work: Kress B.1266 (other edition); Goldsmiths 13454 (other edition); Einaudi 3412 (other edition); INED 2915 (other edition); Stourm, pp. 145-146 (other edition). One of three editions from the same year, no priority has been established. The French crown faced bankruptcy when the Controller-General, Calonne, presented a financial schem to end the crisis. The keystone in his program was a tax to be levied on all property owners without discrimination of estate. Calonne also proposed liberating commerce in grains from all internal tariffs. When Calonne was unable to pass this in the Assembly of Notables, he was replaced by Loménie de Brienne. 'Linguet lent the support of his publicity to the Calonne property tax and published this work just after the Notables had turned down Calonne's master plan. (.....) Linguet viewed it as a means by which the government, provisioned in grains, could compete with entrepreneurs, control the market price of wheat, and in that way guarantee the lives of an impoverished and progressively more restless population of dispossessed persons. Linguet saw the unpopular tax program as a key government stratagem for warding off two spectres: bankruptcy and a people's revolution' (D. Gay Levy, The Ideas and Careers of Simon-Nicolas-Henri Linguet, p. 240).Second work: Not in Kress; not in Goldsmiths; not in Einaudi; not in INED; not in Stourm.Calonne's reforms failed, Brienne's attempts failed, and the King gave in, recalled Jacques Necker to face the acute financial crisis, recalled the parlements and annulled all judicial reforms. Linguet answered with number 116 of his Annales again proposing fiscal reform. The parlements answered by ordering this number 116 to be lacerated and burned. The present work is Linguet's protest against these decisions by the parlement. - Inner margin of the first title and last leaf of the second work strengthened.

LINGUET, (S.N.H.)

Bruxelles, 1788. (4), 175, (1) pp. 8vo. Modern boards. Cioranescu 40562; not in INED; not in Kress; not in Goldsmiths; not in Martin & Walter. Second edition, first published in October 1788. Linguet had printed, in the 116th number of his Annales, a proposal for fiscal reform which he had first publicized in his Annales in 1778 and 1779, an exepient for terminating once and for all the chronic state of financial crisis that had precipitated Louis's capitulation to the aristocrats. The king ignored Linguet's lesson in political and economic pragmatism. Financiers and capitalists were up in arms against it, as was the Paris parlement. This body condamned the 116th number of the Annales to be lacerated and burned at the foot of the grand staircase in the courtyard of the Palais de Justice. Linguet, in rage, published his La France plus qu'angloise in October 1788 and included in it a thinly veiled warning to the king that his next blunder, a fatal one, would be to retreat headlong into the arms of aristocratic reactionairies more English in their pretensions to exercising legislative supremacy than Commons or Lords. This move would signal disaster for the monarchy, as it would alienate the Third Estate from the throne as well as from the aristocratic party, driving it into isolation, and from there into independence and the revolution. At the same time, Linguet was educating the Third Estate in this work: how to recognize their rights and act in their own best interest (For an extensive analysis of this work see: D. Gay Levy, The ideas and Careers of Simon-Nicolas-Henry Linguet, pp. 243-4).