Histoire Naturelle, Volcans Eruption du Vesuve en 1754

Beautiful view of the Vesuve during the eruption of 1754, engraved by J. F. Bernard on a drawing by de la Rue.

The view was published into famous Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. The Encyclopédie was published under the direction of Diderot and d'Alembert, with 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates between 1751 and 1772. Containing 74,000 articles written by more than 130 contributors, the Encyclopédie was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences, as well as a machine de guerre which served to propagate the ideas of the French Enlightenment. The impact of the Encyclopédie was enormous. Through its attempt to classify learning and to open all domains of human activity to its readers, the Encyclopédie gave expression to many of the most important intellectual and social developments of its time.

These plates were engraved by Robert Bénard, a French printmaker born in 1734. They were made after drawings by Philibert-Benoît De La Rue, who was one of the most inventive of Diderot’s collaborators.

Diderot's "Encyclopaedia," a landmark work of the Enlightenment that depicted the arts and sciences, and the tools and methods of artisans and trade people in a methodical and thorough way. The entire encyclopaedia was published between 1751 and 1772, and comprised 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates. 

The marvellous detailed plates show how everything in the period was made. It had a huge impact on its own time, and is highly valued by present-day historians as a record of the techniques and vocations of the pre-Industrial world. It is also a great resource for collectors, art and craftspeople.

Copperplate, finely hand coloured, in good condition.