Liger - Nouvelle Maison Rustique - 1762

DOMESTIC AGRICULTURE, OR, THE ORDERED UTOPIA OF EUROPEAN FARMING BETWEEN REASON AND ABUNDANCE
Monumental eighteenth-century synthesis of rural economy, La nouvelle maison rustique by Louis Liger represents one of the most ambitious attempts to rationalize agricultural and domestic life in the modern era. The work stands as a total manual for the countryside: agriculture, breeding, resource management, rural architecture, conservation of products, and the organization of the house converge in a single coherent system. In this Paris edition of 1762, enlarged and illustrated, practical knowledge intertwines with the Enlightenment ideology of order, measure, and productivity, transforming the rustic house into an economic and moral microcosm.
MARKET VALUE
The complete two-volume editions of La Nouvelle maison rustique, especially the illustrated eighteenth-century ones, show good market resistance in the antiquarian market. Complete copies with plates, in contemporaneous bindings and solid condition, typically fall in a range between 600 and 1,000 euros, with higher prices for copies that are particularly fresh, well preserved, or with interesting provenance. Binding conditions and the integrity of the plates significantly affect valuation.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Two volumes. Contemporary binding in back leather, backs ornamented with phytomorphic scrolls with the title on a double keyplate, blue marbled edges. Frontispiece figurative in the first volume and 38 copper-engraved plates in total, of which 2 are folded; numerous figures in the text. Paper with some browning; small tears to the hinges. In old books with a multigenerational history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 10nn; 916; (4). (4); 8nn; 894; 26nn; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
La nouvelle maison rustique, ou economie generale de tous les biens de campagne.
Paris, Chez Knapen, 1762.
Louis Liger.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
First published in 1700, La nouvelle maison rustique quickly established itself as one of the reference texts of European domestic agronomy. Liger collects, organizes, and systematizes an enormous amount of practical knowledge: from field cultivation to orchard management, from animal husbandry to winemaking, up to the construction and maintenance of rural buildings. The work responds to a typically modern need: to make the countryside efficient, productive, and governable through clear and replicable rules. In this sense, the “rustic house” is not only a physical space, but an economic and symbolic model, in which nature is disciplined and integrated into a rational order, almost proto-industrial.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Louis Liger was born in France in 1658 and died in 1717. An agronomist, compiler, and disseminator, he is best known for his ability to render rural knowledge accessible and systematic. His works, often reprinted and updated during the eighteenth century, enjoyed vast diffusion and contributed decisively to the formation of a modern agricultural culture, founded on observation, experience, and methodical organization of field labor.

BIOGRAPHY OF ARISTOTLE
Aristotle was born in Stagira in 384 BCE and died in Chalkis in 322 BCE. A philosopher and scientist of antiquity, student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great, he authored fundamental works in logic, ethics, politics, and natural philosophy. His writings on nature, animals, and vital processes deeply influenced medieval and modern thought, providing a theoretical basis also for subsequent agronomic and naturalistic reflection.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
La Nouvelle maison rustique enjoyed a very large number of editions between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, often expanded, corrected, and enriched with plates. The Paris edition of 1762, printed by Knapen, sits in the phase of the work’s full maturity, when the text was already considered a classic of the genre. Its wide circulation testifies to the success of a model of practical knowledge aimed not only at large landowners but also at a rising rural bourgeoisie.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU/OPAC SBN: IT\ICCU* (record to verify)
WorldCat: multiple records for the eighteenth-century editions of La nouvelle maison rustique
Conlon, Le siècle des Lumières. Bibliographie chronologique, vol. II
Blanchard, Histoire de la littérature agronomique en France, pp. specific on Liger’s work
BnF, Catalogue général, notices relating to the editions of 1700 and following
Studi sulla letteratura agronomica francese del XVIII secolo, with precise references to Liger and the tradition of the maison rustique