Montesquieu - Lettres Persanes - 1880

PERSIAN LETTERS: THE IMAGINED ORIENT THAT REVEALED THE SECRETS OF EUROPE
First published in 1721, the Persian Letters (Lettres persanes) stand as one of the foundational works of European Enlightenment. Through the eyes of two Persian travelers, Usbek and Rica, Montesquieu constructs a refined satire of French society, its political institutions, religion, and the customs of early 18th-century Europe. Behind the lightness of the epistolary novel lies one of the deepest reflections on tolerance, cultural relativism, and the mechanisms of power ever written in the eighteenth century. This elegant two-volume bibliographic edition, published by Librairie des Bibliophiles in Paris with a preface by Maurice Tourneux, testifies to the editorial fortune of one of the great classics of modern thought.
MARKET VALUE
The nineteenth-century bibliographic editions of Lettres persanes maintain a stable market among collectors of French literature and the history of ideas. Complete two-volume copies, well preserved and in contemporary or lightly later bindings, generally command between €300 and €500. Particularly fresh copies or those with interesting provenance can exceed these values.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Two volumes bound in half-leather with marbled edges and endpapers. Smooth spines with titles impressed in gold. Pages with some physiological browning. A handwritten-era dedication is preserved on the flyleaf. In old books with a long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 2nn; 18; 2nn; 270; 2nn; (4). (4); 4nn; 306; 2nn; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Lettres Persanes.
Paris, Librairie des Bibliophiles, E. Flammarion. Printed by Imprimerie Générale Lahure. [1880-1890].
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et Montesquieu.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Lettres persanes marks one of the decisive moments in modern European culture. Montesquieu uses the viewpoint of foreign observers to question the certainties of French society and denounce the arbitrariness of many political and religious conventions. The literary device of the Eastern traveler allows the author to observe Europe as if it were an exotic civilization, inverting the traditional perspective and inaugurating a reflection that anticipates central themes of modern anthropology and sociology. Through over one hundred fifty imaginary letters, the work tackles issues such as despotism, liberty, the role of religion, the condition of women, and the relationship between the individual and power.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron of Montesquieu (1689-1755), was one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of the French Enlightenment. Magistrate, historian, and political theorist, he is universally known for De l'Esprit des Lois, the work that developed the theory of the separation of powers destined to profoundly influence modern constitutions. Lettres persanes, first published anonymously in 1721, earned him immediate European fame and represent his first major literary success.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
From the first edition in 1721, Lettres persanes enjoyed extraordinary international diffusion. The text was reprinted continually throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and became one of the best-read works of the French Enlightenment. The Librairie des Bibliophiles edition sits within the tradition of elegant reissues intended for connoisseurs of classical French literature and testifies to the enduring appeal of the work to the educated public of the Belle Époque.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Tchemerzine, Bibliographie d'éditions originales et rares d'auteurs français, vol. VIII, pp. 507-521.
Quérard, La France Littéraire, vol. VI, pp. 180-186.
Catalogue général de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, notices relating to Montesquieu.
Cioranescu, Bibliographie de la littérature française du XVIIIe siècle, nn. 46854-46890.
Lanson, Histoire de la littérature française, pp. 611-620.
Robert Shackleton, Montesquieu: A Critical Biography.
Encyclopaedia Universalis, entry for "Montesquieu".
WorldCat, bibliographic records of Flammarion and Librairie des Bibliophiles editions.
Catalogue des imprimés de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, section Montesquieu.