Theatre de Voltaire.

VOLTAIRE [AROUET, François-Marie].

Item Number: 109628

Paris: Pierre Didot L'Aine et Firmin Didot, 1801.

Scarce edition stereotype of Theatre de Voltaire in the original publisher’s wrappers. 16mo, 12 volumes, original wrappers. Published by Pierre and Firmin Didot who invented the word “stereotype”, which in printing refers to the metal printing plate created for the actual printing of pages (as opposed to printing pages directly with movable type), and used the process extensively, revolutionizing the book trade with his cheap editions. His printing house was a place of pilgrimage for the printers of the world. Along with Giambattista Bodoni of Italy, Firmin Didot is credited with establishing the use of the Didone or “Modern” style of serif typefaces. In good condition. Scarce in the original wrappers.

One of the most influential thinkers of the French Enlightenment, François-Marie Arouet, know by the nom de plum Voltaire, was a resourceful and prolific writer. His works touched nearly every literary form including plays, poems, novels, theoretical essays, and scientific treatises. A forthright and candid advocate of civil liberties, he frequently criticized the institutions of religious dogma and classism prevalent in 18th century France, often doing so through satire to avoid censorship and imprisonment.