Bookmaking in the Eighteenth Century: As Depicted in Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopedie

October 14, 2013-May 22, 2014
Location: Moir Reading Room

Denis Diderot and Jean d’Alembert, initially hired to produce a French translation of an encyclopedia, quickly altered the project to create a universal encyclopedia, documenting in text and illustration all aspects of knowledge in the Enlightenment period of European history. The text reached seventeen folio volumes, printed between 1751 and 1765; the accompanying plates filled eleven volumes; seven volumes of analytics and supplements brought the total to thirty-five folio volumes. This exhibit draws upon the plates illustrating three important aspects of book making in the eighteenth century: paper making, metal type casting, and printing. Curated by James Cartwright