[BANNED BOOKS]. [EARLY SCIENCE FICTION]. MERCIER, Louis-Sebastian (1740-1814). L'An deux mille quatre cent quarante. Rêve s'il en fut jamais London: 1

About Auction

Live

Summer Fine Books & Manuscripts

By Potter & Potter Auctions

Jul 9, 2026

Set Reminder 2026-07-09 11:00:00 2026-07-09 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Summer Fine Books & Manuscripts https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/potter-potter/summer-fine-books-manuscripts-22825
We are proud to offer some of the rarest items from Ernest Hemingway, rare and important newspapers, excellent books from African-American authors, and some of the finest early printed books to come to market. Potter & Potter Auctions info@potterauctions.com

View Full Catalog (634)

• Lot Description

  [BANNED BOOKS]. [EARLY SCIENCE FICTION]. MERCIER, Louis-Sebastian (1740-1814). L'An deux mille quatre cent quarante. Rêve s'il en fut jamais London: 1775. Small 8vo. [viii], 472, [4] pp. Later full mottled sheep. Gilt, flat spine, edges stained red, later endleaves. EARLY EDITION OF THIS INFLUENTIAL UTOPIAN NOVEL, NOTEWORTHY FOR BEING SET IN THE FUTURE. 

  Condition

  Light rubbing to binding, endleaves and text a bit toned, some occasional soiling, foxing, half-title dampstained. A very good copy.

• Provenance

  Gershon Legman's copy, with his signature and the date 1984 in ink on the front free endpaper. Mercier (1740-1814) was a prolific writer of plays, novels, and pamphlets. Firmly in the tradition of the Enlightenment, he was influenced by Rousseau, Diderot, Holbach, Mably, and others. Robert Darnton writes: "There is no better writer to consult," Robert Darnton writes, "if one wants to get some idea of how Paris looked, sounded, smelled, and felt on the eve of the Revolution" (The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France, p. 118). despite its self-proclaimed character of fantasy. L'An 2440 demanded to be read as a serious guidebook to the future. It offered an astonishing new perspective: the future as a fait accompli and the present as a distant past. Who could resist the temptation to participate in such a thought experiment? And once engaged in it, who could fail to see that it exposed the rottenness of the society before his eyes, the Paris of the eighteenth century?" (ibid, p. 120). Gershon Legman (1917-1999) pioneered the serious academic study of erotic and taboo materials in folklore. He is particularly known for his work, Rationale of the Dirty Joke: An Analysis of Sexual Humor (1968) and for his several books on limericks. "L'an deux mille quatre cent quarante was first published in 1771. It was swiftly banned in France and was put on the Inquisition's list of forbidden books in 1773, but it became a runaway best seller, going through at least twenty-five editions." (Cioranescu 44468, listing the first edition.) Darnton, The Corpus of Clandestine Literature in France 1769-1789, p. 17, no. 30

• Shipping Info

  • If your bid is successful, as an alternative to in-house shipping, we can provide you with a list of shippers. We will not be responsible for the acts or omissions of carriers or packers whether or not recommended by us. Property will not be released to the shipper without the buyer's written consent and until payment has been made in full. Packing and handling by us of purchased lots is at the entire risk of the purchaser, and Potter and Potter Auctions, Inc. will have no liability of any loss or damage to such items. Packing and shipping expenses shall be added to buyer's invoice and will reflect a charge for labor, materials, insurance, transportation, as well as actual shipper fees.

• Payment & Auction Policies

  • Available payment options

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
• Buyer's Premium
  • 25.00 %