[DIDEROT - D'ALEMBERT]. ENCYCLOPÉDIE OU DICTIONNAIRE RAISONNÉ DES SCIENCES, des Arts et des Métiers, par une société de gens de lettres... Paris, Briasson, David, Le Breton, Durand, Stoupe, Panckoucke, Brunet: Neufchatel, Faulche [Actually Paris], 1751-1780. 35 volumes in-folio, marbled calf, very ornate ribbed spine (period binding). The first edition of this famous work, the greatest achievement of printing in the service of French thought and technology. It consists of 17 volumes of text, 12 volumes of plates published by Le Breton from 1751 to 1772 and 4 volumes of supplements, finally 2 volumes of alphabetical tables published by Panckoucke in 1780. In addition to the engravings, the illustrations include a large fold-out plate entitled "Système figurée des connaissances humaines", and 5 fold-out tables (Division de l'Afrique, de l'Amérique, de l'Asie, de l'Europe et système figurée de la géographie). The 12 volumes of engravings bring together 3130 beautiful plates engraved in the very first edition (if we count the double, triple or quadruple plates) and including the 3 plates of hermaphrodites which are missing from time to time. Well executed restorations to the covers of several volumes, small difference in size and decoration to the spine of volume 17 (without the bookplate). The frontispiece is volant trimmed short without missing. Provenance: Elizabeth Marie Hope-Vere with her bookplate on the volumes. ED