MONTMORT (Pierre Rémond de). Essay d'analyse sur les jeux de hazard. Paris, Jacques Quillau, 1713. In-4, speckled calf, triple gilt fillet, spine decorated, speckled edges (Period binding). "The first complete work on the theory of probability", according to Anders Hald. Second edition, considerably enlarged and the most sought-after. It contains more than the original a treatise on combinations and the important correspondence between Montmort and Jean and Nicolas Bernoulli, in which the very first treatment of a problem in game theory is set out. The work is illustrated with six folding plates, four bands depicting players at various table games and two backgammon figures in the text. A pioneer of probability theory, Pierre Raymond de Montmort (1678-1719) was elected to the Académie des Sciences and became a member of the Royal Society. He was in contact with the leading scientists of his time in France and England. From the library of Lieutenant-General Count Louis-Antoine Pille (1749-1828), with bookplate. Joints split, corners and edges rubbed, margins of title slightly browned. Brunet, III, 1870 - Goldsmiths, n°5090.2 suppl. - Anders Hald, A History of probability and statistics..., 2003, p. 290.