Books and Manuscripts

London: Printed by William Jackson, for Claude Du Bosc, 1733-39. First edition in English. Seven volumes bound as six. Tall folio. Text printed in red and in black; each volume with half-title. Illustrated with 212 (of 223) engraved plates (many double-page and folding) and several engraved initials and head- and tail-pieces; lacking engraved dedication leaf; one plate in Vol. IV, six plates in Vol. V, and three plates in Vol. VI. Contemporary full brown calf, first volume rebacked, including red morocco spine label, stamped in gilt, all other spine labels perished; front board of second volume detached; rear board of third volume detached, front board of same holding; front board of fourth volume detached, rear volume of same holding; front board of fifth volume holding; front and rear boards of sixth volume starting. Vol. I: dampstaining in bottom edge of all leaves, scattered foxing, some leaves toned; Vol. II: front free endpaper, front blank, and half-title loose, scattered foxing; Vol. III: front free endpaper, front blank, half-title and title-page loose, plate facing p. 112 starting, dampstaining in bottom edge of several leaves, scattered foxing; Vol. IV: plate facing p. 445 bound upside down, dampstaining in bottom edge of several leaves; scattered foxing and toning; Vol V: dampstaining in top corner of most leaves, several leaves toned, scattered foxing; Vols. VI and VII: scattered foxing. Sold with all faults. ESTC T137604

First edition in English of Bernard Picart's monumental and famed Enlightenment work on the religious customs of the world. Originally published in French in Amsterdam between 1723-37, Religious Ceremonies of the World "marked a major turning point in European attitudes toward religious belief...It sowed the radical idea that religions could be compared on equal terms, and therefore that all religions were equally worthy of respect--and criticism." (Hunt, Lynn, and Margaret C. Jacob and Wijnand Mijnhardt, The Book that Changed the World: Picart & Bernard's Religious Ceremonies of the World, p. 1). The work was a collaboration between Picart, one the period's greatest engravers, and publisher and author Jean Frederic Bernard. They had both fled religious persecution to the safe haven of Holland, where they found an environment conducive to the execution of this work, and whose publication marked a watershed moment for religious tolerance in Europe. The resulting work was unprecedented in scope, and covers in great detail the ceremonies and customs of the world's largest religions, including Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodox, etc.), Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, religions in Asia, Africa, and India, as well as the tenets of Deism and Freemasonry.

Picart is particularly regarded for his treatment and examination of Jewish ceremonies and contemporary Jewish life, where he "earned a place in the history of Jewish art by his realistic portrayal of Jewish religious rites. These constitute an invaluable record of Dutch Jewry in the early eighteenth century...Picart sought out Jews in the synagogue and in their homes in order to acquaint himself with their ceremonies. In his picture of a Passover celebration the artist himself can be seen, hatless, participating in the meal." (Encyclopedia Judaica). Another notable feature is the extensive descriptions and plates of Native American customs in the third volume.