Maupertuis - Venus Physique - 1777

MAUPERTUIS, PIERRE-LOUIS MOREAU DE. — VÉNUS PHYSIQUE (1777, WITH DISSERTATION ON THE WHITE NEGRO AND VARIETIES IN THE HUMAN SPECIES). [Paris], 1777. In-12. Full contemporary calf, spine with cords and ornaments in gold. Edition from the late 18th century of Maupertuis's scientific and philosophical masterpiece. Published anonymously at the origin in 1745, the Vénus Physique constitutes one of the boldest contributions of the Enlightenment to natural philosophy. Maupertuis radicalLy opposes fixist theories of creation and ovism by formulating a hypothesis prefiguring Mendelian genetic laws and biological mutations: according to him, the characteristics of the father and of the mother combine by molecular attraction. The second part, devoted to the “Dissertation physique à l'occasion du Nègre Blanc” and to the “Variétés dans l'Espèce Humaine,” studies phenomena of albinism and heredity (notably cases of polydactyly), marking a major milestone in the reflection on diversity and the origin of human origins. Copy preserved in its period brown full calf binding. Flat spine readable with original gildings, wear from use of the period and visible losses at the crowns, fore-edges and corners with small marks on the leather of the upper cap. Binding solid. Interior in excellent condition on laid paper with the period manuscript ex-libris mark "M. Ruelle" perfectly preserved on the title. By observing a young albino boy born to black parents presented in Paris in the mid-18th century, the Breton savant Maupertuis understood that heredity was not mere passive transmission but the result of mutations and accidental combinations. Presented under the falsely modest signature "par Maupertuis" added by a learned person on the 1777 printed title page and enriched with a fine period manuscript ex-libris (M. Ruelle), this precursor text in the history of biology and the sciences of humanity is a highly intellectual piece for your cabinet of Enlightenment curiosities.

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