FONTENELLE, Bernard de. A Plurality of Worlds. John Glanvill'sTranslation with a Prologue by David Garnett. The Nonesuch Press, 1929.
8vo., original limp vellum, lettered in gilt on spine with gilt astrological signs on upper board; upper edge gilt, else untrimmed; with 8 stencilled illustrations in blue and gold; pp. [x], v-ix, [ii], 2-138, [vi]; aside from mild rubbing to the decorative paper slipcase, fine, and apparently unread (unopened).
Limited edition of 1600 copies, this no. 596. "A peach of a book" (Francis Meynell). Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds was originally published in 1686, and is an early exposition of cosmic pluralism - the idea that the stars are distant suns which might have their own planetary systems, including the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
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