18th Century Printing
18th Century Printing
The 18th century in Western Europe is associated with the Enlightenment, a period characterized by the transmission of innovative ideas and public discourse in the sciences, natural philosophy, politics, religion, and culture. It was also a period characterized by debate about how to reconcile the idea of human reason as a means of understanding the natural world with traditional religious explanations. For much of the early 18th century, religious materials like devotional texts and sermons remained very popular among readers. But a broader public interest in the sciences and later in the 18th century, the novel and other literature, changed the publishing business in Europe. To support the expanded culture of intellectual inquiry, the volume of print publishing increased significantly, as did the variety and availability of printed formats such as periodicals and newspapers and reference materials like encyclopedias. Rising literacy rates and the creation of a larger reading public widely contributed to the spread of new intellectual ideas across Europe and the world.
Physices elementa mathematica, experimentis confirmata : sive Introductio ad philosophiam Newtonianam
Gravesande, Willem Jacob 's, 1688-1742.
Lugduni Batavorum : Apud Petrum Vander Aa; 1725
Editio secunda, auctior & emendatior.
Trinity (Graham Library) Strachan Collection; G73ph
Willem Jacob ’s Gravesande was one of the major proponents of Newtonian physics in the Netherlands and continental Europe. While Locke’s theory of the separation of church and state spread during the Enlightenment, ’sGravesande was a moderate who believed the new scientific theories and study of natural philosophy were a means of explaining the world as created by God and not mutually exclusive.
Fables ancient and modern
Dryden, John, 1631-1700
London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, within Gray's Inn Gate next Gray's Inn Lane.; 1700
Rare Book Collection ; Hill 063
During the 18th century, alongside the growing abundance of science and natural philosophy publications, literature was still considered a way to advance knowledge. John Dryden’s Fables Ancient & Modern, was his last published book and consisted of translations of classical and medieval poetry, his own poetry, and a prefatory essay on literary criticism.
The works of Jacob Behmen, the Teutonic theosopher ... : to which is prefixed, the life of the author: with figures, illustrating his principles
Böhme, Jakob, 1575-1624.
London: Printed for M. Richardson; 1764-1781
BV5080 .B7 A2 1764
Böhme, a 17th century German shoemaker and mystic, created a body of works based on his religious visions, that influenced artists, poets, philosophers, Quakers, and William Blake years after his death. This edition is famed for its plates with overlays showing human anatomy and its connection to the soul.
La botanique mise à la portée de tout le monde, ou, Collection des plantes d'usage dans la médecine, dans les alimens et dans les arts ...
Regnault, Nicolas-François, 1746-1810.
A Paris : Chez l'auteur; 1774
QK98 .R43 1774 Oversize fol
The 18th century emphasis on direct observations of nature and the colonial exploits that brought new plants back to Europe led to high demand for accurate and beautiful botanical illustration. Marie-Geneviève Regnault and Nicolas-François Regnault created this 1774 masterpiece in twelve years and focused largely on plants with practical medicinal or nutritional applications.