Live auction

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Why it matters

Bayle's Nouvelles de la République des Lettres, launched at Amsterdam in March 1684, was the founding organ of learned review journalism and shaped the international "Republic of Letters" for a generation. The presence of the short-lived Mercure sçavant — of which, as the seller notes, only the January and February 1684 issues appeared — makes this a documentary pairing of Bayle's journal with the ephemeral periodical that immediately preceded and reportedly helped prompt it.

Why we're looking

A detailed, collated description of what appears to be the 1684 issue rather than the more commonly encountered 1686 re-edition, bound together with the two only issues of the Mercure sçavant and retaining music and scientific plates in early mottled calf.

Watch out for

This is a live auction and any current bid is not evidence of a bargain. Verify the 1684 versus 1686 setting against a reliable collation (the seller notes the month-division differs from the publisher's suggested arrangement), confirm the loss of text at p. 531 is acceptable, and check plate count and the torn plate in person or via additional images before bidding.