Le Philosophe amoureux, ou Avantures du Chevalier de K***. by…

2 vols, 18mo (144 × 80 mm), pp. [6], 139, [1]; [2], 112; [2], 177, [1]; [2], ‘154’ [but 124], plus additional engraved title and 10 plates, letterpress titles in red and black. Occasional short marginal tears. Contemporary mottled sheep, spines gilt in compartments with red and tan labels. Corners and headcaps slightly bumped, the latter with slight loss. Am attractive copy.

First edition. A rare roman philosophique in which the comic hero-philosopher’s rationalism is thrown into disarray as he is forced to leave his library and to encounter the real world in all its chaos. Initially prompted by a misdirected letter from a young woman thrown into his coach on the way home from the theatre, the Chevalier pursues his desires through a series of comic interludes and finds his stoic philosophies transformed into sensibilité.
Barbier attributes the novel to L’Affichard (1698-1753), a playwright, novelist, and souffleur (prompter) at the Théâtre italien. It is distinct from the 1737 novel of a similar title (Le Philosophe amoureux, ou les Mémoires du comte de Mommejan) written by the Marquis d’Argens It was republished in 1748 as L’Amour chez les philosophes. Ou Mémoires du marquis de ***. Barbier 14139; Gay 727. WorldCat: Bibliotheques nationale and Sainte-Geneviève only.