Diderot, Denis. (1713–1784). Theatres...Machines de Theatre - Theater Plans from Encyclopedie.
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Theatres, Contenant trente-huit Planches a cause de sept doubles. [TOGETHER WITH:] Machines de Theatre Contenant Quarante-Neuf Planches a cause de quartorze doubles & de quatre triples. Dessinees & expliquees par M. Radel. Upright folio; two volumes. Folio, 253 x 393mm. Plate sections related to theater construction and architecture from the French philosopher-writer's Encyclopédie, ca. 1765. Volume one contains thirty-one plates, seven double-paged, with the explanatory text (4 pp.) at the beginning; second volume is "Machines de Théatre. " Première; 2ieme section. 8 pages of descriptive text at the beginning & 49 plates from the volume of plates. The 49 plates and descriptive text for the entry of Machines De Théâtres from volume X of plates. The first set of plates contains twenty-seven numbered plates, with 14 double sheets (plates 1-6, 11-16, 18 & 26) alongside 4 triple sheets (7, 8, 9 & 10). The second set of plates contains twenty-two numbered plates, and all of these are double sheets. All describing "Machines de Theatre"; plates by Radel, under the direction of Giraud, theater machinist at the Opera in Paris. Both volumes finely bound in recent quarter calfskin with marbled paper boards. 15.5 x 10 inches (39.5 x 25.5 cm). Clean and crisp throughout, very fine condition.
The plates provide an invaluable guide to the backstage of the theatre in the 18th-century. Many plates are very factual, but were original and ahead of their time. With some measured drawing, the illustrations describe the creation of a ship in a stormy sea, and the raising and lifting of objects from the floor, among other devices. Several of the later plates show the machines and rigging used, and then elegantly illustrate the desired effect as seen on stage. A number of plates depict in vivid detail mechanisms for representing waterfalls and other natural phenomena, indicative of the range of invention of the French 18th-century set designer. Other contraptions include sophisticated and avant-garde mechanical devices, such as false-floors, the creation of volcanic eruptions and the destruction of buildings by fire. The Opéra de Paris and the Palais Royal are used as particular examples of this great and refined period of theatre design. The plates were each drawn and described by Rodel, a Pensioner of the King and a chartered architect, under the direction of Giraud, who served as the mastermind behind several large festivals and worked as a stage-setter at the above mentioned Opéra de Paris.
Diderot, Denis. (1713–1784). Theatres...Machines de Theatre - Theater Plans from Encyclopedie.
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Theatres, Contenant trente-huit Planches a cause de sept doubles. [TOGETHER WITH:] Machines de Theatre Contenant Quarante-Neuf Planches a cause de quartorze doubles & de quatre triples. Dessinees & expliquees par M. Radel. Upright folio; two volumes. Folio, 253 x 393mm. Plate sections related to theater construction and architecture from the French philosopher-writer's Encyclopédie, ca. 1765. Volume one contains thirty-one plates, seven double-paged, with the explanatory text (4 pp.) at the beginning; second volume is "Machines de Théatre. " Première; 2ieme section. 8 pages of descriptive text at the beginning & 49 plates from the volume of plates. The 49 plates and descriptive text for the entry of Machines De Théâtres from volume X of plates. The first set of plates contains twenty-seven numbered plates, with 14 double sheets (plates 1-6, 11-16, 18 & 26) alongside 4 triple sheets (7, 8, 9 & 10). The second set of plates contains twenty-two numbered plates, and all of these are double sheets. All describing "Machines de Theatre"; plates by Radel, under the direction of Giraud, theater machinist at the Opera in Paris. Both volumes finely bound in recent quarter calfskin with marbled paper boards. 15.5 x 10 inches (39.5 x 25.5 cm). Clean and crisp throughout, very fine condition.
The plates provide an invaluable guide to the backstage of the theatre in the 18th-century. Many plates are very factual, but were original and ahead of their time. With some measured drawing, the illustrations describe the creation of a ship in a stormy sea, and the raising and lifting of objects from the floor, among other devices. Several of the later plates show the machines and rigging used, and then elegantly illustrate the desired effect as seen on stage. A number of plates depict in vivid detail mechanisms for representing waterfalls and other natural phenomena, indicative of the range of invention of the French 18th-century set designer. Other contraptions include sophisticated and avant-garde mechanical devices, such as false-floors, the creation of volcanic eruptions and the destruction of buildings by fire. The Opéra de Paris and the Palais Royal are used as particular examples of this great and refined period of theatre design. The plates were each drawn and described by Rodel, a Pensioner of the King and a chartered architect, under the direction of Giraud, who served as the mastermind behind several large festivals and worked as a stage-setter at the above mentioned Opéra de Paris.