Documents concerning the publication and reception of the Encyclopédie

In support of the electionic Encyclopédie, the ARTFL Project has begun to build an archive of eighteenth-century documents relating to the production and reception of the work. In bringing these documents together in one central location, we hope to provide our users with convenient access to extensive information that will enrich their research within the work itself. If you have material to contribute, please contact the ARTFL Project (see above).

Les documents sont présentés en français.

Publication dates of the individual volumes
- Dates de publication
General Chronology of the Encyclopédie
- Chronologie en français
Diderot's internment at Vincennes in 1749
Diderot's definitive Prospectus, 8,000 copies issued November 1750

Lettre de M. Diderot au R. P. Berthier, Jésuite, February 1751
Seconde lettre de M. Diderot au R. P. Berthier, Jésuite, February 1751
Arrêt du Conseil d'État du Roi, suppression of the first two volumes, 7 February 1752
Commentary from the Mercure danois, on the pro- and anti-Encyclopédie factions, October 1757
Mémoire des Libraires associés à l'Encyclopédie, sur les motifs de la suspension actuelle de cet ouvrage, March 1758
Entries from Barbier's Journal, 7 and 9 February 1759, commenting on the measures taken against the Encyclopédie by the Parlement
Guyon's Oracle des nouveaux philosophes, 1759; specifically aimed Voltaire, this work is part of the general anti-philosophical movement that jeapordizes the future of the Encyclopédie
Encyclical of Pope Clement XIII "Ut Primum" condemning the Encyclopédie, September 1759
Overviews of the editorial and controversial history of the Encyclopédie
- L'abbé Irailh, 1761, in his Querelles littéraires
- Aublet de Maubuy, 1779, Histoire des troubles et des démêlés littéraires, depuis leur origine jusqu'à nos jours inclusivement