Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades & Industries Volume I, by Denis Diderot. 472 Pages. Softbound. Denis Diderot's 'Encyclpedie' was the crowning venture of the 18th-century's Enlightenment. It included contributions from such intellectual greats as Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Voltaire. Its purpose was to publicize trade secrets in the hope it would lead to more rational industrial processes. This is volume I of a collection of plates on trade and industry taken from the 'Encyclopedie.' Its chapters include plates on agricultural and rural arts, the art of war, the iron foundry and forge, extractive industries, and metal working. Each plate is so clear and detailed that an engineer could contruct any machine or plant and go into 18th-century production. This wonderfully inexpensive book is an invaluable and fascinating reference for any craftman or student of Europe before the Industrial Revolution. $27.95 (BK-0186)