[LE TROSNE (Guillaume-François)]. De l'Administration provin - Lot 126

[LE TROSNE (Guillaume-François)]. De l'Administration provinciale, et de la réforme de l'impôt. A Basle, s.n., 1779. In-4, marbled basane, ornate spine (period binding). First edition, extremely rare as it was seized at the time of publication: in his reform of taxation, Le Trosne did not spare the prerogatives of the clergy; the Garde des Sceaux, fearing that this book would upset the bishops and archbishops, had it seized, even though Necker had encouraged its publication and distribution (cf. Peignot, Dictionnaire des livres condamnés au feu, t. II, p. 164). In 1755, the difficulties caused by tax collection and the inadequacy of the means it provided, brought to mind a project put forward by the Marquis de Mirabeau in his 1750 brochure on the usefulness of provincial states. The Académie de Toulouse took up this question and invited authors to give their opinion on the generalization of provincial administrations. Le Trosne responded in 1755 with a memoir that won the prize offered by the Académie. This memoir was transformed into a book in 1779 (Leblanc, De Thomas More à Chaptal, n°91). Heavy staining at the end of the volume, with traces of mildew. The supplement entitled Manière de simplifier le plan proposé (24 pages) is photocopied on laid paper. Binding badly restored.