Nouvelle description des chateaux et parcs de Versailles et de Marly : contenant une explication historique de toutes les peintures, tableaux, statues, vases & ornemens qui s'y voient : leurs dimensions : & les noms des peintres, des sculpteurs & des graveurs qui les ont faits 1724

This book, printed in Paris in 1724, is a guide to the palaces and gardens of Versailles and Marly, made from paper, ink, and thread. These were common materials, but the book itself was anything but. Publishing involved skilled labor – from typesetting to printing and binding. The engraved illustrations, mentioned as "taille douce" (intaglio) required highly trained hands to make the printing plates. Such publications were luxury goods, and this one was clearly intended for an aristocratic readership. Its detailed descriptions and plans catered to those who wished to fully appreciate the royal grounds and the labor and resources it took to build them. Consider the sheer amount of work involved, not just in producing the physical book, but in shaping the very landscapes it describes. This book acts as a lens through which we can understand the intersection of labor, consumption, and social privilege in 18th-century France, captured within the humble form of a book.