Dezallier d'Argenville

His son, Antoine-Nicolas Dezallier d'Argenville (1723–1796), wrote successful guides to Paris and its monuments, as well as books on natural history, a biographical collection on architects and sculptors, and other subjects.

As its title suggests, the treatise is composed of two parts: the theoretical principles of the art of fine gardening and its practical applications.

The second part applies the principles in earth works, terraces and stairs, and the hydraulics necessary for constructing jeux d'eau: fountains, cascades, pools (bassins) and canals.

Dezailler d'Argenville was called upon to edit or contribute more than 600 entries in the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert, published in parts from 1751.

The connoisseurship of shells and their most colourful and fantastic form was a gentleman's occupation and a worthy inclusion in a cabinet de curiosités before it became a science under the Linnaean system of classification.

He organised his extensive collection by subject rather than by school, as outlined in the 'Lettre sur le choix et l'arrangement d'un Cabinet curieux…' that he published in the Mercure de France in 1727.

The sale of Dezallier's property, which took place on 3 March 1766 following his death in 1765, mentions within these volumes a total of 1,600 costume prints from the time of King Charles II until 1730.