Mémoire sur les moyens de corriger les malfaiteurs et fainéans à leur propre avantage et de les rendre utiles à l'État, proposé à l'Assemblée des députés par le vicomte Vilain XIIII. & présenté aux corps & administrations des États de Flandres au mois de janvier 1775 [...].

4to: [6]-268 pp.; 4 pl. (marg. browning on title, occ. foxing mainly in the margins, 2 plates cut shaving the frame).

Early 19th-c. half calf, marbled paper on boards, gilt-ruled flat spine with red title-label, marbled edges (rubbed, corners bumped). Good copy with large margins.

First edition of this very innovative work in the line of Beccaria's theories, by the Viscount Vilain XIIII (1712-1777), enlightened economist, mayor of Aalst and Ghent and president of the States of Flanders. Complete with the 4 engr. double-page plates by Bertrand, showing groundplans and façades of the early correctional facility in Ghent, the so-called "Rasphuis" (built in 1775). The author presented a first version of his memoir in 1771, remained unpublished until the reedition of 1841. In response to critics from Taintenier, he composed a new version that was published in 1775. Vilain XIIII proposes to abolish corporal punishment and suggests the construction of prisons where the inmates are put to work and are trained for a profession, with a view to their release from prison and their return into society. For the architecture of the building, he advocates a radial design, which will greatly influence later French and American prisons.
Ref. Bibl. gantoise III:445. - Conlon 75:1743.