Who sits behind the publication process of Moonlight’s aesthetic information books for children? What is their philosophy and how did their passion for beautiful illustrations, enlightened design and simple informative text arise? Find out how publisher John Clement fell in love with Diderot and started Moonlight Publishing in 1981.
One week of studying the original edition of Diderot's Encyclopedia in the library of Queen's College, Oxford, in 1968, became a key moment in my life. The 28 volumes containing 18,000 pages with over 70,000 articles and 2,900 illustrations, in the form of engraved plates, could not fail to make a lasting impression on me. The very size, weight and sheer sensual beauty of the illustrated pages and folio printed were breathtaking.
One week of studying the original edition of Diderot's Encyclopedia in the library of Queen's College, Oxford, in 1968, became a key moment in my life. The 28 volumes containing 18,000 pages with over 70,000 articles and 2,900 illustrations, in the form of engraved plates, could not fail to make a lasting impression on me. The very size, weight and sheer sensual beauty of the illustrated pages and folio printed were breathtaking.
The Encyclopédie, which represented the sum of knowledge and liberal thinking in the Age of Enlightenment, was the single most important intellectual achievement of the 18th century. With its democratic endeavour to grant people access to knowledge, its publication between 1751 and 1772 was a precursor to the French Revolution.
The encyclopedic entries covered all the artisan trades and crafts and included comprehensive illustrations of the technology of the day. Diderot took a revolutionary step in placing these everyday trades on a par with the sciences and the liberal arts. In its novel visual presentation of information it was truly a mind-changing work, which had a significant influence on the development and spread of technology in late 18th and 19th century Europe. (You can now actually browse the full text and illustrations online.)
For me the discovery of l'Encyclopédie was an epiphany that made illustrated information publishing look like an attractive and challenging occupation: to extend this legacy and publicise the representation of things as seen through the eyes of artists; to show how the world works by using illustration no longer as subsidiary to text but as a way of informing and educating in its own right. This is what still drives Moonlight Publishing today. As in the Encyclopédie, each published image must be accurate in detail and proportion and give a real impression of what an object – a plant, machine, an animal or a body – is and does. Good illustrations communicate the essentials of a complex subject to a non-technical audience – children and parents alike.
The Encyclopédie was an extraordinary publishing achievement. No comparable work in scale or ambition had been published before. It appealed to a new audience of educated non-expert readers as well as to knowledgeable scientists and thinkers. Its publication was, arguably, the 18th century equivalent to the launch of the worldwide web.
The publisher, André Le Breton, and Diderot, as editor of the project, sustained a large team of contributors. Spending over 25 years working on these volumes, they faced serious church and state opposition throughout.
The publisher, André Le Breton, and Diderot, as editor of the project, sustained a large team of contributors. Spending over 25 years working on these volumes, they faced serious church and state opposition throughout.
Today, you can still find such long-term commitment to illustrated information publishing online and in many encyclopedic, atlas, art and natural history books. I take pride in Moonlight Publishing being one of a rare few who have adopted the Diderot approach in our children’s book publishing. As parents or teachers, you can find a plethora of illustrated information books on our website that, we hope, inspires your (grand-) children, nephews, nieces or pupils to read and learn about the stars, butterflies, technology, the human body, concepts, the jungle and many other subjects.
I am fortunate to run Moonlight Publishing, a small company absolutely dedicated to publishing high-quality information books and apps for children, in this tradition. Our continuing success for more than 33 years can no doubt be traced back to the legacy brought to life by Diderot and continued, centuries on, in so many ways by the outstanding illustrators of our First Discovery and Torchlight books.
Yours,
John Clement
I am fortunate to run Moonlight Publishing, a small company absolutely dedicated to publishing high-quality information books and apps for children, in this tradition. Our continuing success for more than 33 years can no doubt be traced back to the legacy brought to life by Diderot and continued, centuries on, in so many ways by the outstanding illustrators of our First Discovery and Torchlight books.
Yours,
John Clement