The original site of the Yverdon Press, Rue de Lac 45, housed the printing press of the learned Fortuné-Barthélemy de Felice (1723-1789), famous for his translations of texts propagating innovative ideas. 

 

In 1762, he moved to Yverdon and opened his printing shop; thirty people worked in this subsidiary of the larger Bernese company. Before his dieath in 1789, he published 171 titles, both copies and original works.

 

The famous Encyclopedia of Yverdon, published between 1770 and 1780, composed of 48 volumes of texts and 10 volumes of boards. This vast recreation of the Encyclopedia of Diderot and D'Alembert, includes many articles rewritten, modified or added by scholars from France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, to name but a few.

 

De Felice's Encyclopaedia of Felice made Yverdon and Lausanne famous throughout Europe. Today, 2700 copies are sold and are sold across the world in Holland, Denmark, Poland, England, Scandinavia and Russia.

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