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Signature of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The autograph signature Rousseau used, often adding the proud title 'Citoyen de Genève'.

His own handwritten signature, often paired with his proud title 'Citoyen de Genève'.

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Black ink signature on white background: stylized cursive letters including a large J and R, with a long swooping underline stroke extending down and to the right.
Signature of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

About this source

What it is

This is an image of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's handwritten signature, showing his cursive initials and a long flourishing underline.

Why it matters

A signature is a simple but powerful trace of a real person. Rousseau often signed documents adding 'Citoyen de Genève' ('Citizen of Geneva'), showing how proud he was of his birthplace and his identity as a free citizen, ideas central to his political writings.

Look closer

  • What does the style of the handwriting suggest about the period it comes from?
  • Why might someone add a title like 'Citizen of Geneva' to their signature?
  • What can a signature tell us about a person, and what can't it tell us?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of Du Contrat Social ou Principes du Droit Politique by J. J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genève, printed at Amsterdam by Marc Michel Rey, MDCCLXII. Below the text is an engraved allegorical figure of a woman holding scales and a staff, flanked by trees, with Latin mottos above her. A handwritten inscription appears at top right.Book

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The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762

Sepia-toned mezzotint print of a man in a tall fur hat and fur-collared coat, with his hand raised to his chest, set on a page of a bound book. Caption below reads Jean Jacques Rousseau, Vitam Impendere Vero, after Ramsay, published by David Martin.Painting

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Portrait of Jean Jacques Rousseau

David Martin · 1766

Open book spread showing the title page of Rousseau's Discours sur l'origine et les fondemens de l'inégalité parmi les hommes, Amsterdam, 1755, with red and black printed text and a engraved vignette of a seated woman. On the left page is an engraved plate of men in a landscape with a figure pointing.Book

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Discourse on Inequality

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1754 (published 1755)

Black and white line engraving of an oval portrait of a man with curled powdered hair, white cravat, and dark coat, seated and smiling slightly, set within an ornate framed border with laurel leaves, ribbons, a book inscribed with a title, and a lamp. Caption at bottom reads 'Publish'd 1st of April 1780 By Fielding & Walker Pater Noster Row'.Painting

Secondary source

Engraving of Rousseau after La Tour's Portrait

E. Ficquet, after Maurice Quentin de La Tour · 1780

Title page of the 1762 first edition of Emile, ou de l'éducation by J. J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genève. Red and black print; A La Haye, chez Jean Néaulme, Libraire; Tome Premier; MDCCLXII.Book

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762

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