The work consisted of 28 volumes, with 71,818 articles and 3,129 illustrations. Its first entry was the letter "A" and the last "Zzuéné". The first seventeen volumes were published between 1751 and 1765; eleven volumes of plates were finished by 1772. Engraver Robert Bénard provided at least 1,800 plates for the work. The "Encyclopédia" sold 4,000 copies during its first twenty years of publicationé and earned a profit of 2 million livres for its investors. Because of its occasional radical contents (see "Contents" below), the "Encyclopédie" caused much controversy in conservative circles, and on the initiative of the Parlement of Paris, the French government suspended the encyclopedia's "privilège" in 1759. Interestingly enough, the "Encyclopédie" had also been banned 1752 after publication of the second volume. Despite these issues, work continued "in secret," partially because the project had highly placed supporters, such as Malesherbes and Madame de Pompadour. The authorities deliberately ignored the continued work; they thought their official ban was sufficient to appease the church and other enemies of the project.