ANONYME

Exceptional collection of 49 original watercolours depicting daily life in Tonkin, most illustrating rural scenes.

These unsigned watercolours, each measuring approximately 20 x 15 cm (excluding margins), are finely executed in Indian ink and watercolour, with touches of gouache, on paper sheets—some bearing the watermark "Latune et Cie Blacons."

Contemporary half red cloth binding, smooth spine covered in red shagreen, some rubbing to the spine, boards of marbled paper, blue endpapers and pastedowns.

Minor foxing to the margins of some watercolours.

The scenes depict a variety of subjects: a military post guarded by four soldiers, one standing sentry at the entrance; a guard in white uniform holding a rifle with a long bayonet, his head covered by a salacco (the traditional headgear of Indochinese riflemen); an elderly man seated at a table, smoking a pipe while being fanned by a servant; a peasant ploughing with two oxen; a woman praying at a grave; another peasant tilling the soil; two villagers meeting near a small bridge; four people working in a paddy field; a man in formal dress before a temple; three peasants harvesting rice; a cockfight, and more.

Also depicted are villagers carrying goods or fishing, wrestlers performing before a dignitary, a child guiding a blind man, two labourers transporting stones in a wheelbarrow, a procession led by a mounted dignitary carrying a wild boar in a cage, a prisoner being flogged, another about to be beheaded, a hunting scene, musicians, a woman at a loom, villagers at play, and so on.

Western presence is alluded to only once: an Indochinese sailing vessel flies three tri-colour flags while a steamship, probably French, makes its way in the background…

Accompanied by a piece of light brown calfskin (4 x 32 cm) blind-stamped with the inscription "Souvenir du Tonkin 1885-90".

A rare and precious visual record of Tonkin at the beginning of the French protectorate.

First separate edition, the text having previously appeared in the series Philipp's new voyages and travels (London, 1820–1823) (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 308).

Bradel-style binding in full grey boards, smooth spine, title label, sprinkled edges; a modern binding.

An exceptionally early account of the coastal region between Macao and Canton, published anonymously despite the initials J.R. at the end of the preface (this J.R. served as supercargo on the ship The Friendship).

Exceptional album comprising 54 original caricatures, some captioned, executed in India ink, pencil, and watercolour (including three small pencil sketches on loose leaves), together with several blank leaves.

This entertaining and highly personal album, evidently compiled by an amateur artist, appears to chronicle the various adventures and misadventures of a small cast of recurring characters, all seemingly connected in one way or another with the French Embassy to the Ottoman Porte, as suggested by a piece of official letterhead inserted between two leaves.

Contemporary full ivory vellum with yapped edges, smooth spine ruled in red, a restored split at the head of the spine, red fillets framing the boards, some marking to the covers, comb-marbled endpapers, red edges.

The album also includes one autograph letter signed in black ink, embellished with marginal caricatures, addressed to Mr H. Fournier and opening with "Cher Washington n°2".

The recipient of this satirical, illustrated letter appears to be the diplomat Hugues Marie Henri Fournier (1821–1898), appointed ambassador to Constantinople in 1877.

The adventures of the small group, identified by captions in black pencil, seem to begin in Florence in September 1872 and continue on to Rome.

The album includes, among other scenes, a watercolour depicting the Temple of Vesta.

In December 1872, according to an ink caption, the group—comprising the Vicomtes Bresson, de Mareuil, d'Hauterive, and d'Hérisson—is caricatured in Rome: at the theatre, on the Capitoline Hill, on horseback, and so forth.

A panoramic watercolour likewise satirises the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and its protagonists.

Also portrayed in pencil alongside Fournier are General de Castelbajac and the Baron de Talleyrand.

The album further contains a fine pencil portrait of Khalil Bey.

The renowned Ottoman diplomat and collector, born in Cairo in 1831 and deceased in Istanbul in 1879, had indeed returned to Constantinople in 1872, after his ambassadorship in Vienna (1868), to marry the Egyptian princess Nazli Fazl. In addition to his role in the Crimean War, he is remembered for his celebrated art collection which, sold at auction in 1868, included works by Courbet (among them L'Origine du monde), Ingres, Delacroix, and others.

The Comte d'Osmond and Alfred de Courtois are likewise caricatured.

The album also features a view titled Pointe imaginaire du sérail and a watercolour depicting a game of lawn tennis.

A unique ensemble.

First edition of the French translation.

Our copy is issued in its original state, preserved in a blue paper temporary wrapper and housed within a double chemise and slipcase in navy half-shagreen, smooth spine, marbled-paper boards; a modern binding signed by Devauchelle.

A rare and appealing copy.

Recorded in the CCF only at the BnF.

Sole edition of this theatrical jeu d’esprit, which bears little relation to China despite the purported setting of the action: "La scène se passe à Pé-King, l’an du monde 100, 857, et de Con-Fou-Tsée 6550". In reality, it is a play about the destructive nature of gambling, for which there was no real need to summon China as a pretext; moreover, the characters speak and behave like perfectly typical French petits bourgeois."

Handsome and uncommon album comprising 36 vintage silver-print photographs (18.5 × 23 cm, mounted and captioned by hand), depicting exterior views—façades, gardens, and architectural perspectives—of this English neo-Gothic estate built between 1868 and 1872 by Thomas Smith and the Cannes contractor Scavy for one Michael Hugh Scott, who never lived in it: the property quickly passed to the businessman Debionne, who resold it to Lord Wolverton after furnishing and decorating the interior.

Publisher’s blue percaline binding, smooth unlettered spine, blind-ruled frame on the boards, gilt-lettered title to the upper cover, marbled endpapers and pastedowns; contemporary binding.

A few black spots to the slightly warped upper board; pleasing internal condition.

Facing the first photograph, presentation inscription from the second owner, Alexandre-Louis Debionne, to his brother-in-law, dated 15 April 1878.

First edition of this study in political economy.

Three copies listed in OCLC, all in the United States. BMC records only the second edition (London, 1809).

"Sur quelle base reposent les gouvernements, les lois, les peuples, les autorités, les souverainetés, les partages, les propriétés, les distinctions, les inégalités : voilà le problème important dont on s'occupera dans cet ouvrage."

Some small losses of paper to the spines and corners, rear cover of the first volume soiled, a pleasant, clean interior.

Rare copy preserved in its original grey wrappers.

Very rare first edition, bilingual, quarto in format and printed on laid paper, of the Corsican cahier de doléances.

(Cf. Starace 4747. Not in Roland Bonaparte. Conlon, xxiv, 89:1617, who notes only the 32-page octavo edition. No copy located in CCF or Worldcat.)

Our copy is preserved in a plain grey paper wrapper, with minor internal flaws, a few discreet paper restorations to the lower right margin of the opening leaves, not affecting the text.

"Les cahiers des Tiers, en même temps que des mesures spécifiques, exigent les mêmes réformes que le reste du royaume. Cette imbrication du régional et du national est jalonnée d'événements illustrant la dynamique révolutionnaire: agitation lors des assemblées primaires, émeute de Bastia le 1er mai 1789, "révolution municipale" du mois d'août à l'annonce du 14 Juillet parisien et sous le signe de la cocarde tricolore..." Soboul, Dict. hist. de la Révolution française.

Among the specific measures requested are the following: authorisation for Corsican vessels to fly the Moor’s Head on the French white ensign (as several towns and provinces of the kingdom already displayed their own arms); establishment of a university at Corte funded by the former revenues of the Carthusians, Jacobins, and Olivetans; establishment of a lazaretto to facilitate trade with the Levant; creation of a free port; preference in appointments to be given to Corsicans or to French inhabitants established on the island, etc.

Light foxing to the lower and upper right corners of the leaves, not affecting the text.

A well-preserved and appealing copy.

First edition (cf. Grand-Carteret, Almanachs, 158; Saffroy, Almanachs et annuaires, 306.)

Interleaved from page 46, with a few small spots of foxing.

Full old red morocco, smooth spine panelled and decorated with fleurons, triple gilt fillet border on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt roll-tooled edges, all edges gilt, contemporary binding.

Minor rubbing to the upper cover and a tiny hole to one joint.

Copy from the libraries of Raymond-Jean-François Laplagne-Barris (1786–1857), magistrate and Peer of France, and of heraldist Olivier Le Bas, with their bookplates pasted on the front pastedown and first endpaper.

First edition, illustrated with woodcut armorial bearings at the head of the first page of text.

Description of the equestrian procession that accompanied through Rome the new Roman senator, Count Nils Bielke (1706–1765), a Swedish knight, chamberlain to the King of Sweden and papal chamberlain following his recent conversion to Catholicism.

The text gives a detailed account of the sumptuous costumes worn by the participants and of the various decorative settings. It concludes with the names and titles of all those who took part in the procession.

Ink annotations at the head of the final page.

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, now protected by modern plain paper covers.

A rare and attractive copy.

First edition of the French translation, based on the sixth English edition.

Copies listed in the CCF only at the BnF, Dijon, and Rouen libraries.

Our copy is preserved in its original state, in contemporary marbled paper wrappers.

The only edition of this curious political pamphlet, seemingly without any real connection to an English original, which proposes to reorganize Europe through joint—particularly military—control by the four principal continental powers (Austria, France, Spain, and Prussia) over all the others, in order to ensure peace and balance across the continent.

These prophetic, if still utopian, reflections are preceded by an analysis of Europe’s situation since the Seven Years’ War.

Manuscript of 83 leaves of this French–Bunda dictionary, probably unpublished and unsigned.

This manuscript is certainly the first French–Bunda vocabulary (cf. Gay 3068 and Brunet I-1544).

Half red shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands ruled in black, gilt date at foot, minor rubbing to spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, contemporary binding.

Second, enlarged edition of these rather protectionist ideas, which prompted Dupont de Nemours to write a refutation (Lettre à la Chambre de commerce de Normandie).

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, now covered with modern marbled paper, red edges.

The second part is entitled Plan d'une banque nationale de France, ou d'une caisse générale de recettes & paiements des deniers publics & particuliers, and bears the Jersey imprint, 1787. Frère I, 210 (for the first edition of 1787).

Very rare first edition, with only one copy listed in WorldCat.

Contemporary half vellum binding with small corners, smooth spine, brown morocco title label with losses, marbled paper boards.

Some foxing and light staining to the title page.

The work lists and quantifies commercial exchanges with various regions of Italy, as well as with France, Spain, America, Russia, the Levant, and others.

Rare bilingual edition, in Italian with the Croatian text facing, of this study on the woods of Istria, with at the end of the volume a folding engraved plate on the timbers intended for naval construction "de sorte que les navires dureraient plus longtemps".

Disbound copy, the plate detached.

From the Bibliothèque économique Lasteyrie, with its stamp on the title page.

First edition of this significant publication issued by the Commission of Inquiry tasked with collecting all available data and documentation on the cultivation, production, and sale of tobacco.

Illustrated with numerous folding tables and a folding map of France, printed in lithography by A. Cabassol and bound out of text.

Apparently not recorded in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Contemporary half calf binding, flat spine rebacked and decorated with gilt fillets, morocco labels in light brown, some rubbing to the spine, marbled paper boards with minor marginal flaws, marbled endpapers, sprinkled edges.

Some spotting to top edge; an embossed ownership stamp appears on the first leaf, with the initials CA in a medallion (possibly Caroline Augusta of the Two Sicilies, Duchess of Aumale?).

Comprehensive alphabetical index at the end of the volume.

Rare first edition of one of the many promotional pamphlets extolling the virtues of the celebrated Aqua mirabilis, or "eau admirable", invented by Giovanni Paolo Feminis and produced through the distillation of grape spirits with neroli oil, bergamot, lavender, and rosemary.

Unless, of course, it is one of its many imitations.

Attractive promotional album, complete with its 600 sepia-toned photographs (small prints, each approximately 7 x 5 cm), produced by the La Corona cigar brand. Each vignette was originally included inside the brand's cigar boxes and was meant to be collected and mounted in the album, following a well-established marketing model that remains in use to this day.

Publisher’s original flexible boards with black cloth tape along the margins; some scuffing to covers, corners rubbed.

Album comprising 44 plates of Breton costumes, the first two drawn in pencil, the others delicately watercoloured, mounted on heavy paper, some with captions, unsigned.

Bound in contemporary half green sheep, spine decorated with gilt and black fillets, gilt garlands and fleurons, some rubbing to the spine, embossed cherry-red cloth boards, bumped corners, a few scuffs along the edges.

A handsome album of Breton costumes in the manner of Hippolyte Lalaisse and his Galerie armoricaine of 1848.

Particularly focused on the Breton-speaking departments (Western Morbihan and Finistère): 1. [Seated bagpipe player]. – 2. [Peasant dance]. – 3. Woman from the Auray area (Morbihan). – 4. Young shepherd from Morbihan. – 5. Woman from Plouay (Morbihan). – 6. Man from Faouët (Morbihan). – 7. Women from Josselin (Morbihan). – 8. Woman from Pluméliau (Morbihan). – 9. Women from Ploemeur (Morbihan). – 10. Woman from Ploërmel and nearby farmer (Morbihan). – 11. Woman from Auray (Morbihan). – 12. Woman from Lanzac (Morbihan). – 13. Man from Lanzac. – 14. Woman from Guémené near Pontivy (Morbihan). – 15. Woman from Elven (Morbihan). – 16. Milkmaid from St-Paterne in Vannes (Morbihan). – 17. Woman from Douarnenez (Finistère). – 18. Man from Pont-l’Abbé (Finistère). – 19. Woman from Pont-l’Abbé. – 20. Fisherman from Douarnenez (Finistère). – 21. Milkmaid from Douarnenez. – 22. Bride from Kerfeunteun (Finistère). – 23. Man from Châteauneuf-du-Faou (Finistère). – 24. Women from Plougastel, near Brest (Finistère). – 25. Man from Plougastel. – 26. Woman from Locmaria, near Quimper, and farmer from Elliant (Finistère). – 27. Peasant from Riec (Finistère). – 28. Young girl from Bannalec (Finistère). – 29. Man from Saint-Thégonnec (Finistère). – 30. Women from the area of Pont-Lannay (Finistère). – 31. Bride and groom from Kerlouan (Finistère). – 32. Men and women from the area of Pontcroix (Finistère). – 33. Farmer from Saint-Évarzec (Finistère). – 34. [Woman and two children]. – 35. [Presentation of a newborn at a calvary]. – 36. Woman from Ploëne near Moncontour (Côtes-du-Nord). – 37. Woman from Antrain (Ille-et-Vilaine). – 38. Man and woman from Cancale (Ille-et-Vilaine). – 39. Woman from Saint-Servan and Dinan, near Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine). – 40. Young ladies from Pornic (Loire-Inférieure). – 41. Man from Bourg-de-Batz in festive costume (Loire-Inférieure). – 42. Woman from Bourg-de-Batz in festive costume. – 43. Bride and groom from Bourg-de-Batz. – 44. Young salt-workers in working attire.

Copy from the library of Léon Noël, with his ex-libris label pasted on the front endpaper.

Very rare first edition.

No copies listed in the CCF or WorldCat.

Official recognition by the Peruvian Senate of the rank of Rear Admiral granted to Antonio Ambrosio de La Haza Rodriguez (1825–1891), one of the most distinguished naval officers of the Andean Republic.

He served as Minister of War in 1877 and as Commander-in-Chief of the naval forces in 1878–1879.

A handsome copy.

Very rare first edition of this work, never reprinted.

Only one copy listed in the CCF (Versailles).

Contemporary bottle green half shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands ruled in gilt and adorned with double gilt compartments and gilt floral motifs, gilt title at foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.

Some foxing; Mexican peddler's stamp on title page.

Only edition of this collection presented from a Mexican perspective, with an introduction by José Maria Lafragua Ibarra (1813–1875).

Name R. Criado stamped in gilt at foot of spine.

Highly interesting collection attributed either to the geographer Georges-Louis Le Rouge (according to Polak), or to the civil engineer La Serre (based on a manuscript version held at the Municipal Library of Le Havre).

Contemporary half Havana calf binding, smooth spine richly decorated with five gilt fillets and blind-stamped naval anchors, some minor restorations to joints, small green vellum corners, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns marbled à la cuve. Binding dating from the mid-19th century.

The work comprises 35 engraved plates depicting the plans of 42 ports.

From north to south, and west to east: 1. Antwerp. – 2. Flushing. – 3. Ostend. – 4. Dunkirk. – 5. Gravelines. – 6. Calais. – 7. Boulogne. – 8. Dieppe. – 9. Valléry-en-Caux and Fécamp. – 10. Le Havre. – 11. Le Tréport and Honfleur. – 12. Rouen. – 13. Caen. – 14. Cherbourg. – 15. Granville. – 16. Port-Malo and Saint-Servan. – 17. Brest. – 18. Lorient. – 19. Port-Louis. – 20. Nantes. – 21. Les Sables-d'Olonne. – 22. Saint-Martin-de-Ré. – 23. La Rochelle. – 24. Rochefort. – 25. Concarneau, Mont-Saint-Michel and Oléron. – 26. Bordeaux. – 27. Bayonne. – 28. Saint-Jean-de-Luz. – 29. Port-Vendres and Collioure. – 30. Cette [Sète]. – 31. Marseille. – 32. Villefranche and La Ciotat. – 33. Toulon. – 34. Antibes and Saint-Tropez. – 35. Gibraltar.

Some minor and insignificant foxing.

Very rare first edition.

Two small losses to the head and foot of the spine, printed wrappers slightly soiled.

The presentation of the report is signed by the Marquis de Lafressange, Antony Androuët, the Viscount de Mazenod, and Louis Lapierre.

First edition, illustrated with 26 folding tables framed typographically. (Not listed in Sabin, who only records under no. 22885 another economic publication by the same author, printed the same year.)

Contemporary half havana sheep binding, flat spine decorated with double gilt and blind fillets, brown sheep title label with minor losses, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards slightly faded at the margins, some paper losses to the covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, rubbing to edges, corners worn.

Joints restored; small tear affecting the text on pages 83–84 of the second part.

A rare and highly valuable source on the dire state of the Mexican economy in the final years of Santa Anna’s dictatorship.

The folding tables provide a detailed account of the country’s production (notably tobacco), report on the national debt, break down military expenditures (army and navy), customs revenues (by region), the state of taxation, and more.

One table is devoted to lottery revenues.

The second part of the work, containing supporting documents, bears a separate title: "Documentos que se acompañan al presupuesto de hacienda para el quinto año economico".

A good copy.

Provenance: from the library of A. Montluc, Consul General of Mexico in Paris, with his bookplate on the front pastedown.

First edition, only one other copy recorded (BnF).

Full dark purple morocco binding, spine with five raised bands with gilt floral motifs, gilt date at foot, spine slightly faded, covers numerously framed in gilt, gilt-tooled corners each adorned with a blue onlaid morocco medallion stamped with a central gilt fleuron, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, pastedown bookplate of Ernest Stroehlin, inner gilt dentelle, spine-ends ruled in gilt, very light rubbing to corners, all edges gilt. A tiny restored lack of paper to the upper part of the title page, not affecting the text.

Very rare anti-Protestant satire in the form of a dialogue between the renowned Protestant minister Mestrezat and the warden of the Charenton temple where Mestrezat officiated.

New edition of the French translation, reissued for sale with a substitute title, of this anonymous account first printed in 1793 (Schwab, 612. Barbier, IV, 1097e. Quérard, Supercheries, I, 606e.).

The translation is by Louis Matthieu Langlès and François Joseph Noël.

Contemporary full tree calf, smooth spine with gilt-decorated compartments, gilt fillet at foot, joints rubbed, spine ends worn, maroon morocco title label, endpapers and pastedowns lightly soiled at margins, corners bumped.

The work includes a description of the principal towns and regions visited during the journey from Bengal to Persia: Ceylon, Goa, Bombay, Muscat, Oman, Bushehr, Shiraz, followed by numerous details on Persian customs and manners, character, justice system, marriage, funeral rites, religion, superstitions and talismans, and Shiraz wine…

It then addresses the revolutions in Persia from 1747, the year of Nadir Shah’s death, to 1788. The final section deals with the island of Pulau Pinang (Malaysia), with a description of its natural resources and the opium trade.

Appended are several excerpts by other travellers concerning this island (by Le Gentil and Captain Thomas F.).

An early handwritten note evaluating the work appears on the half-title.

Rare original edition of this work, not listed by Renouard.

Disbound copy, internally well preserved.

First edition of this rare and sought-after work compiling, in a single volume, the main legislative and regulatory provisions from Year XIV to 1857, forming the specific legal code of the island (cf. Ryckebusch 6126).

Some light foxing, mostly at the beginning and end of the volume.

Contemporary full aubergine calf, spine with four raised bands decorated with gilt double fillets, slight rubbing to spine and boards, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailbands, boards framed with gilt triple and double fillets, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dotted edges, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

Very rare first edition (cf Dunmore, p. 16. Ferguson, 225. Forbes, Hawaiian National Bibliography, 285. Gove, The Imaginary Voyage in Prose Fiction, pp. 397-8. Kroepelien, 283. McLaren, 269. Sabin, 38958. Missing from Negley, Utopian literature, and the Dictionary of literary utopias.)

Binding in full marbled calf, smooth spine adorned with compartments and floral gilt motifs, red morocco title label, gilt roulettes on the headbands (partially faded) and on the edges, binding of the period.

A tear with loss on the spine, small crack at the foot of one joint, rubbing on the joints, some foxing, a moisture stain on the first endpaper fading on the following pages, light halos at the foot of some pages.

The disappearance of La Pérouse caused great concern in France, and many writers used this mystery as the basis for utopias and fantastic tales about a possible survival of the crew in the South Seas.

A fictitious account. The greater portion is devoted to the description of a supposed island in the South Seas, inhabited by a community of refugees who had escaped the horrors of the French Revolution, and had established a republic there on socialist principles (Ferguson).

Davidson considers it a desirable addition either to a collection of La Pérouse items, or to a library of fictitious voyages.

The uncertainty regarding the publication date of this rare book (Ferguson, Sabin, and Kroepelien give 1795, while Gove and the Library of Congress catalog give 1798) was eventually resolved by the discovery of a contemporary advertisement by David Forbes confirming the first date.

Autograph manuscript titled Requeste singulière de Nosseigneurs les Ducs et Pairs et de Mesdames les Duchesses au Régent - L'an 1716 ["Singular Request from My Lords the Dukes and Peers and from My Ladies the Duchesses to the Regent - The year 1716"]. Six pages written in black ink, without erasures or corrections.
19th-century binding in half marbled sheep, smooth rubbed spine decorated with gilt and blind fillets, title label along the spine, paste-paper boards stamped at their center with the arms of Adélaïde Édouard Lelièvre de la Grange, marquis de la Grange and de Fourilles [information kindly provided by M. Jérôme-Paul Carré], pebbled paper endpapers and pastedowns, De Broglie-Dampmartin bookplate pasted on front pastedown. Headcaps absent.
This burlesque petition was transcribed in Les Ruelles du XVIIIème siècle by Labessade in 1879.

Rare first edition of a lottery manual claiming to reveal the predictions of famous occultist Joseph Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro. Published during Cagliostro's imprisonment by the Inquisition, it is the first known of its kind using his name, and most certainly the only one printed during his lifetime.
We are able to trace only two copies in libraries (BnF and Kress Library).
Numerous illustrations including a frontispiece showing Cagliostro giving lottery predictions, as well as 15 plates containing 90 vignettes depicting dreams, each associated with a lottery number. Also contains a folding leaf on the influence of sunrise and sunset on the French Royal Lottery draws.
Preceded by a leaf with a pasted press clipping, with a note “Combinations of the Royal Lottery Games /Extract from the Paris-Journal of 18 8bre 1878”.
Bound with: a rare pamphlet by Alexandre Dumas-Fils, Histoire de la loterie : depuis la première jusqu'à la dernière loterie. La loterie des lingots d'or. Preceded by a leaf with an inscribed note Histoire de la loterie des lingots d'or.
Green half cloth, smooth spine, gilt title framed by a double fillet border, marbled paper boards. Spine-ends, corners and joints rubbed, scuffs to boards, foxing to edges. Damp stain in the margin of the first 6 leaves of the Manual.

12 large paintings on silk: 24 x 34.5 cm, depicting couples embracing. These works seem very close to the style of Yamamoto Schoun.
A folding collection covered with a patterned green silk fabric. The silk paintings are loosely inserted into movable paper frames. Label on the upper cover missing. Cloth is faded, with a few perforations, dampstains in the lower part of the upper cover, and missing edges. First board is split at the head and foot of the joint.
Although the colors are quite varied, they all rest on and derive from a dominant pale green, the color found on the boards. The palette mixes different shades of green with complementary colors in the clothing (red, blue-gray...). Couples are always clothed, with clothing playing a revealing role, an integral part of Japanese eroticism. The decor shows a variety of everyday objects, such as teapots and boxes. In each of the paintings, elements frame and circumscribe the scene: screens, sliding walls, windows, but beyond a perfectly balanced composition: the interiors participate in the unveiling, in a staging intended for the gaze. 

A collection of two first editions of Italian translations, each devoted to a figure of eighteenth-century French secret diplomacy and published during their lifetimes: the Chevalier d'Éon and Prince Charles Edward Stuart, d. 1810 and 1788 respectively. 

This sammelband, combining two separately published works, in fact possesses a genuine thematic unity: cross-dressing.

The first translation is complete with the rare frontispiece portrait of the Chevalier in women's dress, the identity he would assume in the second half of his life. "She" proudly wears the cross of the Order of Saint-Louis on her chest, awarded in 1763. 

The second translation was made from an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century bestseller with a colourful publishing history: Ascanius, or the Young Adventurer; a true history, written by Ralph Griffiths. This biography of Charles Edward Stuart had, prior to its publication in 1746, existed as a manuscript circulating clandestinely at the court of Versailles. In Griffiths's version, unlike in the present Italian translation, the "Young Pretender" never appears under his real name. Both works nonetheless recount the episode in which "Bonnie Prince Charlie" disguised himself as an Irish maidservant during his flight to the Isle of Skye, following the defeat of his armies at the Battle of Culloden.

Temporary binding in half vellum, manuscript title in brown ink on the spine with an early partially missing library label at the head, fore-edge untrimmed. 

Title rubbed, discreet worming and minor foxing to the spine.

Scattered foxing and marginal dampstaining to the first text. Second text in fine condition.

First edition of the French translation of the Hao ch iu chuan, a novel by an anonymous author from the Ming period, regarded as one of the most celebrated works of imperial Chinese fiction.

Guillard d'Arcy was one of the pupils of Stanislas Julien.

Minor losses to the head and foot of the spine, a few foxing spots.

First edition, no copy recorded in the CCF.

Modern bradel binding in full burgundy cloth, spine ruled in gilt.

First leaf restored to the right margin with an adhesive repair, some light foxing, dampstain to the upper margin of the opening leaves.

A native of the Briançonnais (Villeneuve-la-Salle), like many booksellers who settled beyond the Alps, Yves Gravier established himself in Genoa in the second half of the eighteenth century, first in partnership with Louis Fantin, and subsequently on his own.

His parents Jean, Thomas and Simon Gravier were likewise active in Italy (Thomas in Rome itself).

In 1839, the firm was placed into liquidation.

Bound in at the end are three further lists issued by the same bookseller:

I. Catalogue des livres de mathématique, marine, physique, minéralogie, et sciences, et arts qui en dépendent, etc., qui se trouvent chez Yves Gravier (..). S.l.n.d. [Genoa], 28 pp.

II. Catalogue des livres de jurisprudence, de droit public, et d'économie politique. S.l.n.d. [Genoa], 8 pp.

III. Médecine, chirurgie, botanique, physique et histoire naturelle. S.l.n.d. [Genoa], 8 pp.

Complete anonymous manuscript of 23 pages (plus title page and table), from the first half of the 19th century, entitled: Cap de Bonne Espérance. 1er cahier.

Our manuscript is presented in a navy blue half shagreen folder, marbled paper boards, housed in a slipcase edged with navy blue shagreen, marbled paper boards.

An account of a stopover at the Cape, a city under British rule, which, according to the anonymous author, retains many traces of its Dutch past.

Description of the town, its geographical setting, its buildings, churches and houses, whose cleanliness contrasts with the dirt and the smell of meat prevailing in most of the streets.

This is followed by the narrative of an excursion in the surrounding area, to Constance, where the author appreciates the wine of the proprietors he visits, and then of the ascent of the famous Table Mountain overlooking the Cape.

Rare and important first edition.

Our copy is sold unbound. A minor worm-trail on all leafs' heads, not affecting text. 

The work describes the dress, headdress, arsenal and equipment of soldiers and officers of the French army; it also addresses the cavalry, dragoons, and hussars.

The chapter devoted to the distinctive uniform of each regiment includes a list of these regiments, some of which took part in the American Revolutionary War. 

Copy in parts, unbound, each one of them a first edition. 

According to the CCFr, the Lunéville media library holds the first text in manuscript copy form. On May 28, 1777, France renewed in Solothurn (Switzerland), for fifty years, its long-standing treaties of alliance with the thirteen cantons. The privileges specified in the second text are chiefly commercial and financial in nature; they derive, to varying degrees, from the Treaty of Perpetual Peace of 1516 (Treaty of Fribourg).

First edition of this in-folio broadside signed "Phelypeaux", printed on one side only and in two columns.

A scarce and pleasing copy despite traces of central folding.

Each of the disbound parts is in its original edition.

With: "Supplément au Précis justificatif de la société commerciale de la nouvelle Compagnie des Indes. Pour servir de réponse aux inculpations contenues dans le rapport fait à la Convention nationale, le 3 août 1793", printed in Paris by Lottin, also in 1793 (4to, 14 pp.), likewise disbound, printed in two columns, one for the "inculpations" and the other for the "réponses", on bluish paper.

These texts constitute refutations of the allegations levelled against the Compagnie des Indes, founded in France by Colbert in 1664 and whose privilege had been abolished on 3 April 1790.

During the Terror, the Compagnie des Indes was suspected of counter-revolutionary activities, and on 26 July 1793 the Convention ordered its buildings to be sealed.

A second decree of 11 October 1793 abolished the Compagnie des Indes and requisitioned its goods and ships. 

Rare Grenoble imprint.

Bound in full midnight-blue long-grain morocco, smooth spine decorated with gilt chain motifs and compartments finely tooled with a lattice of gilt fillets and small fleurons, gilt rolls to the headcaps, covers framed with a double gilt dentelle, marbled endpapers, gilt gauffered turn-ins and headcaps, gilt edges; an elegant contemporary binding.

Manuscript ex-dono on a flyleaf.

First edition of this in-folio printed broadside signed "Phelypeaux", printed on one side only.

Visible fold marks to the broadside.

Eighteenth-century manuscript (second half), comprising 258 foliated pages.

Contemporary binding, expertly restored in full tan calf, with a smooth spine adorned with gilt compartments and decorative gilt tooling, some now faded; signs of rubbing; title label missing; gilt rampant lion at the centre of both boards; handmade paper endpapers and pastedowns; gilt double fillets on board edges; corners slightly worn.

Notable manuscript featuring extracts and summaries of orders and dispatches issued by the Ministry of the Navy during the Regency and the first year of Louis XV’s reign.

Collated from original documents, carefully dated and with folio references, these extracts are written in a highly legible hand.

Topics covered include: general armament; the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718, 1719, 1720); Barbary States; Guinea Coast; colonies; trade (Spain, Portugal, Guinea, Compagnie d’Afrique, Compagnie des Indes); justice, police, and discipline; munitions; goods and timber; fishing; ports and roadsteads; prizes, and more. The manuscript is in excellent condition, preserved in its original binding.

Contemporary pencil note on the front endpaper: "Aux armes [du] Maréchal Duc de Duras, de l’Académie française" [1715–1789].

Very rare first edition.

A single copy is held at the Municipal Archives of Lyon. Absent from the CCFr.

Not recorded in Goldsmith, Kress, Einaudi, or Higgs.

Modern Bradel-style binding in full beige boards, printed title label, signed by Hervé.

Lengthy discussion of the trade in tallow, animal fats used in the manufacture of candles.

The authors argue that butchers are not responsible for the high price of tallow, and that the ordinance of 16 April 1771, which prohibited its export, in fact hampers the trade in this commodity. In conclusion, the butchers request not to be placed at the mercy of the chandlers, whether in terms of price or outlets.

Corner restorations.

First edition.

The CCF records only the minutes of the sessions of December 1787 and January 1788, published at Narbonne (Veuve Besset).

A very rare report of the first sitting of the provincial assembly of Roussillon, held in three sessions (20, 21 & 22 October 1787), preliminary to the sessions of the following December and January, but apparently overlooked by most historians.

First edition.

Minor marginal tears to the boards, a few spots of foxing.

Not recorded by Sabin.

A small book entirely in Chinese, from the series Chinese Spoken Language Readers for Lower Primary Schools.

Printed stamp of the Missions Museum S.J. Kirche "Am Hof" on the rear cover; a manuscript ink annotation at the head of the final page of text.

Numerous black-and-white illustrations within the text and one full-page colour illustration.

A rare and pleasing copy.

First edition.

"Voulons & Nous plaist, qu'à commencer au premier Mars prochain, aucuns de nos Sujets de quelque estat, condition & sexe qu'ils soient, à l'Exception de ceux qui en auront obtenu nostre permission par Ecrit, ne puissent porter des Diamans, Perles et Pierres precieuses, à peine de confiscation & de Dix mille livres d'amende : Faisons deffenses sous la mesme peine, à compter du premier Avril prochain d'en faire entrer dans le Royaume ; N'entendons néantmoins comprendre dans la presente prohibition les Bagues Episcopales & les Pierreries employées aux Ornemens des Eglises".

First edition.

Our copy is offered in loose sheets, unbound.

First edition of this defence of the exclusive privilege of the Compagnie des Indes, then being challenged by the deputies of the National Assembly.

This memorandum is signed by Le Couteux du Mollay, Greffulge, Boyd, Dangirard, Picquet, and Le Cocq, commissioners representing the Company’s shareholders.

Our copy is preserved in its original stitched wrappers, issued in the temporary blue waiting covers.

A central fold throughout, rubbing with losses to the waiting covers, otherwise a pleasingly clean copy internally.

First edition published anonymously (cf. Ryckebusch, 6737).

Light, scattered foxing.

Modern half brown cloth, smooth spine without lettering, marbled paper boards, corners rubbed.

The anonymous author urges abolitionists to be especially active and visible at the moment when the chambers are to vote on the new colonial legislation.

First edition.

Endpapers partially toned, a few scattered foxmarks.

Contemporary half brown cloth, smooth spine ruled in blind, marbled paper boards, a few snags to the extremities, Masonic ex-libris label pasted to the inner board.

The petition under discussion sought to have the Banque de France adopt measures to counter fluctuations in the discount rate.

Provenance: from the library of the Château de Villardonnel (Aude), belonging to the Mahul family, with their pictorial ex-libris label pasted to the inner board.

A very rare first edition.

Répertoire bibliographique des livres imprimés en France au XVIe siècle. Aix, vol. I, p. 36:5. Lindsay & Neu, French Political Pamphlets 1547–1648. A single copy recorded in WorldCat (Chicago, Newberry Library).

Our copy is offered disbound, in sheets, preserved in plain marbled paper wrappers, with an early manuscript label on the upper cover.

Répertoire bibliographique des livres imprimés en France au XVIe siècle. Aix, vol. I, p. 36:5. Lindsay & Neu, French Political Pamphlets 1547–1648. A single copy recorded in WorldCat. A rare example bearing on the title an early contemporary manuscript annotation: “du 11 avril 1598.”

Rare first edition.

No copies recorded in the CCF.

Our copy is issued in its original wrappers, in temporary grey paper covers, with a later title label to the spine.

Some losses to the temporary covers, a small hole to the title page also affecting the following four leaves with loss of letters.

A very rare record of the forces engaged on both the Spanish and French sides during the Peninsular War (1808-1814).

It comprises a sequence of 149 tables arranged chronologically, from the state of the regular troops in 1808, prior to the French intervention, through to 10 March 1814. 

Though unofficial in nature, it constitutes an essential source for historians of the period.

A probably unique copy, comprising pulls of proofs of Masonic illustrations containing 38 plates, the majority double-page, numbered in red pencil from 1 to 40 (discontinuous numbering, with bis plates).

Not recorded in Caillet or Dorbon.

Bound in full black cloth, smooth spine, no lettering, title label pasted onto the upper cover, modern binding.

A restored tear in the left margin of plate 10, two angular tears in the left margin of plate 12 without affecting the image. Published by the Masonic booksellers Teissier et Cie, lithographed by J. Rigal et Cie and, in some cases, by A. Appert.

A highly interesting document on nineteenth-century Freemasonry

First edition of these extremely rare statutes of an Indo-British lodge established in Calcutta since 1860.

No copy recorded in the CCF or in WorldCat.

Minor losses to the spine and corners of the boards, with one tear at the head of the upper cover skilfully restored.

Extremely rare first edition of the statutes of an Indo-British military lodge established in Calcutta.

Losses to the rubbed spine, covers reinforced, internally in pleasing condition.

No copy recorded in the CCFr or on WorldCat.

Rare collection of 16 hand-coloured engravings, comprising a frontispiece and 15 plates, illustrating the virtues of soldiers and young men during the Consulate period.

Contemporary half bronze calf binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets, dotted tools and floral ornaments, minor rubbing to the spine, brown morocco title label, boards, endpapers and pastedowns of marbled paper, ex-libris pasted on the front pastedown.

An attractive copy.

Rare first edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with a folding map printed outside the text and with outline colouring.

Our copy has been extra-illustrated with a folding engraving "Vue générale de l'île d'Elbe et de la ville de Porto-Ferrajo" (Paris, Pillet, numbered 26).

Contemporary half calf over corners, smooth spine gilt with fillets, date gilt at foot, burgundy calf title label lettered lengthwise, some rubbing to joints and edges, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, contemporary binding.

The only edition, very scarce, of this account strictly contemporary with Napoleon’s arrival on the island of Elba.

The final two leaves contain a brief account of the Emperor’s abdication and his embarkation.

The final lines: "On assure que les deux forteresses de l'île d'Elbe seront occupées désormais par des détachements de troupes françaises et alliées".

Ink stamp of the Paul Tasuille collection (?), library shelfmark numbering, bookseller’s descriptive label on a flyleaf.

First edition of this Roman missal. Each text page within an engraved border containing multiple vignettes that change throughout the pages, after French manuscripts of the 15th century. Engraved title and 10 engravings in borders. The 5 chromolithographs may have been added, as they are not part of most copies. A frontispiece is sometimes mentioned, but the presence of a chromolithographic title with Curmer's name suggests they were added.

Contemporary full chocolate morocco Jansenist binding signed L. Curmer, in gold letters at the top of the first endpaper. Decorative gilt board-edges. All edges gilt. Scarlet silk endpapers with a monogram on the first endpaper. Light rubbing traces, corners and raised bands. Very handsome copy, with fresh paper.
Collection of all masses for the days of the year, holy days, Easter, Pentecost, etc...