Arts and Crafts

New edition, one of 30 numbered copies on Marais wove paper, the only deluxe paper issue.

A fine copy.

First edition.

Bradel binding in full blue paper-covered boards, smooth spine, red morocco title label.

Only two copies recorded in the CCF (BnF and Bibliothèque Thiers).

This rare text constitutes an extract from a larger work which appears not to have been published, the opening title bearing Chapter 15, Des Places fortes, and an advertisement on p. 139 indicating Chapter 16, De la Stratégie.

The work concludes with an interesting list of French fortified places, with an indication of the garrisons required for their defence.

Son of the celebrated René-Louis de Girardin d'Ermenonville, Lieutenant-General Count Alexandre-Louis-Robert de Girardin (1776-1855) distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars, particularly in the French campaign where he defeated the Russians at Champaubert.

Appointed Master of the Hunt to Louis XVIII and Charles X, he was sidelined under Louis-Philippe and devoted himself to questions of military policy. In this treatise on fortified places he demonstrates the futility of fortifying capitals such as Paris, as the government was beginning to envisage. Events proved him right in 1870.

Autograph inscription from Alexandre de Girardin d'Ermenonville to the Duke of Fezensac.

He is Raymond Aimery de Montesquiou-Fezensac (1784-1867), likewise a general of the Empire and Peer of France (he notably delivered in 1841 a remarkable speech on the fortifications of Paris projected by Thiers).

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de Constantine de l'année 1873.

Not in Tailliart.

Front wrapper detached then reattached, losses to the spine, small chips to the corners.

Scarce work illustrated with 14 plates printed hors texte and numbered I–XII (including plates VI bis and ter). Not in Tailliart.

A volunteer in the Corps of Engineers from 1841 onward, Baptiste-Charles Brunon (1821–1888) spent most of his military career in Algeria; after the 1871 war he returned to oversee the Engineering Corps in Constantine.

First edition describing the 388 items offered in the sale.

A few pencilled hammer prices in the margins, a loss to the upper right corner of the front wrapper and title-page, and small corner losses to the wrappers.

The introduction is by Fröhner, though the expert in charge of the sale was Hoffmann.

Of Baden origin, the numismatist Ludwig Wilhelm Fröhner (1834–1925) settled in Paris in 1859; he became a close friend of Napoleon III and assisted him in the preparation of his Histoire de Jules César (1865–1866), which helped him obtain both French naturalisation (1866) and an important post at the Louvre.

He later devoted himself to the cataloguing of collections, producing works that became major references for Antiquity and early medieval archaeology.

Rare first edition of this lecture delivered at the Cercle de France in Paris on January 8, 1958, no copy referenced in Worldcat. Light foxing to the front board.

Rare utopian pamphlet celebrating the creation of Brasilia and laying the theoretical foundations for the cities of the future. Inscribed and signed by Robert Miocque to his friend Marcel Dollfus at the top of the first page of text.

Rare first edition.

Only two copies recorded in the CCF (BnF and Marseille).

“…their change of residence, abandoning the old city to settle in the new districts? A memoir awarded by the Société académique de médecine de Marseille at its public session of 1 August 1819; (…). Enlarged with the plan of a medical topography of the city of Marseille, which the author proposes to publish.” Marseille, Joseph-François Achard, 1819, 8vo, disbound. Title, 40 pp. Only two copies recorded in the CCF (BnF and Marseille). Very rare. The author was a physician attached to the dispensaries and the maternity hospital of Marseille.

First edition, published anonymously by Delaporte,  secretary and prompter of the Comédie-Française.

Contemporary black cloth Bradel binding, smooth spine, red shagreen lettering-piece with some loss, marbled paper boards, upper corners slightly worn, 19th-century binding.

Copies recorded only at the BnF and in Rouen (CCFr).

Printed initials at the foot of the title page.

Rare summary, by the Comédie-Française secretary and prompter, of the grievances held by the Company against the actor Talma, focusing particularly on performances of Marie-Joseph Chénier’s play Charles IX.

The play, which achieved immense public success, drew criticism from the Gallican Church, leading to its ban after the 33rd performance.

On July 21, 1790, the play was performed again in defiance of the ban. The Comédie-Française troupe then split between the "revolutionaries" and the other shareholders, who refused to perform with Talma.

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.

Very rare first edition illustrated with 14 plates, three of which are in colour, issued as a supplement to the "Guide pratique de la fabrication de la bière" and the "Guide raisonné de la fabrication de la bière" published in 1867 and 1868.

Not in Vicaire or Bitting. Oberlé, Fastes, 1125, does not record this supplement.

Spine restored with minor losses, small marginal defects to the boards, and a stain along the right margin of the upper cover.

The author was a hop dealer and purveyor of brewery equipment in Strasbourg and in Gray (Haute-Saône).

This volume reflects the advances achieved by the brewing industry, particularly in northern France and in Belgium.

"Ce livre alsacien est un des meilleurs traités sur la fabrication de la bière"(Oberlé).

The plates depict the malt kiln of the Arlen brewery, the Carpentier germ-removing machine, the boilers of the Brasserie de l'Eléphant in Strasbourg, a mixer, a vat with its wave-breaker, the cooling trough of the Brasserie du Pêcheur, and more.

Rare.

First edition, illustrated with photographs by Lucien Clergue.

Publisher’s binding in full boards, smooth spine,

With a text by Jean-Marie Magnan.

Signed autograph inscription by Lucien Clergue to the writer Christiane Baroche: "Pour Christiane ces images de notre éternelle jeunesse ! et avec la bise de Lucien. 5.X.2002."

First edition, printed in a small run, of this offprint from the Journal des savants.

Work illustrated with a finely engraved plate printed outside the text.

Some scattered foxing internally and to the wrappers.

Appointed in 1820 to the chair of archaeology at the Sorbonne, succeeding Quatremère de Quincy, Désiré Raoul-Rochette (1789–1854) was chiefly known for his expertise in Greek antiquity. He also served as curator of the Cabinet des médailles.

On the upper cover, authorial presentation inscription from Désiré Raoul-Rochette to the physician and botanist Henri Dutrochet (1776–1847), the discoverer of the phenomena of exosmosis and endosmosis.

First edition of this important work on former French Indochina, comprising:

• Geography and Travels. Volumes 1 to 7 (1901–1919), illustrated with 52 maps and portraits (40 in color), plus numerous plates and maps within the text or pagination.
• Miscellaneous Studies. Literature, History, Natural History. Volumes 1 to 3 (1898–1904), illustrated with 43 plates and maps (35 in color), plus numerous plates within the pagination.
• Atlas. Notices and Maps. 1 volume (1903), illustrated with 10 color maps.
• For 9 volumes (of 11) in the set: contemporary bindings in half green cloth with tips, smooth spines with some staining and fading, red morocco title labels (some with minor losses), red board covers with a checkered pattern, gray paper endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers bound in (some with minor angular losses, wrapper of volume 3 restored); for the remaining two volumes (Volumes 3 and 7): modern bindings in half green cloth with tips, matching the style of the other nine.

On the half-title page of Volume VI, signed autograph inscription by Auguste Pavie: "A l'ami Vitoux, hommage affectueux. A. Pavie."

Accompanying this set is: "Carte de l'Indo-Chine dressée par MM. les Capitaines Cupet, Friquegnon et de Malglaive membres de la Mission Pavie."

Printed in Paris by Augustin Challamel in 1893 (broadsheet, folded and linen-backed, with some foxing).

The map is housed in a modern half green cloth portfolio with tips, red oasis title label, red board covers, and a red full-cloth slipcase, designed to match the text volumes.

"A pioneer of new routes in Cambodia and Laos, and a key figure in French expansion in Indochina, Auguste Pavie (1847–1925) holds a privileged place among the explorers of this region. Born in Dinan, he joined the army at seventeen, served in Cochinchina with the Marine Infantry (1868), and was sent to Cambodia in 1875 (…). In 1876, he was commissioned by the Governor of Indochina to create a new map of Cambodia, taking advantage of the construction of a telegraph line between Phnom Penh and Bangkok (…). In 1885, Le Myre de Vilers, recognizing his abilities, appointed him to the delicate post of French Consul in Luang Prabang, where he was to defend the rights France had inherited from Annam over Laos (…). From Luang Prabang, Pavie undertook a series of journeys across Laos from 1887 to 1889, regions that Mouhot and F. Garnier had only briefly explored. His investigations focused on three main directions: east (Tran-Ninh, Plain of Jars); northeast (Hua-Panh); and north (Sip-Song-Chau). It was in this last area that Pavie concentrated his efforts, seeking safe routes to Tonkin in order to open up Laos and firmly link it to France's other Indochinese possessions (…). From 1888, Pavie was no longer alone. He surrounded himself with military collaborators—Cogniard, Cupet, Malglaive, Pennequin…—and civilians such as the young diplomat Lefèvre-Pontalis and the brilliant biologist Le Dantec. Within a few years, the Pavie Mission, a veritable geographical service, would number some forty members, not counting the many indigenous auxiliaries. Dispersed in small groups along different routes, the mission members multiplied the leader's efforts, covering considerable ground. Thus, in 1890–1891, surrounded by a large team of geographers, naturalists, doctors, ethnographers, and economists, Pavie successfully completed a vast territorial survey intended to establish the future borders between French Indochina, China, Siam, and Burma (…). The scientific results of this collective enterprise, unparalleled in the French Empire, were impressive. Extending far beyond Laos, the investigations covered Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia, and southern China. In total, some 600,000 km²—an area larger than France—were surveyed and partially mapped, and 70,000 km of land and river routes were recorded (…). Truly multidisciplinary, the Pavie Mission encompassed all fields of knowledge, neglecting neither history, nor literature, nor folklore…" (Cf. Numa Broc, Dictionnaire illustré des explorateurs français du XIXe siècle, Asie, pp. 366–368).

First edition, with a single copy recorded in the CCF (Dijon).

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers and housed in a plain blue interim cover, with a mounted title label at the head of the spine.

Some foxing.

The sole edition of this compilation, conceived primarily for fiscal purposes: indirect taxes at the time were levied chiefly on beverages.

The bookseller Louis Rondonneau (1759–1834) is renowned as the author, compiler, or editor of numerous legal codes, manuals, collections, and repertories of legislation and jurisprudence.

First edition, describing 829 entries.

Contemporary half calf, spine with five raised bands showing traces of rubbing, brown calf lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, two small blue spots on the upper cover, wear to the edges, corners softened, red edges, early shelf label pasted at the head of a pastedown.

A few marginal spots, not affecting the text.

Born in Antwerp to a family of Spanish origin, Jean-François de Los Rios (1727–1820) practised as a bookseller in Paris (1745), then in Lyon (1760), where—despite opposition—he was entrusted with the conduct of public book auctions. He was the one who purchased the Jesuit college library after the suppression of the Order.

He left Lyon only in 1812 and died in Mechelen, nearly a centenarian.

Very rare first edition (125 copies printed according to Quérard) of this remarkable exposition of Talma’s dramaturgical principles, still regarded as a “revolutionary” actor despite his immense success (his friendship with Napoleon never wavered); the text was inserted the same year, 1825, at the beginning of the new edition of the Memoirs of Henri-Louis Caïn, known as Lekain (1729–1778), who was still considered in the early nineteenth century as one of the greatest tragedians of the eighteenth century.

See Quérard IX, 333.

Scattered foxing.

Full cherry-red long-grain morocco, smooth spine tooled with gilt fillets, garlands and fleurons, gilt rolls at head and tail, gilt fillet, garland and dotted border together with blind-stamped palmettes on the boards, small black speckling on the front board, blue endpapers and pastedowns, gilt lace border on the pastedowns, gilt fillets on the board edges, all edges gilt, contemporary binding.

A handsomely produced copy in a period Romantic full-morocco binding.

First edition (cf. Not in Quérard or Musset-Pathay. Oberlé 101-02.).

Including, with the appended pieces (cf. infra), the account of the thirteen experiments conducted by Maupin between 1772 and 1777 on the handling of wines.

Bound at the end:

• 1. Suite de la cinquième expérience, contenant la seconde lettre de M. de la Galaisière & celle que M. Bertin m'a fait l'honneur de m'écrire à son occasion. S.l.n.d., 2 ll. unnumbered.
• 2. Suite des expériences de la nouvelle manipulation des vins. Seconde partie. S.l.n.d. [Paris, April 1781], 30 pp., with an unnumbered leaf of receipt.

Bradel-style binding in half bottle-green long-grain morocco, smooth spine tooled with gilt fillets, date gilt at foot, cat's-eye patterned paper boards, bookplate mounted at the head of one pastedown; modern binding.

Spine and lower cover marginally faded and sunning, light upper-marginal dampstaining.

First edition of this pamphlet devoted to the largest marshland in Italy, the Fucecchio wetlands.

Illustrated with a double-page engraved plate.

Disbound copy.

From the library of the economist, agronomist, industrialist, and lithographer Charles-Philibert de Lasteyrie du Saillant (1759–1849), with his ownership stamp on the title-page.

First edition, illustrated with seven folding plates.

Preserved in its original state, sewn and issued in plain blue paper wrappers with an added inner lining.

This volume gathers eight short papers previously published in the annual reports of the Kew Observatory.

Francis Ronalds (1788–1873), a largely self-taught engineer, became in 1843 the director and superintendent of the Kew meteorological observatory.

His work included, among other tasks, the development of a system for recording meteorological data.

On the front flyleaf, autograph presentation from Francis Ronalds to a member of the Becquerel family, most likely Antoine-César (1788–1878) rather than his son.

First edition of this concise treatise on rural economy, attributed to the Duke of Sully, the famed minister of Henri IV, born at Rosny and who bore the name of that estate.

His well-known commitment to the development of agriculture has passed into national lore. However, it cannot be excluded that another author, sharing the same territorial designation, may be responsible for the text.

Contemporary full mottled fawn sheep, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and gilt tools, gilt fillets, Havana morocco lettering-piece, gilt rolls to the headcaps, gilt fillets to board edges, red sprinkled edges.

Some repairs to the binding. Manuscript ex-libris inscriptions “Cousturier, Prieur de Champsanglard [Creuse]” and “Denesmond, prêtre” on the title-page of the first volume.

The booklet is followed, as very often with this title, by two short agronomic treatises, which vary from one copy to another.

In this copy:

• 1. A new edition of the Instruction pour le jardin potager (1678), attributed to an Aristote “jardinier de Puteaux”—obviously not his real name—who authored several small works on fruit trees and flowers (Musset-Pathay, 806).
• 2. A summary of the Nouvelle instruction pour connoistre les bons fruits (1670), attributed sometimes to Jean Merlet, sometimes to Claude Saint-Etienne. At the end is an interesting Catalogue des poires selon les mois de les manger (from July to September). Cf. Musset-Pathay 1390. Manuscript ex-libris inscriptions “Cousturier, Prieur de Champsanglard [Creuse]” and “Denesmond, prêtre”.

New edition, illustrated with 111 drawings by Neuville and Riou. 7 plates some of which in color.
Publisher's gilt Globe binding, upper plate signed Blancheland, Engel relieur, spine with lighthouse, second plate of Engel H type, publisher's catalogue Y at end of volume.
Fine copy despite the last endpaper hinge partly split.
Undoubtedly the most famous of Jules Verne's novels, featuring the mythical figure of Captain Nemo and his legendary submarine, the Nautilus.

This work is in fact the reissue of the original edition, published under a new title: the 1772 edition was entitled "Dissertation sur les vins".

One hundred blank leaves have been bound at the end of the text.

The work saw an expanded edition in 1782, which was subsequently reprinted. (Cf. Simon BG: 510. Not recorded by Vicaire, Oberlé, or Bitting. Lacking from the Kilian Fritsch Collection.)

Contemporary half mottled tawny sheep with vellum-tipped corners, the spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments, marbled paper sides, red edges.

An important treatise on vinification by a former wine merchant’s employee who had worked in France, England, and Holland.

The volume details the methods then used to preserve and improve wines, as well as to treat those that had spoiled. One chapter is devoted to the manner of making wines in Champagne (pp. 135–179). It is also, however, a veritable compendium of “fraudulent recipes”…

An open invitation to fraud, so much so that the censor responsible for granting approval was visibly unsettled: this dissertation "contient les formules suivant lesquelles on sophistique les vins, cependant on peut le laisser imprimer, parce qu'elle n'apprend aux frelateurs de vins que ce qu'ils savent bien faire et qu'elle fait connaître au public qui et prévenu, que les vins frelatés sont dangereux et les moyens qu'on emploie pour le tromper". [D. Denis, Histoire socio-économique de la vigne et du vin.]

First edition of this paper on cassava and the cultivation of peanuts, read before the General Assembly of the Royal Aragonese Society on 22 August 1800.

Our copy is preserved in modern plain beige wrappers, with a few insignificant spots of foxing.

From the library of the comte de Lasteyrie du Saillant, the renowned agronomist, with his red printed stamp on the title-page.

Second illustrated edition, comprising 15 engraved plates outside the text. (cf. Kayser, Bücher-Lexicon VI, 265.)

Thirteen plates have been delicately hand-coloured at the time, several set against scenic alpine backgrounds; one of the two uncoloured plates depicts traditional alpine cheesemaking tools.

The French text is printed on the verso of the German text.

Very rare suite presented with its original upper wrapper, housed in a modern black box with flat spine, red morocco title-piece, and a large matching morocco label on the upper cover; light and inconsequential surface wear to the boards.

Some text leaves are toned and trimmed short in the margins; one marginal tear to the uncoloured plate; minor foxing in places.

Despite what the title might suggest (as the author explains in his preface), the work is dedicated to Swiss cattle breeds.

A rare and strikingly complete suite.

A substantially posthumous publication, prepared by Ayres de Sá from the notes and papers of the second Viscount of Santarém (1791–1856), who, in addition to his diplomatic and political roles amid the turbulent struggle between Marianist and Miguelist factions in Portugal, was the first historian to develop the study of cartography in a methodical manner.

The work is illustrated with 97 plates in the first volume and 40 plates in the second.

Cherry half-shagreen bindings with corners, spines with five raised bands framed by black fillets and showing some rubbing, marbled paper sides, a scratch to the left margin of the upper cover of the first volume, endpapers and pastedowns with gilt effects, top edges gilt, original wrappers preserved with minor marginal tears and repairs, corners bumped, bookplates pasted on the pastedowns, contemporary bindings.

Exiled to Paris with Dom Miguel in 1834, he continued his research there, leading to significant cartographical publications.

Autograph inscription by the Viscount of Santarém, a descendant of the author, to José Joaquim Ascenção on the half-title of the first volume.

First edition of the inaugural instalment printed in Pondicherry at the Rattinamodeliar Press.

Losses to the spine and, more lightly, to the board corners; internally a clean and appealing copy.

Recorded in the CCF with copies only at the BnF (the sole institution holding a complete set), the Collège de France, and Sainte-Geneviève.

The first of five parts of this exceedingly scarce botanical publication, devoted entirely to Lawsonia alba [or inermis = henna].

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.

Very rare first edition of this splendid photographic album, produced in Cairo in 1871, representing the first illustrated catalogue of the earliest museum devoted to Egyptology.

The photographs by Hippolyte Delié and Émile Béchard depict the rooms and antiquities of the Boulaq Museum, founded in Cairo in 1863 by the eminent Egyptologist Auguste Mariette (1821–1881).

The album comprises forty albumen prints (approx. 24.5 × 18 cm), mounted on thick card leaves set on guards, each accompanied by a letterpress commentary leaf (except plates 4 and 11, which each have two). The prints are mounted on the versos of the plates, the rectos bearing the printed captions.

Contemporary half brown shagreen, spine with five raised bands decorated with blind-tooled compartments and gilt floral tools, minor rubbing to spine and joints, headcaps slightly softened, blind-tooled interlaced borders on the boards, gilt title on upper board, endpapers and pastedowns in white moiré silk with a few light spots, all edges gilt.

Repairs to the spine and one joint at head, a few scattered internal spots.

First edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with four hors-texte plates printed on chamois paper.

Not recorded by Brunet, who lists the author’s principal works.

Scattered foxing, including to the boards.

The orientalist Michelangelo Lanci (1779–1867) produced a fascinating blend of genuine erudition and improbable conjectures, shaped by the pre-critical and broadly concordist mindset then prevailing without challenge in the learned circles of pontifical Rome (Lanci being a subject of the Pope).

This largely accounts for the profound neglect into which most of his works have since fallen.

Prisse d’Avennes (1807–1879), who had worked with Champollion on the decipherment of hieroglyphic script, must have received with some surprise these observations drawn essentially from personal interpretations of Old Testament texts.

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.

Second edition.

"Magendie, pioneer experimental physiologist, regarded pathology as only a modification of physiology, 'medicine the physiology of the sick man'. By him clinical medicine was reconstructed on the physiological lines".

Spines of the first two volumes split, small losses to the other two, spines browned, some foxing.

Rare copy preserved in wrappers as issued.

First edition, complete in 23 instalments, of the second series of this magic periodical (cf. Fechner, p. 503).

Text in two columns; each instalment, richly illustrated, comprises between 12 and 16 pages (20 for the final one).

Contemporary half-sheep bindings: the first volume in brown, the second in tan, the spines with four raised bands tooled with gilt ornaments, moiré-patterned paper sides, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges; one original wrapper preserved. Bindings from the period, though mismatched in tone between the two volumes.

Complete collection of the second series of this Swiss periodical, whose first publication appeared in 1941–42 as the “journal officiel du Cercle magique suisse”. A third and final series was issued from 1949 to 1963, though only 11 numbers were published.

The Geneva-born Charles-Émile Sauty, known as “Rex” (1900–1967), was a journalist and poet with a keen interest in cinema and magic, and a friend of Marcel Vassal and Ruegg. In 1928 he founded the Académie de magie.

First edition, illustrated with 12 in-text reproductions of coins.

Contemporary half Russian-cherry morocco over marbled boards, smooth spine gilt with a floral tool, date gilt at foot, marbled paste-paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt edges at head.

Sole edition, uncommon.

Henri Lavoix (1820–1892) served as curator of the Department of Medals and Antiquities at the Bibliothèque nationale.

At the head of the half-title, which shows heavy foxing, signed presentation inscription from Henri Michel Lavoix to the archaeologist Alban-Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916), a specialist in medieval Syria and in particular the Frankish settlements in the region.

The ink of the inscription has faded; scattered foxing, with heavier foxing to the final endleaf.

A handsome contemporary half-morocco binding.

First edition illustrated with two etched plates under tissue guards.

Claude Bernard’s (1813–1878) laboratory notes on alcoholic fermentation (see pp. 3–33) record his experiments on the search for yeast germs on grape clusters, the formation of alcohol in grape juice without ferment, on sound and rotten grapes, on the search for a soluble alcoholic ferment and the influence of decay, and on the production of alcohol. All these experiments were conducted on his estate at Saint-Julien in October 1877, during the grape harvest.

This conception of a soluble ferment as the origin of yeast, a living organism, marked the starting point of the famous controversy between Pasteur and Berthelot.

Rare and appealing copy, largely uncut.

Fourth edition, partly original, revised and considerably enlarged from these lectures given at the Paris School of Pharmacy. The work is illustrated with 600 figures within the text. 

Slight losses or small corner tears to the spines and boards, minor scattered foxing.

A pleasant copy.

First edition of the first of Augustin Sageret’s (1763–1851) two memoirs on cucurbits. Sageret was a pioneer in plant hybridization, particularly through his experiments with melons.

Only two copies of this edition are recorded in the CCF (Muséum and Lyon). Extracted from the Mémoires de la Société royale et centrale d’agriculture, year 1825. Pritzel 7969. Oberlé, Fastes, 708.

Half green long-grain morocco binding, spine faded and slightly darkened, decorated with gilt and black double fillets and blind-stamped floral tools, gilt rolls at head and tail, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, marbled edges, modern binding.

Some foxing mainly affecting the last work, partial shadowing on the title pages of the last two parts, trace of a label at the head of the rear pastedown.

Bound at the end, also in first editions and by the same author:

• I. Deuxième mémoire sur les cucurbitacées, principalement sur le melon, contenant la culture en pleine terre de celui-ci, etc., et les perfectionnemens dont elle serait susceptible. Printed in Paris, Imprimerie de Madame Huzard (née Vallat-la-Chapelle), 1827, 118 pp. Extracted from the Mémoires de la Société royale et centrale d’agriculture, year 1827.
• II. Notice sur le melon de la Chine, fait singulier observé sur un de ces melons, et considérations physiologiques sur la fécondation et sur l’hybridité relatives de ce fait. [Paris], Imprimerie de Madame Huzard (née Vallat-la-Chapelle), n.d. [1828], 16 pp. Extracted from the Annales de la Société d’horticulture de Paris, March 1828. Very rare. Only one copy in the CCF (Muséum).
• Handsome set finely bound by Lobstein-Laurenchet.

First edition, illustrated with four plates, including a folding world map (cf. Sinkankas 3466; Agassiz III, 370).

Full fawn calf, spine with five slender raised bands, gilt-tooled compartments with occasionally softened floral tools, rubbed gilt headcaps, brown morocco lettering-piece, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle framing the pastedowns, gilt fillets to board edges, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

Repairs to the spine, one joint split at head and foot, browning along the board margins with surface scratches, scattered foxing, a waterstain at the head of all leaves.

A noteworthy treatise devoted to yellow amber and above all to ambergris, the fragrant substance derived from the intestinal concretions of sperm whales which, once expelled, float on the surface of the sea and yield a highly prized perfume.

The plates depict a frog and a lizard embedded in amber, a world map (Africa, Europe, Asia and part of the Southern Lands), figures collecting bird droppings, and various animals.

"This book commonly appears in bibliographies on amber when in fact it is about ambergris, but Klobius examines both substances and notes their differences on p. 26-9. One of the plates shows a frog and a lizard imbedded in amber, both of which are fakes" [Sinkankas].

On the title-page, a distinguished manuscript ex-libris in black ink

First edition of this offprint of great rarity.

Not listed in Musset-Pathay. Only two copies recorded in the Catalogue Collectif de France (Institut and Orléans).

Our copy is presented in a modern temporary wrapper made to resemble old paper.

Wine and cherry brandy, homemade kirschen-vasser, gin, juniper wine, poor man’s wine, currant wine, raisin and other dried fruit wines, etc.

Very rare first edition.

Only three copies recorded in the CCF (BnF, Sainte-Geneviève, CNAM).

Half blond calf, spine lightly sunned, with five raised bands decorated with gilt and black fillets, tan morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, mottled comb-marbled edges, original front wrapper preserved; contemporary binding.

The architect of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christophe-Edouard Mauss (1829–1914), undertook several archaeological missions in the Levant (Salonika, Smyrna, Alexandria) before being sent by the French government to Jerusalem (1862–1874) to restore the Church of Saint Anne. He also developed a keen interest in ancient metrology, on which he produced several monographs (including this one).

Bound after it, by the same author: 

 I. La Pile de Charlemagne et le Sâ du prophète. Le pied d'Egypte et le ratl de Bagdad. Les poids français comparés aux poids anglais. Le ratl wâfy du Musée égyptien du Louvre. Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1897, 2 ff.n.ch., 79 pp.

II. Loi de la numismatique musulmane. Classement par séries et par ordre de poids des monnaies arabes du Cabinet des médailles de Paris. Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1898, 2 ff.n.ch., VIII pp., 48 pp.

At the head of each fascicle, an autograph presentation inscription from Christophe-Edouard Mauss to the archaeologist Alban-Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916).

First edition, illustrated with in-text vignettes (cf. Vicaire 733; Bitting 391; Cagle 273; NUC: only 2 copies listed. Not in Oberlé, "Fastes").

At the CCF, copies only at the BnF and Sainte-Geneviève.

Contemporary half green sheep binding, spine darkened and faded, decorated with triple blind fillets, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns, speckled edges.

"Une des particularités de ce traité culinaire, c'est qu'il est 'dédié à la Sainte Vierge, mère de Dieu'" [Vicaire].

Another distinctive feature is that the work, divided into 1,187 paragraphs, exemplifies a scientific method and clarity worthy of a publication by Baillière.

Manuscript ownership inscription at the foot of the title page, occasional foxing.

Reculet (as stated on the title page) was “cook to Madame la comtesse d’Auteroche and Madame la marquise de Courtarvelle at the châteaux of Touchaillon and Lierville.” Which, however, hardly explains why the Virgin Mary should be the dedicatee of a work “qui traite d'une science à laquelle la décence convient si bien” [sic]. Rare and curious.

Second illustrated edition, with five plates, including one hand-coloured, one partly coloured, and one aquatint (cf. Sinkankas 4286; Borba de Moraes 542; not in Sabin).

Half beige sheep binding, smooth spine with some rubbing, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns; modern binding signed Houdart.

Some light foxing; numerical notes in the upper right corner of the half-title.

An interesting work, largely devoted to the diamonds of Brazil.

First published in 1813 and reprinted in 1815, this edition—despite the statement on the title page—would thus be the third rather than the second (cf. Borba de Moraes). “Largely concerns Brazilian diamonds and their comparison with stones found elsewhere” (Maggs).

The plates depict: “Colored Stones” (hand-coloured frontispiece), “Peculiar Diamonds” (partly coloured), various types of diamonds (black plates nos. I and II), and “Diamond cutter [and] Diamond polisher” (two aquatint vignettes).

First edition of the first of Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire’s essays on “Philosophie anatomique.”

Illustrated with 10 folding plates drawn by Huet and engraved by Plée père, containing 116 figures (cf. Agassiz III, p. 29, no. 51; British Museum (Natural History) II, p. 656; Engelmann I, p. 263; Quérard III, 320; DSB V, 355-358; Cahn (Th.), La vie et l’œuvre d’Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, pp. 81-112).

Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine with black morocco title label, modern binding signed by Thomas Boichot.

Some foxing to the plates.

Based on a meticulous examination of the various anatomical structures of the respiratory organs in vertebrate animals, the author formulates several principles concerning their organization, the most important being that of the Unity of Composition. According to this principle, all vertebrate species share the same structural elements in equal number. Despite Cuvier’s criticisms, this theory gained traction and was later refined through embryology and paleontology. The work is divided as follows: 1. On the gill cover in fish, hitherto known as the operculum […] and on the four corresponding bones of the auditory canal in air-breathing animals, called the stapes, incus, lenticular and malleus. – 2. On the bones forming the external framework employed in the mechanics of respiration, or the bones of the sternum. – 3. On the anterior bones of the chest, or the hyoid. – 4. On the inner bones of the chest […] including, in air-breathing animals, the elements of the larynx, trachea and bronchi, and in fish, those of the branchial arches, gill teeth and cartilaginous lamellae of the gills. – 5. On the bones of the shoulder, with respect to their determination and their role in the phenomena of respiration. “Geoffroy revitalized comparative anatomy in France and created scientific teratology, experimental embryology, and the concept of paleontological evolution […]. He and his friend Lamarck lived too early to be completely understood” (DSB, V, p. 358).

Two further essays were later published: “Des monstruosités humaines” (1822) and “Fragmens sur la structure et les usages des glandes mammaires des cétacés” (1834).

A precious copy printed on deluxe paper (the two other essays were issued only on regular paper). The text is identical to the octavo edition published the same year, except for the errata, which here contains 12 lines (versus 20 in the regular edition).

First edition illustrated with in-text figures.

Spine split, small losses to the spine and boards, otherwise a clean and pleasant copy internally.

One of Pasteur’s principal collaborators, Charles Chamberland (1851–1908) served as deputy director of Pasteur’s laboratory on rue d’Ulm from 1879 to 1888.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Revue des arts décoratifs of January 1885.

Unbound copy.

Copies recorded in the CCFr only at the BnF, the Musée des Arts décoratifs, and Troyes.

This offprint gathers the three lectures delivered on 18, 21, and 25 October 1884 by the influential art critic Philippe Burty (1830–1890), a key figure in the emergence of Japonism.

Inscribed by Philippe Burty to the archivist and historian Pierre Margry (1818–1894).

First edition illustrated with a copper-engraved plate (showing some dampstains) from the second part of this brief communication, which served as an invitation to the public meeting of the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow.

According to the CCF, only the Natural History Museum holds all three parts, published respectively in 1809, 1810, and 1811.

Very rare copy preserved in its original stitched wrappers with the printed pink cover.

Covers slightly discoloured and foxed at the margins, two dampstains affecting the lower edge throughout. Manuscript notes at the head of the front wrapper identifying the author and title.

The Saxon naturalist Fischer von Waldheim (1771–1853) was, in 1805, the founder of the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow, whose aim was to promote the study of natural history in Russia—a society still active today under a different name.

He worked across all fields of natural history, carrying out extensive research on the classification of invertebrates, and published Entomographia Imperii Rossici, issued between 1820 and 1851.

He also studied fossils in the region of Moscow, as well as molluscs and other marine organisms.

Copy from the library of the French naturalist André-Constant Duméril (1774–1860), with his handwritten ex-libris at the lower right corner of the front cover.

Very rare document on the so-called "Eau de Cologne," illustrated with a headpiece depicting the city of Cologne.

Written by Giovanni Antonio Farina (1718–1787), one of the heirs and successors of the inventor of the famous lotion, the Italian perfumer Giovanni Paolo Feminis (1660–1736), who had settled in Cologne.

Jean-Antoine Farina would later transmit the formula to his descendants, the last of whom, Jean-Marie Farina (1785–1864), successfully marketed the celebrated water during the first half of the 19th century.

This pamphlet details the various medicinal applications of Eau de Cologne (the names of the ailments are printed in capitals). "Il y a environ un siècle que cette Eau a été inventée et composée par le Sr. Paul Feminis, Italien, et ancien Distillateur à Cologne, et qu'elle est en grande réputation dans toute l'Europe. On ne peut donner à cette Eau tout l'éloge qu'elle mérite : ses vertus sont au dessus de tout ce qu'on peut en dire, et l'expérience constante qu'on en a par les effets surprenans que dans une infinité de Maladies elle opère continuellement, sur toutes les Personnes, de quelque sexe et âge qu'elles soient, en est une preuve si convaincante, que c'est à juste titre qu'on lui donne le nom d'admirable".

First edition, illustrated on the title page with a small woodcut showing a bull and a mounted horseman charging, and at the end of the volume with a curious wood-engraved vignette depicting the poet (wearing spectacles) and his muse.

Rare and engaging bullfighting pamphlet containing a verse account of a mounted bullfight held in Lisbon on 26 September 1752.

Pleasing copy preserved in its original sewing with later plain marbled paper wrappers.

Very rare first French edition of this translation, illustrated with a folding plate.

Full mottled tan calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fleurons and typographic motifs, red morocco title label, gilt rolls at the head and tail, gilt fillet along the edges, lightly rubbed corners, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

A pleasant copy.

The only French translation of the Libellus, quo demonstratur : Colchici autumnalis radicem non solum tuto posse exhiberi hominibus, sed et ejus usu interno curari quandoque morbos difficillimos, qui aliis remediis non cedunt (Vienna, Trattner, 1763), which was also issued in an English version.

An Austrian physician, Anton von Störck (1731–1803) is best known for his research into the therapeutic potential of plants regarded as poisonous.

His studies are considered pioneering in the field of experimental pharmacology, in which he developed a three-stage procedure for testing the effects and dosage of substances.

The second part bears its own title: Observations de Monsieur Locher sur les maladies vénériennes, l'épilepsie, la folie; & sur l'usage interne & externe de la ciguë.

It also includes observations by M. de Haen, and by Mrs. Razoux & Videmar.

First illustrated edition, with four folding plates bound at the end of the volume (cf. Tailliart 1979).

Contemporary half green calf binding, flat spine faded and yellowed, decorated with a gilt cartouche and ornamental tooling at head and tail, caps trimmed, joints fragile, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, period binding.

Some foxing.

In fact, this pamphlet was intended as the first of a series, hence the general title; however, only this installment was ever published. The secondary title specifies the subject of the volume: "Relation d'une excursion de Bône à Guelma et à Constantine, par sir Grenville Temple et le chevalier Falbe, délégués de la société établie à Paris pour l'exploration de Carthage. Premier fascicule de l'ouvrage, accompagné d'un recueil d'inscriptions et de quatre planches représentant des monumens antiques, des mosaïques et des peintures à fresque découvertes à Carthage."

The two archaeologists had in fact accompanied the French divisions during the second expedition to Constantine, and their account combines scholarly and military perspectives, characteristic of the early period of French colonization in Algeria.

Provenance: Copy from Honoré-Théodoric d'Albert, 8th Duke of Luynes (1802–1867), with the bookplate of the Château de Dampierre affixed to a pastedown.

New edition illustrated with 2 photographic plates outside the text, with statement of print run.

Half cloth Bradel binding in burgundy, smooth spine, original illustrated and stained front cover preserved, marbled paper boards, modern binding.

Some marginal foxing.

The work is signed Chevalier X, the pseudonym of Captain Martin. Autograph inscription dated and signed by Captain Martin to Hardy (Jean Tardy, 1902–1987, the renowned illusionist): "A mon ami Hardy pour son grand succès du Casino du 12 mars 1929 Alger. Chevalier X alias Martin."

First edition of an important text advocating, with detailed arguments, for the free cultivation, production, and export of tobacco, following the loss of land value "by half [...] as a result of two invasions."

Our copy has been disbound.

Bound at the end of the volume are several related pamphlets forming a rare and appealing collection on the subject of the tobacco trade in Alsace:

 - Pétition sur la modification du Régime actuel du Monopole des tabacs, présentée à la Chambre des Députés par les délégués de la Chambre de commerce de Strasbourg. Paris, Le Normant, janvier 1818. 9 pages.

- Monopole des Tabacs. Pétition Sur l'inexécution de la Loi du 28 avril 1816, en ce qui concerne les achats de la Régie; et de la Loi du 25 mars 1817, en ce qui concerne sa comptabilité [...] par les Délégués du Commerce de Strasbourg et de Nancy. Ibid., id., avril 1818. 1 unnumbered leaf and 17 pages.

 - Quelques Observations Présentées à la Chambre des Députés en faveur du Transit d'Alsace, en Réponse au Rapport de M. le Baron Morgan de Belloy, et aux Réclamations de diverses Chambres de Commerce des Ports; Par les Délégués du Commerce de Strasbourg. S.l.n.d. [Paris, 1818]. 13 pages.

- Encore un Mot sur le Transit d'Alsace ... [Paris, Le Normant, 1818]. 8 pages.

Third edition, the second issued under this title, partly original as it includes several new memoirs and the general tariff of Holland.

See Sabin 47557. Cioranescu 35613. Kress 3019. Not in Goldsmiths or Einaudi. See INED 2306 for the "Grand trésor historique et politique du florissant commerce des Hollandois" (1712).

Amsterdam, Du Villard, Changuion, 1718, 8vo,

Full mottled tan calf, spine with raised bands decorated with gilt fillets, garlands and floral tools (partly faded), red morocco title label, gilt rolls at the head and tail, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillet on board edges, red edges, one lower corner bumped, others slightly rubbed, contemporary binding.

Head of the collection of this technical periodical, which appeared for only three years (1839, 1840, and 1841); this set comprises all the issues published from January 1839 to December 1840.

Half lavallière calf bindings with corners, smooth spines lightened and decorated with gilt and blind fillets, red calf title labels, green volume labels, some rubbing to the spines, marbled paper boards, marbled edges, contemporary bindings.

Some occasional foxing.

The first volume is illustrated with in-text figures and 3 plates out of text; the second contains in-text figures.

The articles abound in practical details on the state of science and technology during the July Monarchy.

All manner of precise papers address an extraordinary variety of topics: beer (domestic and economical), autopsies, glanders in horses, rabid dogs, details on the daguerreotype and Daguerre’s process (vol. I, pp. 434–439 and 529–537, and vol. II, three articles), potatoes (starch, use, bread-making, price, vol. I), lithography, mummification, vine-growing (in Russia, vol. I), methods for bleaching and cleaning engravings and removing stains from books (vol. I, pp. 276–278), vaccination (vol. I, pp. 567–574), steam baths (Duval’s apparatus, vol. II), steamships, the budget of the city of Paris for the year 1840 (vol. II, pp. 278–282), coffee, the opium trade in India and China (vol. II, pp. 102–106), paper, etc.

The editor, Jean-Baptiste-Alphonse Chevallier (1793–1879), taught at the Paris School of Pharmacy and played a key role in two fields: urban public hygiene (disinfection of sewers, sanitation of the Canal Saint-Martin, etc.) and industrial toxicology related to occupational diseases.

First edition. Quérard I, 271 lists only one edition: "Paris, Née de La Rochelle, 1789." Kress B.1163; Goldsmiths 13858. Not in Einaudi."

With loose printed title pages for each volume, dated 1789.

The first volume, with an engraved pictorial title after Meunier, contains 52 double-page or folding plates inserted into the pagination, without following its numbering logic.

The second volume has an engraved pictorial title by Zaveris after Meunier and includes 154 etched plates of coins.

Full mottled calf, spines with six raised bands, gilt fillets and double gilt panels, red morocco lettering-pieces, green morocco numbering-pieces, gilt rolls on the headcaps, double blind-ruled borders on covers, marbled endpapers, gilt fillets on edges, marbled edges, contemporary bindings.

Some restorations to the bindings.

Unique edition, very rare (the 1789 printing to which our two additional title leaves would correspond does not seem to be attested despite Quérard’s mention).

An excellent copy on strong vellum paper, large-margined, with the spines elegantly decorated with special gilt tools.

First edition on ordinary paper.

Half black shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt garlands, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edge, original covers and spine preserved.

Scattered foxing mostly affecting the edges.

First edition in book form; the rare original edition was issued in parts between 1845 and 1856 (Brunet, I, 1707. Garrison and Morton reference three works by Cazenave on skin diseases).

Illustrated with 60 large and striking hand-colored plates.

Contemporary half red shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands adorned with double gilt and black fillets, sides covered in marbled “cat’s eye” paper, some rubbing to the upper portion of the front board, endpapers and pastedowns in combed marbled paper, corners a bit worn; later binding.

Minor foxing, a pleasing copy overall.

Head of collection of this important medical periodical, whose significance needs no further demonstration. It was published until 1914 (volume XLII) and included most of the essential contributions to the advancement of medical science in the 19th century.

The set is illustrated with 61 plates hors-texte, some lithographed and/or folding.

Half cherry calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, romantic arabesques and blind-stamped fleurons, a few small rubs to some headcaps or joints, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some corners slightly bumped, marbled edges, period bindings.

Beautiful set in a contemporary romantic binding signed by Bunetier.

Subscription prospectus issued in the format of the work, with 2 black-and-white reproductions in the text and 2 colour plates hors texte.

A fine copy.

Illustrated edition with 2 folding maps and 10 engraved plates outside the text (see Garrison & Morton 71; DSB 613-614).

Contemporary full marbled calf binding, spine with six raised bands decorated with double black panels stamped with blind typographic motifs, burgundy shagreen title label, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges.

Some restoration to the binding, spine rebacked; evidence of waterstaining to the upper margins of the leaves in the second volume.

Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654–1720), an Italian physician trained at the University of Rome, produced significant work on mosquitoes and malaria (he introduced the term), as well as on cardiovascular diseases and aneurysms. These contributions are gathered in the present work, illustrated with ten anatomical plates of the heart. "Lancisi, great Italian clinician, was the first to describe cardiac syphilis; he was also notable as an epidemiologist, with a clear insight into the theory of contagion. He was physician to Pope Clement XI, who turned over to him the forgotten copper plates executed by Eustachius in 1552. Lancisi published these with his own notes in 1714. [...] Lancisi's posthumous De aneurysmatibus published in 1728 appears only in later collected editions" (Garrison & Morton).

First edition, with a frontispiece photograph depicting Gustave Eiffel in his laboratory, and 28 plates outside the text, some folding (an additional copy of plate 26 is included).

Publisher’s binding in white cloth-backed boards with corners, flat spine showing some soiling and small tears at head and foot, printed paper label mounted on spine, printed title on upper board, corners slightly rubbed.

Pleasant internal condition.

A light water stain in the left margin of the frontispiece and at the foot of the lower cover, some soiling to the bottom of the upper cover, and a few pencil annotations in the margins.

The author presents the results of experiments carried out at the Champ-de-Mars near the Eiffel Tower: 1. Installation of the laboratory and methods used (velocity measurement, aerodynamic balance, centres of pressure, pressure distribution on a plate surface, etc.). – 2. General results (square, rectangular and curved plates, parallel surfaces, cylindrical bodies, pressure distribution). – 3. Aeroplane wings (Esnault-Pelterie and Nieuport monoplanes; Wright, Maurice Farman and Bréguet biplanes). The volume is illustrated with 28 plates including diagrams, photographs, graphs, and technical schematics relating to these studies. A particularly interesting copy, annotated by a scientist named René Arnout, author of a paper published in 1910 in the Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences ("L’équilibre longitudinal et la courbure des surfaces portantes des aéroplanes"; see his handwritten note on p. 20 of the present volume).

Very rare first edition of this pamphlet, absent from all bibliographies consulted on the subject (Borba de Moraes, Rodrigues, Maggs, Bibliotheca brasiliensis, Robert Bosch), as well as from the national libraries of Brazil and Portugal.

Tears and losses at the corners of the covers, spine reinforced with a brown adhesive strip, a few small spots of foxing.

First edition, adorned at the beginning of the volume with a folding facsimile (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1732).

Spine reinforced with an adhesive strip, minor marginal losses to the boards, some foxing.

These Practical Exercises are in fact a reply to the personal attacks and to two articles by M. Pauthier published in the Journal asiatique of Paris (nos. 66 and 67 of volume XII).

They "constitute the confirmation and complement" of his earlier work entitled "Examen critique de quelques pages de chinois relatives à l'Inde", translated by M. G. Pauthier, accompanied by grammatical discussions on certain rules of position which, in Chinese, play the same role as inflections in other languages (1841).

The frontispiece itself is a satire of Pauthier: it bears, composed by Hyacinthe Bitchourin, the Russian sinologist, this definitive remark: "Savez-vous pourquoi M. Pauthier se trompe en traduisant du chinois? C'est qu'il a une fausse idée du mécanisme de cette langue, et qu'il s'efforce de suppléer à ce qui lui manque de connoissance, au moyen de ses conjectures".

First edition illustrated with figures in the text. 

Comprising two articles (issues 111-114, then 121-126) published in the periodical Les Grandes usines de France, which appeared from 1859 to 1898 and gathered, issue by issue, monographs on the country’s industrial establishments (the complete collection includes 360 issues in 19 volumes). 

Disbound copy.

First edition adorned with numerous copper-engraved reproductions of medals and coins distributed across 4 plates outside the text, together with 19 vignettes within the text.

Half blue sheep binding with corners, unlettered spine with five raised bands, moiré-patterned paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, covers preserved, front cover marginally soiled, modern binding.

Rare collection of twelve letters focused on coinage.

The Lorrain scholar Nicolas-Damas Marchant (1767-1833) was a military physician, numismatist, and also served as mayor of Metz from 1 November 1805 to 6 May 1815, spanning almost the entire Imperial period.

First edition and definitive and posthumous edition, arranged in strict chronological order, of a very rare iconographic series whose publication had begun as early as 1806 in somewhat disorderly instalments, but was never completed (only 49 instalments had appeared at the author’s death).

Cf Brunet V, 1453.

Work illustrated with 300 plates: lithographed and watercoloured title-frontispiece and 149 engraved plates, most finely hand-coloured, for the first volume; 150 plates for the second.

Contemporary bindings in half cherry-red morocco-grained shagreen with corners, spines with five raised bands decorated with blind fillets and panels, some minor rubbing to spines and joints, one joint of volume 1 split at foot, double blind fillet border on marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, bindings of the period. 

Pleasing copy, complete with its 300 plates.

Original autograph manuscript by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, one page in black ink on a yellow paper sheet, numerous corrections, and rewritings.

Exceptional working manuscript of a passage from the original French version of Wind Sand and Stars [Terre des Hommes] from chapter VI "Dans le désert", a magnificent ode to the barren wilderness of deserts doomed to disappear due to the inevitable development of the industrial age. This section from the original French novel was removed for the English version translated by Galantière and remains unpublished in English. Moreover, the final two paragraphs of the manuscript are unpublished in the original French version. Saint-Exupéry recalls magnificent memories of liberating adversity and cherished "dissidence" he experienced in the heart of Mauritanian and Libyan deserts.
This heavily corrected state of the text is the true genesis of Saint-Exupéry's Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece: he reworked and rearranged here his memories published as articles (reportages) in Paris-Soir magazine in 1938. Some sentences ("What does it matter what you find at the pole if you walk in a state of enchantment") remaining in the published version are variants of one of his reportages, present in the manuscript among redacted and unpublished sentences obscured by pen strokes.

This manuscript indicates an early writing stage not mentioned in the “Notes et variantes” of the comprehensive Pléiade edition.
The passage is originally from his fifth article for Paris-Soir, entitled "La magie du désert c'est ça" ("This is the magic of the desert ") from November 14, 1938 published with some of the changes made in this manuscript and other later corrections at the end of the sixth chapter of Terre des Hommes. The central theme of the text, dissidence, is mentioned in the very first sentence of the manuscript and would later become the title of the passage indicated on the typed proofs. This leitmotiv is steeped in nostalgia, with vivid descriptions of fleeting moments of freedom during the writer's escapades in the desert: "The horizons [crossed out : places] towards which we ran one after the other faded away ['died out one after the other' in the published text], like those insects once trapped by lukewarm hands ['which lose their color once trapped in lukewarm hands ' idem]. But there was no illusion ['he who pursued them was not the victim of illusion' idem]. We were not mistaken, when we walked like this from miracle to miracle ['we were after these discoveries' idem]. Nor was the Sultan of the Thousand and One Nights, who ran one morning ['pursued a matter so subtle' idem] [sentence deleted], that his beautiful captives, one by one, died at dawn in his arms, having lost, scarcely touched, the gold of their wings"

It conveys an acute awareness of the end of an era, marked by the bankruptcy of Aéropostale and his grave plane accident in Guatemala. Saint-Exupéry takes refuge in the memory of the rebel-filled deserts of Mauritania whose charm wore off with the passing of time: "But there is no more dissidence. Cap Juby, Cisneros, Puerto Cansado, Dora, Smarra, there is no longer any [word struck out] mystery." It is followed by descriptions of the lands he and his fellow aviators flew over: "For the pure shell powder sand and the forbidden palm groves, gave us their most precious gift: they offered only an hour of fervor, and we were the ones who dwelled in it" The story is told in plural, honoring the memory of Guillaumet and Mermoz, his friends and famous aviators who fell from the sky. The manuscript also contains a prophetic remark on the deserts soon to be exploited for their resources: "We fed on the magic of the sands, others perhaps will dig their oil wells there, and benefit from their [deleted: this] goods." We can already see the businessman character in The Little Prince, an early manifestation of his opinion on the excesses of human progress.

These words on a thin sheet of yellow paper represent a crucial early stage of his masterpiece. Saint-Exupéry first assembled the work under its original title, Etoiles par grand vent, published in France as Terre des Hommes in February 1939. We know of another sheet of paper in this color with the same types of corrections, also not mentioned in the Pléiade edition of the complete works. It shows the more direct handwriting of a first draft - the sheet undoubtedly dating from the first combination of his journalistic reportages that would later become the novel. Virtually every sentence is modified (words crossed out, words or expressions rearranged in the sentence) not systematically appearing in the published version: "What we see here is a very subtle work of reworking texts that function in very different ways depending on the subject and are clearly oriented towards that recreation of Man to which the book invites us" (Saint-Exupéry. Œuvres complètes, Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1994, vol. I, p. 1009)

A precious extract from Terre des Hommes unpublished in the English version Wind, Sand and Stars - Saint-Exupéry's great humanist adventure and novel which brought him international renown. This rare folio riddled with erasures, rewrites, and corrections bears witness to the various stages of his writing process.

Three original childhood photographs of Maurice Béjart, and his birth announcement 
[after 1927] | 12.2 x 17.2 cm| three photographs and a card
Three original photographs of Maurice Béjart as a child beside his mother, taken in Mougins.
We attach the birth announcement, dated 1 January 1927, printed with his name “Maurice Jean Berger.”
Provenance: Maurice Béjart's personal archives.

First edition of this important and early collection of 50 superb lithographs of Algiers printed on china paper mounted on heavy wove, executed by the two painters Emile-Aubert Lessore (1805–1876), a pupil of Ingres, and William Wyld (1806–1889), a friend of Vernet. The work was originally issued in five parts: buildings, landscapes, figures, scenes, etc.

See: Bibliothèque algérienne de Gérard Sangnier, no. 207. Not in Blackmer. Playfair, 517. Tailliart, 896. Gay, 919. Brunet III, 1018.

Contemporary binding in half green shagreen, flat spine with triple gilt fillets and blind-stamped fleurons, gilt decorative bands at head and foot of spine, the upper band partially faded; marbled paper-covered boards with some marginal discoloration. Contemporary binding.

Spine restored, occasional scattered foxing.

First edition, printed in 500 numbered copies, of this splendid archaeological album featuring 78 in-text illustrations and 13 full-page plates with tissue guards (including 7 double-page or folding plates).

Text by Henri Lechat.

Publisher’s Bradel binding in full forest green cloth, smooth spine, headcaps slightly crushed, one joint split at head, spine and boards ruled in ochre, corners slightly rubbed, bookplate affixed to the front pastedown.

Copy from the library of industrialist Anatole Descamps (1833–1907), with engraved ex-libris by Devambez mounted on the pastedown.

A handsome copy.

Two original unpublished drawings by fashion designer Manfred Thierry Mugler on post-it notes in black ink, red, blue, beige, and yellow felt-tip pens and white correction fluid. Numerous mentions in English by the designer around the drawings depicting the front and back of an extravagant dress (which to our knowledge has never been made). Top corner of the first drawing backed with a small piece of tape.
The very body-hugging front of the dress is torn at the chest ("double breasted tuxedo wriped [sic]"). The blonde model wears a mask ("wolf ? Mask, lace eventually ?") similar to the famous "Mouche" sunglasses created by Mugler for his "insects" 1997 spring-summer collection, or the incredible masks designed for Lady Gaga.
The second drawing of the back of the dress shows a real trompe-l'oeil: Manfred notes to paint a portrait of Kim Kardashian ("KIM FACE") on the back of the model ("tattoo or photo hand paint") with black hair ("black dark hair") ; the revealed bottom and flared hips of the model depicting the ample bosom of "Kim". Uncovered backs are not new to Mugler who had already created a dress revealing the model's posterior decorated with a triple strand of pearls in his 1995-96 ready-to-wear fall-winter collection for the 20-year anniversary of his label.
Manfred designed this dress for his muse Kim Kardashian: "I love extreme personalities, they exist and they correspond to what I want to express. [...] I've always been looking for all kinds of beauty. Whatever bodies I perfect, they also exist without my intervention, but I oversize them, I adjust the waist, the shoulders, the whole silhouette. Kim Kardashian is a perfect example; she is a callipygous beauty, an eternal, almost ancient feminine ideal." ("Conversation between Manfred T. Mugler and Thierry-Maxime Loriot" catalog of the exhibition Thierry Mulger. Couturissime. at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, 2022)
In 2002, Manfred Thierry Mugler chose to retire from the fashion industry to focus entirely on his two passions: photography and entertainment. His fashion collaborations with celebrities became very scarce and carefully selected: first with Beyoncé, for whom he made every costume of her "I Am... World Tour" (2009), then with Kim Kardashian who inspired several outfits including a very tight and now iconic jumpsuit for the Met Gala in 2019 or a space cowgirl Halloween party costume in 2021.
Manfred Thierry Mugler's original designs are extremely rare, as T.-M. Loriot points out in the same catalog of his retrospective: "Your archives are highly prized, rarely loaned and even less exhibited"
Extremely rare and unique drawing by the brilliant designer, made for the sculptural Kim Kardashian - one of his "super glamorous warriors”

Clear pictures upon request

Black cloth binding. A white star made by Mugler in corrector fluid on the first cover.

Fifteen pages of the notebook filled in by the fashion designer:
- The first page, in neon blue felt-tip pen, with the word "Yes" as and large exclamation mark ending with the iconic Mugler star.
- A double page with the word "white" enhanced with corrector fluid and in capital letters on a black felt-tip background, in orange the words "Indehain" (?) and "TRIBE" with a drawing depicting a sun, several notes in black ballpoint pen: "Aelino Rock-Elektro", "DJ", "Syath Choreographie".
- A double page with a wonderful drawing of a naked Black woman with voluminous pink hair, and on the left with a black ballpoint pen the words "Super NOVA MAMA" with star enhanced with purple marker.
- A double page with three lines in green, red, and purple markers: "- La Perle de l'Afrique... / RIEN QUI BOUGE !!! / Le chic des mains de Paris !" [- The Pearl of Africa... / NOTHING THAT MOVES!!! / The chic of the hands of Paris!] The last exclamation point ends with a star.
- Several drawings of stars and perfume bottles sketches in pencil.
- A list of names in pencil, opposite some of them the letter "G" in blue marker, the mention "Kab" in red marker and a spiral in orange marker.
- A double page with a drawing of a perfume bottle and a planet with a phallus on it; above, several lines in blue, purple, orange, green and red markers with the following text: “Alice se perdit dans Brocéliande et se fit courser par le centaure Manfred...et ses dangereux attributs...Pauvre petite fille riche...Ce n'est pas le luxe qui va la sauver. Ombres d'arbres sous la lune "EN TRAVERS" CQFD... Testosterone et innocence...la Belle et la Bête !!! Rugissement furieux de métal...Perforation du Tympan et l'Hymen...L'HISTOIRE DU MONDE !" [Alice got lost in Broceliande [a forest in Brittany] and was chased by the centaur Manfred...and his dangerous attributes...Poor little rich girl...It's not luxury that will save her. Shadows of trees under the moon "IN THE WAY" QED... Testosterone and innocence...Beauty and the Beast!!! Furious roar of metal...Tympanum and Hymen perforation...THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!]
- A double page in pencil with a sketch of a pole dancer with her head upside down in the left margin; with a text around it: "Strip Tease intello : laide, pas laide... Qui suis je ? Oui !... Je suis belle. Non ! Je suis laide... Regardez moi ! Non ne me regardez pas ! Voyez moi ! Aimez moi ! BAISE MOI !!! VAS T'EN ! Reviens. Folle... Pas folle... Grand Corps Malade ? Fabien" [Strip Tease nerd: ugly, not ugly... Who am I ? Yes !... I am beautiful. No! I am ugly... Look at me ! No don't look at me! Look at me! Love me! FUCK ME!!! GO AWAY! Come back. Crazy... Not crazy... Grand Corps Malade ? Fabien" [French singer Grand Corps Malade, whose real name is Fabien, wrote a song for the designer's music-hall show Mugler Follies]
- A pencil note: "Acte Vente Chelsea AT 92". Thierry Mugler sold his penthouse in New York's Chelsea neighborhood in 2012.
The personal archives of Manfred Thierry Mugler are exceedingly rare.

Clear pictures upon request

Complete set of 115 copper-engraved plates with an additional plate (116 plates), all printed on either laid or wove paper, all hand-colored with watercolor. Two entirely different plates 39 follow each other, in first issue: "Les Titus et les cache-folies" was published in the 1817 and 1822 sets, and the other "La Politicomanie" appeared in 1827. This is the most complete series, which also includes the 11 new plates published from 1818 to 1822, numbered 105 to 115.

According to Vicaire, the plates were probably all printed between 1801 and 1822, and only the text preceding the plates was reprinted in 1827.

3/4 long-grained cherry half-morocco, smooth spine elaborately framed in gilt lentghwise, gilt tooled center of spine, gilt lettered title at head of spine framed in gilt, marbled boards, marbled paper endpapers and flyleaves. Minor brown spots are mainly confined to the 24 pp. of text, with very few on the plates, mainly on the margins and versos.

A rare and famous collection of costumes, genre and entertainment scenes from the French First Empire and Restoration eras, with very wide margins and magnificently hand-colored at the time. A veritable encyclopedia of thrills, pleasures and pageantry, published by Pierre de la Mésangère, leading fashion editor at the turn of the century. This copy includes two versions of plate 39, both of which are extremely scarce.
 

Edition of wich no leading copies exists.
Binding of the editor in full black fabric.
Iconography.
Slips slightly warped in margins, the book that had stayed in a damp place previously, otherwise nice copy.

Rare autograph signed Kenzo Takada Gilles Brochard.

First edition, one of the rare copies printed on deluxe paper.

Full cherry-red shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and triple gilt panels, some rubbing to headcaps and bands, gilt rolls at the headcaps, gilt fillet, dotted and garland borders on the covers, scratches and stains to the lower portion of the front cover, white moiré silk endpapers and pastedowns, gilt garland borders on the pastedowns, all edges gilt, gilt dots on the edges, contemporary binding.

One wormhole at the foot of the final leaves not affecting the text, some foxing, particularly on the white endpapers, library shelf labels pasted on a pastedown.

Important official directory, listing the names and positions of staff of the Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce, the Grandes Écoles, engineers of Bridges and Roads, Mining engineers, Railways, etc.

A copy handsomely preserved in a contemporary binding.

First edition, printed in a very small number of copies of this offprint from the Journal de l'agriculture et des pays chauds, 1865-1866; cf. Berger & Rey, p. 232. Not cited by Pritzel.

Bradel binding in full green boards, smooth spine, black shagreen lettering piece, modern binding.

Dr. Victor Pérez was a physician in Laguna (Tenerife) and Dr. Sagot (1821-1888) was a former surgeon in the Imperial Navy.

Pleasant and rare copy.

Rare first edition illustrated, at the end of the volume, with 2 folding plates.

Unique edition, of the utmost rarity, rendered all the more so by the second dedication to Berthier, unrecorded elsewhere and evidently added later.

It is known that the young Bonaparte, assigned to the artillery regiment of La Fère, had passionately learned his military trade at the Royal School of Artillery in Auxonne.

It is also known that he had studied in depth the Nouveaux principes d'artillerie by Benjamin Robins, on which he left notes.

This work must therefore have drawn his particular attention. The author long taught artillery in military schools, yet little is known about him. "Napoléon n'oublia jamais sa formation d'artilleur..."

"Il fit jouer à cette arme un rôle de plus en plus marqué," confirms Jean Tulard.

A rare and appealing copy preserved in its original temporary blue wrappers, with the title inscribed in manuscript at the head of the spine.

First edition, consisting of the facsimile of the author’s autograph manuscript.
Publisher’s binding in full white boards, smooth spine, covers illustrated with drawings by Oscar Niemeyer.
A handsome copy, complete with its illustrated dust jacket showing very minor tears and insignificant losses.
Work illustrated with drawings by Oscar Niemeyer.
Rare presentation copy, dated and signed by Oscar Niemeyer to Georges and Alice (Raillard).
Georges Raillard was an art critic and a close friend of Antoni Tàpies and Joan Miró; his wife Alice translated into French the leading Brazilian authors of the second half of the 20th century, such as Jorge Amado.
 

First edition.
Publisher’s full white boards, smooth spine.
A fine copy, complete with its illustrated dust jacket bearing very minor, inconsequential tears.
Illustrated with drawings by Oscar Niemeyer.
Rare signed presentation inscription from Oscar Niemeyer to Henri (Raillard).
 

First edition.
Small corner losses to the boards, clean and appealing interior condition.
Bradel binding in full combed paper, smooth spine with a black morocco label lettered lengthwise, binding signed by Thomas Boichot.

Rare signed autograph inscription by Ferdinand de Lesseps "à mon ami 'chéri' Rousseau".