Rarest Books (Untraceables)

First edition illustrated with 2 folding tables.

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

Bradel binding in full black paper boards, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and a gilt fleur-de-lys tool, tan shagreen title label, upper corners slightly rubbed, speckled edges. Slightly later binding.

Offset from an old paper in the left margin of the title page.

Despite its great popularity, the publication of "Histoire de Napoléon" by Philippe-Paul de Ségur (1780-1873), issued in 1824, prompted numerous reactions, responses, and corrections from many participants in the Russian campaign (Gourgaud’s, of extreme violence, remains particularly well known, as does the duel that followed).

For despite a romantic and epic style that accorded well with contemporary expectations of historical narrative, the work abounded in inaccuracies, errors, and above all judgments liable to offend contemporaries.

Baron von Völderndorff (1783-1847) was among these actors, having taken part in the Russian Campaign within the Bavarian corps commanded by General von Wrede.

Provenance: copy from the library of King Ernest Augustus of Hanover (1771-1851, uncle of Queen Victoria), with his ink stamp on the title page.

First edition printed in 20 numbered copies on hand-made "papier rose jouvencelle" produced by Georges Duchêne.

Illustrated with original engravings by Ania Staritsky, who also designed the original layout of the work.

This copy is exceptionally enhanced with an original collage by Ania Staritsky, signed by her, and with an 8-line autograph manuscript text by Gaston Puel, together with an additional suite of the engravings by Ania Staritsky (one of which bears two small holes).

The spine of the chemise and the boards of the slipcase are slightly and marginally faded, without seriousness.

A rare and very fine copy, complete with its chemise and its grey cloth slipcase.

First edition, one of 35 copies printed on B.F.K. de Rives paper, numbered and signed by Michel Seuphor and Ania Staritsky at the colophon, our copy being one of the few hors commerce.

Illustrated with original engravings by Ania Staritsky, who also designed the original layout of the work.

A rare and pleasing copy, complete with its chemise and slipcase in full anise cloth.

Our copy is exceptionally enriched with an original collage signed by Ania Staritsky and an 8-line autograph manuscript text signed by Michel Seuphor,  

First edition, one of 37 numbered copies on handmade paper "Ecume de cépage" under "Chaume de Juillet" wrappers, the only issue after 8 copies on handmade paper "Tabac du moulin".

The work is illustrated with 9 original colour engravings by Ania Staritsky, who also designed the original layout of the book.

A rare and very fine copy, complete with its chemise and slipcase in full orange cloth.

Pencil signatures of Jean Follain and Ania Staritsky on the colophon.

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.

First edition printed in a small number of copies, being the sixth booklet of the first series of the Cahiers de l'Ecole de Rochefort.

A rare and pleasing copy. René Debresse’s address has been added in black ink opposite the autograph inscription.

A valuable autograph inscription signed by Luc Bérimont to Jean Follain.

Rare first edition of this poem, printed on bluish paper and composed by Tissot in honour of the birth of the King of Rome, the Emperor’s son.

Not in Quérard.

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, under a modern marbled paper cover. Not in Quérard. A fine copy.

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.

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 112 copies, ours one of the 90 numbered copies on Arches laid paper.

A pleasant and scarce copy.

Illustrated with 5 original lithographs by Juan Gris.

Manuscript signatures of Armand Salacrou and Juan Gris at the colophon.

First edition, with no deluxe paper copies issued.

Spine and covers lightly and marginally sunned, as is often the case, with a small loss at the foot of the spine.

A scarce and pleasing copy, considering the poor quality of the paper.

First edition, an ordinary paper copy.
Contemporary green half shagreen, marbled paper boards, spine with five raised bands and gilt flowers, speckled edges.
With the autograph signatures of every author of the "Médan group" involved in the writing of this famous collection of short stories: Guy de Maupassant, Emile Zola, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Léon Hennique, Paul Alexis and Henri Céard on the first endpaper.
A very good and rare copy in a strictly contemporary binding.

Rare first edition under this title, complete with the engraved title-page. The first edition of 1607, Remonstrance faicte au Roy Très Chrétien pour la réunion des religions à la foy catholique, was printed in Tournon in only 96 pages. This second edition, of which there were probably two issues from the same bookseller, was substantially revised and enlarged by the author.

Contemporary limp vellum with turn-ins, smooth spine, faded ink manuscript title to spine, original ties present, red speckled edges. Bookplate of the lawyer V[ictor] Duchâtaux, a bibliophile of the second half of the 19th century, to front pastedown. Manuscript ownership inscription dated 1661 at foot of engraved title-page.

Two tiny ink spots on pp. 57 and 209 affecting one letter each, small marginal wormhole on p. 417 not affecting text, a fine copy.

On p. 58, the passage "not in the traditions of the Roman Church! but in their own Bible, which I made the judge of all my designs, and the rule of my will" (our own translation) is underlined in brown ink, probably in the same hand as the ownership inscription.

First edition illustrated with 8 folding plates.

Half vellum binding, smooth spine with gilt initials at foot, black shagreen title label, red morocco label bearing the year of issue, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.

Rare Saigon printing. This uncommon directory was published under this title until 1888; in 1889, it became the Annuaire de l'Indo-Chine française.

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 illustrated with seven folding plates.

Contemporary half vellum binding, smooth spine with gilt initials at foot, brown morocco title label, red morocco date label, marbled paper boards with some rubbing, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, speckled edges.

Rare Saigon printing, and the last year to appear under this title.

This uncommon directory was published under this title until 1888; in 1889 it became the Annuaire de l'Indo-Chine française.

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.

First edition, taken from the Mémoires de la Société royale et centrale d'agriculture, for the year 1824.

Illustrated with a folding plate inserted out of text.

Our copy is preserved in its original state, sewn and issued in a plain blue provisional wrapper.

Scattered light foxing.

A grandson of the founder and first director of the Académie royale de marine, Pierre-Marie-Sébastien Bigot de Morogues (1776-1840) devoted himself principally to agricultural matters.

First edition, completed at the end of the volume with a folding table printed off text (cf. Sabin 28336; Howes 318).

Bound in full flexible beige boards, the manuscript spine title clumsily restored with an adhesive strip and now largely faded; sprinkled red edges.

A dampstain affecting the upper right corner of the opening leaves; a few scattered foxmarks.

The folding table bound at the end of the volume is not recorded by Sabin. It summarises the key geographical data for each state (natural resources, population in 1790 and 1810, universities and colleges, representation in Congress, etc.).

Father Giovanni Grassi of the Society of Jesus spent several years in Georgetown, where he served as rector of the seminary.

First edition of the French translation (cf. Sabin, 43416; Smith, Pacific Northwest Americana, 6381; Pilling, Bibl. of the Algonquian Languages, 327; Hoefer, XXXII, 566-567).

Illustrated with a portrait of the author after Sir Thomas Lawrence as frontispiece to the first volume and, at the end of each volume, three engraved maps showing the route from Fort Chipewyan to the Arctic Sea in 1789 and to the Pacific Ocean in 1793, together with the portion of North America lying between the 40th and 70th degrees north latitude and the 45th and 180th degrees west longitude.

Handsome half red shagreen bindings, flat spines ruled in gilt with quintuple fillets, traces of former labels at the head of each spine, minor rubbing to joints, red boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns; mid-19th-century bindings.

Repair to the half-title of volume I.

A pleasing copy of this major exploration narrative.

An extremely rare first edition of this valuable statistical survey of Bolivia; absent from both Palau and Sabin. Only one copy recorded in the CCFr (BnF).

Chuquisaca, Imprenta de Sucre, 1851, octavo,

Contemporary half brown sheep, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets, marbled paper boards with losses, worn corners and edges, blue-speckled edges; a modest binding of the period.

Copy slightly trimmed.

José Maria Dalence (1782–1852), a jurist and prominent political figure of the independence period (1825), here provides one of the most precise demographic, ethnographic, and economic portraits of the young nation.

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 of the French translation prepared by F. Soulès of "An account on the present state of Nova Scotia", originally published in 1786.

Our copy is offered unbound.

Pages 31 to 39 are devoted to fishing practices.

Rare first edition of this uncommon atlas, featuring 9 maps printed in colour, either on single sheets, double-page, or folding.

Bound in modern half dark blue calf, smooth spine with gilt rules at head and tail, title in long, boards of handmade paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

Minor foxing to the versos of some maps, three discreet repairs using small adhesive pieces to the margins of three maps and the title page.

Printed note on the verso of the title page: "Institut national de géographie, Bruxelles".

The maps depict: General View of the East Indies, Java and Madura (detached from the volume), Sumatra and the Riouw Archipelago, Banka and Billiton, Borneo, the Celebes, the Minhassa Islands, the Sunda Islands, and the Moluccas.

First edition of the French translation.

Contemporary half vellum binding, smooth spine gilt with a small fleur-de-lis ornament at the foot, black shagreen title label, marbled paper sides.

The sole edition of this version (a portion had already been made available to the French public in 1837 under the title Histoire de la fondation de la Régence d'Alger). Alphonse Rousseau (1820–1870), first interpreter at the French General Consulate in Tunis, later served as Consul General.

Modern Pierre Libaude bookplate pasted to a free endpaper; a few minor spots.

Very scarce first edition of the Armenian translation, illustrated with a lithographed frontispiece and title-frontispiece printed on tinted heavy stock by Weger (Leipzig), together with several in-text figures reproducing seals.

The CCFr records only copies of the French edition (indeed, the same year 1871 saw the publication of a first French translation; a second French edition was issued in Paris in 1888, at which time a German version was also printed at the Leipzig address).

Bradel binding in half brown percaline, smooth spine gilt-ruled and tooled with a gilt frieze, marbled paper boards, endpapers soiled, corners rubbed, edges sprinkled in blue.

Some minor foxing, chiefly at the beginning.

Apart from the frontispiece and title-frontispiece, the entire text is printed in Armenian. Fumagalli, Biblioteca Etiopica, 304.

Father Dimotheos Vartabet Sapritchian, an Armenian priest from Constantinople, travelled to Ethiopia in 1867 with one of his compatriots, Archbishop Isaac.

The travellers, who carried to King Theodore of Abyssinia a message from the Armenian patriarch, entered the country via Wahni in the west and crossed the regions of Bagemder and Tegré before embarking at Massawa.

The first part contains the narrative proper; the second offers observations on the country’s history, manners, and customs.

It also includes reflections on the Ethiopian Church, the clergy, baptism, confession, penance, marriage, funerary rites, festivals, and more.

A rare Jerusalem imprint: printing in the city is thought to date back to 1823.

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 of this Latin work devoted to the history of the ancient Mediterranean: Sardinia and the influences of Greece, North Africa, the Syrtes and Numidian tribes, the history of the tyrant of Syracuse, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, the island of Rhodes, and more (cf. Adams, L-704. See Durling, 2796, which records only later editions).

Restored full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt tools now largely softened, blind fillets and gilt corner ornaments framing the boards, central gilt medallion enclosing a device in Greek characters, manuscript inscription on the fore-edge, early binding.

Ink numbering at the head of the verso of the lower cover; inner hinge cracked.

Handsome volume from the Basel press of Johannes Froben, bearing his printer’s device on the title-page and at the end.

Nicknamed “the prince of printers,” Johann Froben was among the first to employ italic types, inspired by Aldus Manutius.

A professor of philosophy, Greek, and Latin at the University of Padua, the Venetian scholar Tomeo Nicolò Leonico (1456–1531) was admired by Erasmus.

First edition, illustrated at the close of the volume with six plates printed out of text.

Only three copies recorded in the CCF (BnF, Institut, Strasbourg).

Our copy is preserved in its original state, issued in a temporary paper wrapper.

Spine restored at head with small losses; marginal losses to the soiled covers; two small adhesive strips along the right margins of the final plate; author’s name and title pencilled on the upper cover.

The study of Phoenician languages was the speciality of Auguste-Célestin Judas (1805–1873).

Rare first edition.

Our copy is issued in its original state, unbound and preserved in wrappers.

Not recorded by Oberlé. Only two copies located in the CCFr (Cherbourg and Montpellier).

Alexandre Lesdos (1813-1865) was a member of the Société d'Agriculture and of the Société Académique de Cherbourg.

In this work, he devotes an entire chapter to the wines of Saint-Émilion, noted for their "bouquet as delicate as that of the violet." (our own translation)

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 printed in two columns, one in French and the other in Italian.

Not recorded by Starace or Roland Bonaparte.

Contemporary limp vellum-style boards, smooth unlettered spine; covers soiled.

Some scattered foxing; one quire working loose.

Third edition.

Our copy is preserved in its original state, issued in temporary blue paper wrappers, with some losses to the corners and a mounted title label on the spine.

Some light foxing.

Pierre-Auguste Mutel (1795–1847) entered the École Polytechnique in 1813, graduating 34th in the class of 1815, and went on to serve in the artillery corps.

Manuscript ex-libris of Becquerel, dated 24 October 1833; it is difficult to determine which member of this illustrious family should be associated with this provenance.

First edition of the English translation of "De Logomachiis eruditorum" (Amsterdam, 1688) by the Swiss Reformed theologian Samuel Werenfels (1657–1740), a notably engaging essay on the obstacles to concord among Christians created by the endless disputes over the terminology used to define points of belief.

A few small spots of foxing.

Full speckled fawn calf, the spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and gilt tools; rubbing to the spine, the gilt title almost entirely effaced, headcaps trimmed down with a small loss to the tailcap; gilt double-fillet border with gilt corner tools on the covers; some wear to the board edges with gilt fillets, corners softened; edges sprinkled red; contemporary binding.

A few small spots of foxing.

Copy from the library of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, bearing his armorial bookplate “Re que Diou” from the Château de Valençay, mounted on the front endpapers.

A highly appealing provenance, given the fundamental scepticism of the former bishop of Autun.

First edition, exceedingly scarce, of this light-hearted and engaging introduction to the principal ancient myths, prepared for a Polish aristocrat. Annopol (today Anopal) is a locality now situated in Belarus.

No copies recorded in the CCF. A single copy located in WorldCat (National Library of Poland, Biblioteka Narodowa, Warsaw).

Contemporary-style half sheep binding in brown, the smooth spine ruled with alternating thick and thin gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns; modern binding.

Losses to the title-page expertly filled and restored; the final two leaves also restored.

First edition, one of 24 numbered copies on Vélin Rivoli, the only deluxe issue.

A particularly handsome copy.

First edition, one of 36 copies on pure-wire vellum, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

A particularly attractive copy.

Autograph letter signed by Gracchus Babeuf, dated 8 Pluviôse [Year II] (27 January 1794). Two and a half pages on a reused bifolium, the letter written around an earlier inscription by Babeuf: “Histoire des Conspirations et des Conspirateurs du Département de la Somme ; Qui comprend celle des Persécutions et des quatre Procès criminels intentés, depuis 89, à un second Marat, son émule dans le Département”. 

Published (except for the title Histoire des Conspirations…, omitted in the description of the letter) in Victor Advielle, Histoire de Gracchus Babeuf et du babouvisme d'après de nombreux documents inédits, vol. I, 1884, pp. 101-102. 

An extraordinary torrent of curse words by the revolutionary and proto-communist Gracchus Babeuf, addressed to his eldest son, who would later help disseminate babouvism. Babeuf writes on a reused leaf bearing the full title of one of his lost works hitherto known only in part: "Histoire des Conspirations et des Conspirateurs du Département de la Somme ; Qui comprend celle des Persécutions et des quatre Procès criminels intentés, depuis 89, à un second Marat, son émule dans le Département" 

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 from the Imprimerie Royale, complete in nine quarto volumes with all 262 black-and-white engraved plates.

Contemporary full mottled calf, spines with raised bands decorated with guilloche tooling and gilt ornaments in the compartments, red morocco lettering-pieces and numbering-pieces, triple gilt fillet border on boards, double gilt fillet on board edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges. Minor variations in the tooling on volume 3.

In this set, some headcaps missing, 6 cm joints split at foot of volume 1, 6.5 cm and 6 cm at foot of volume 2, 3.5 cm at head of volume 3, corners bumped, scratches and minor restoration to boards, including a more significant repair on volume 7 measuring 11 cm, browning in left margin of lower board of volume 4.

In this copy: some worming, several instances of dampstaining throughout the set, more pronounced in volumes 1, 3, and 8, some tears, restored on the title page and on pp. ix and xxiii of volume 1, also restored on p. 496 of volume 2, on pp. 259 and 260 of volume 3, on pp. 481 and 482 of volume 4, and on pp. 173 to 176 of volume 5.

Copy with some marginal annotations: in volume 2, a manuscript footnote added in ink on p. 541 ("Voyez les Planches enluminures n°491"), erroneous manuscript dates in ink in volumes 2 and 8, the number "18" annotated in ink in the upper right corner of the rear endpaper of volume 9.

Copy richly illustrated with drawings by Jacques de Sève, engraved by Robert de Launay, Lucas, Michel, Madeleine-Thérèse Rousselet, C. Baron, Hubert, Catherine Haussard, Carl Gottlieb Guttenberg, Jean-Guillaume Blanchon, Menil, Dufour, Louis Claude Legrand, Claude Mathieu Fessard, Elisabeth Haussard, François Hubert, A.-B. Duhamel, Mlle Mansard, C. Baquoy, Heinrich Guttenberg, Laurent Guyot, Benazeth, Schmitz, Marie-Anne Rousselet (M. R. veuve Tardieu), Louis-Gabriel Monnier, Pierre-Étienne Moitte, Jean-Louis de Lignon, Levillain, N. du Four, Thomas Chambars, Nicolas Thomas, Luigi Valperga, and George Louis Biosse.

Accompanied by two additional plates, heightened in color, numbered XX and XXII, from a volume 7 of the Histoire naturelle des oiseaux.

Rare first edition illustrated with 10 folding plates, including 5 grammatical tables and 5 plates of calligraphy.

Not recorded in Blackmer, Atabey or Hage Chahine.

Half olive-green calf, spine with four raised bands framed with gilt garlands and decorated with small blind-stamped floral tools, black morocco title and author labels, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding.

Spine slightly darkened, small paper losses to the upper right corners of the first leaves not affecting the text, some foxing mainly at the end of the volume. Much better known for his role in the mission sent by Napoleon to the Shah of Persia to negotiate a counter-alliance against Turkey, Amédée Jaubert (1779–1847) was a distinguished orientalist, professor of Persian at the Collège de France, and of Turkish at the École des langues orientales, of which he became president in 1838.

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 these observations and proposed reforms concerning the Navy. Pierre-Alexandre Forfait (1752–1807) served as Minister of the Navy from November 1799 to October 1801.

Contemporary full fawn calf, mottled and polished, smooth spine tooled with gilt decorative compartments and false bands, red shagreen lettering-piece, joints lightly rubbed, boards framed with delicate gilt rolls, a few abrasions and small losses to the leather at the lower edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners softened, all edges gilt, a period binding.

Pierre-Alexandre Forfait (1752–1807) served as Minister of the Navy from November 1799 to October 1801.

Forfait and Bonaparte met in Venice around 1798, and it was he who "forma" the future Emperor in the principles of naval warfare that Napoleon would later wage against England.

In this pamphlet, he characterises the English in the following terms « … ces dominateurs des mers ne donneront jamais le temps nécessaire pour recréer et former une marine par les moyens ordinaires, la navigation marchande ou la pêche … Comptez qu'ils vous déclareront toujours la guerre, ou vous la feront sans la déclarer, avant que vos forces navales aient pu atteindre son degré de développement qui puisse les inquiéter ».

The plan of 21 July 1803, in which the flotilla was to operate without the support of the Navy, clearly demonstrates the deep influence Forfait’s ideas had on Bonaparte.

However, the group formed by Decrès, Ganteaume, Bruix and Villeneuve during the Egyptian campaign exerted a powerful influence on Napoleon; and Decrès ultimately succeeded in definitively supplanting Forfait.

Provenance: manuscript ex-libris of Decrès mounted on a pastedown; he succeeded the author as Minister of the Navy and remained in office until 1814.

First edition (cf. Martin & Walter, 16 491; Monglond III, 630; not in Schefer, Blackmer or Atabey).

Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine with a vertically lettered fawn sheepskin label, red edges; a modern binding.

Some foxing; marginal staining to the upper edges of the final leaves.

Excellent abridgement of General Hénin de Cuvillers’ diplomatic mission to Constantinople (1793–1795).

Upon his return from Turkey, Hénin (born 1755) took part in the Italian campaign of 1796 and was wounded at Caldiero and Arcole.

Appointed in 1802 as assistant to the general staff in Saint-Domingue, he was entrusted by Rochambeau with the colony’s military archives, which he brought back to Paris in 1804.

His military career under the Empire ended in 1813, when he was required to justify himself before the Grenoble court martial following the evacuation of the Simplon, deemed too hasty.

Granted retirement in 1815, he lived until 1841.

The 164 dispatches summarised in this volume provide valuable insights into diplomatic life in Constantinople, relations with the Revolutionary government, news from the Asian trading posts, the situation in the Levant, and maritime and military affairs.

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.]

Unique ensemble of works devoted to the philanthropic achievements of the Marquise d'Aligre (1776–1843).

Full olive-green calf, the spine slightly darkened, with five raised bands framed by triple gilt fillets and decorated with double gilt panels; gilt roll tools on the partially worn headcaps, rubbing to joints, gilt scrolling borders on the covers, gilt armorial device stamped at the centre of the upper cover, large blind-stamped fleuron at the centre of the lower cover; marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle border on the pastedowns, gilt edges somewhat dulled on the board edges, all edges gilt; lower corners softened; contemporary binding.

A few scattered spots.

The volume is bound with the arms of the Marquise d'Aligre’s husband, Étienne-Jean-François-Charles, Marquis d'Aligre (1770–1847), member of the Conseil général de la Seine in 1803, chamberlain to Caroline Murat (1804), peer of France under the Restoration, and supporter of the constitutional and liberal monarchy.

Louise Camus de Pontcarré, whom he married in 1810, was his second wife—and his first cousin.

"Femme de bien, possédant, comme son mari, une fortune considérable, elle s'associa à toutes ses oeuvres, les développant et en créant des nouvelles. Parmi celles-ci, il faut citer notamment l'asile d'Aligre à Chartres, l'hôpital d'Aligre à Bonneval (Eure-et-Loir), l'hôpital de Bourbon-Lancy (Saône-et-Loire)" [Dict. de biogr. française].

We provide below a detailed list of the pieces gathered in this volume:

• GRANDPERRET (Th.). Eloge de madame la marquise d'Aligre (…) Mémoire couronné par l'Académie royale des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Lyon. Lyon, Impr. et Lith. de Chanoine et Comp., 1846, 1 unnumbered leaf, 69 pp., double lithographed portrait on a tinted background. "La ville de Lyon se glorifie de posséder les plus beaux établissements que les particuliers aient élevés au soulagement des malheureux. Madame d'Aligre les vit et fut inspirée par ces grands exemples ! Il appartenait donc à l'Académie de Lyon de mettre au concours l'éloge de cette noble et charitable dame". These are the opening lines printed on the leaf bound after the half-title, followed by another leaf setting out the competition’s terms. – Inauguration de la chapelle et de la fontaine élevées à la mémoire de madame d'Aligre à Bourbon-Lancy. S.l., Impr. Gratiot, [1845], 2 unnumbered leaves.
• – CHALONS D'ARGE (A.P.). Madame la marquise d'Aligre. Sa vie, ses fondations, sa mort. [Paris], Impr. Gratiot, 1847, 2 unnumbered leaves and 29 pp. This pamphlet repeats the two introductory announcement leaves and the double lithographed portrait described above under "Grandperret". The half-title has been bound upside down.
• – GOUIN (Ed.). La marquise d'Aligre. Paris, Impr. Gratiot, 1847, 2 unnumbered leaves and 53 pp. With the two announcement leaves and the portrait.

Extremely scarce Toulon printing, illustrated with in-text figures and tables.

Only one copy recorded in the CCF (BnF).

Contemporary half brown sheep, the faded smooth spine gilt with fillets, garlands and floral tools, marbled paper boards slightly sunned at the head-margins, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges.

A tear without loss to the foot of the half-title.

A professor at Franeker and later at Amsterdam, Jan Hendrik van Swinden (1746–1823) was the most renowned Dutch physicist of the eighteenth century.

Rare first edition, illustrated with two vignettes: one on the title page and another at the head of the opening text leaf (cf. Backer & Sommervogel VII, 185, no. 58.)

See Brunet, "Recherches sur les imprimeries imaginaires, clandestines et particulières", p. 19.

Printed on the private presses of the Turin Court of Appeal, the work offers a detailed account of the miraculous phenomena reported in Rome between July 1796 and January 1797. The author rebuts, in particular, the sceptical reactions of the "fiers à bras du philosophisme".

Our copy is preserved in its original drab paper wrappers, the spine cracked, the covers soiled, a few spots, a pale dampstain at the head of the first leaves, and an inked stamp on the title-page.

Jean-Joseph Rossignol, born in Vallouise or La Pisse (Hautes-Alpes) on 3 July 1726, entered the Society of Jesus in 1742. He taught the classics, rhetoric, and philosophy at Marseille and, after the suppression in France (1762), at Vilna, where he directed the observatory. After 1773 he joined the Collegio dei Nobili in Milan, where he taught physics and mathematics for eighteen years. He died in Turin in 1817.

First issue of the fifty large hors-texte lithographs drawn from life by Henry John Terry (cf. Vicaire, VII, 1164).

Publisher’s binding in full red cloth, smooth spine decorated with blind-ruled compartments and fillets, light rubbing to the head- and tailcaps, gilt-lettered title on the front board, yellow endpapers, trace of a removed bookplate on one pastedown, one lower corner softened, slight discoloration to the lower left corner of the rear board, occasional marginal foxing, a small loss to the foot of page 119, and minor wormholes at the foot of the last three leaves, not affecting the text.

The fifty striking black lithographs depict the most picturesque views of Haute-Savoie.

Henry John Terry, originally from England, studied in Geneva under Alexandre Calame, the foremost Swiss landscape painter of the nineteenth century, and later settled in the country.

A well-preserved copy in the publisher’s original cloth.

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.

Very rare first edition.

This printing does not include the two maps later added by the publisher in the second issue, intended to illustrate the itinerary for readers who had not acquired the atlas (corresponding to plates XVIII and XXIV of the atlas), cf. Hage Chahine 3995. Röhricht 480-481. Chadenat 1712.

The text volume is largely unopened and includes one full-page plate.

The atlas volume, housed in a red full-cloth box and slipcase, is complete with all 27 plates (numbered I to XXVI, XVIII [bis]; plates XIX-XX are printed on a single sheet).

A very fine and rare copy in its original condition.

First edition of the French translation (cf. Atabey, 557 (text) and 569 (atlas). Blackmer, 788 (atlas). Hage Chahine, 2105.)

Contemporary half brown shagreen, spines uniformly sunned and faded, raised bands framed with black fillets, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers, gilt edges; a few lightly rubbed corners, one small defect to the foot of the edges of the fifteenth volume.

Some light foxing in the text volumes.

The atlas volume, folio, is issued in parts under ten beige paper wrappers with printed blue labels; the wrapper of part 6 is lacking; the general map of the Ottoman Empire has been restored in the final part; light foxing to the covers.

The original German edition was published in Budapest in ten volumes between 1827 and 1835. The illustrations comprise thirty-nine maps and plans—principally battle plans—prepared by the translator J. J. Hellert. The text includes eight folding genealogical tables of Ottoman princes and high dignitaries.

Joseph von Hammer, a renowned Austrian orientalist and diplomat, was born in Graz (Styria) in 1774. He entered the Royal Academy of Oriental Languages in Vienna, where he studied Turkish, Persian and Arabic. In 1799 he undertook his first journey to Constantinople; the following year he joined the British admiral Sidney Smith in the campaign against the French in Egypt as interpreter and translator. He attended the grand vizier’s council at Jaffa and the surrender of Alexandria. In 1802 he became secretary to the Austrian legation in Constantinople, from which he travelled into Asia Minor and Greece. Posted in 1806 to the consulate-general at Jassy in Moldavia, he was appointed interpreter at the Viennese chancellery in 1807. In 1817 he rose to the rank of court councillor. After inheriting the estates of the Counts of Purgstall, he added their name to his own and was created baron in 1835. He translated numerous oriental works into German and played a major role in the founding of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, serving as its first president from 1848 to 1849. He died in Vienna in 1856. "Aucun orientaliste avant lui n'a connu plus intimement les peuples musulmans et n'a autant contribué à nous faire connaître leurs mœurs, leur histoire et leur littérature […]. Il passa trente ans à réunir les documents [de son Histoire de l'Empire ottoman], qu'il a tirée de manuscrits orientaux et des archives de Saint-Marc à Venise, de celles de Vienne, et de tous les ouvrages publiés en Europe sur l'Empire ottoman" (Hoefer, XXIII, 259-267). Provenance: S. H. Weiss bookshop in Constantinople, located on the Grande Rue de Pera opposite the Russian consulate (label in each text volume).

Rare work. 

First edition of this second fascicle, printed in Pondicherry by the Rattinamodeliar Press.

Losses to the cracked backstrip and along the board edges, with a few minor spots.

CCFr records copies only at the BnF (the sole institution to hold a complete run), the Collège de France, and Sainte-Geneviève.

The second of the five fascicles of this exceedingly rare botanical publication: they are devoted respectively to Lawsonia alba [or inermis = henna] and to Aristolochia Indica (Indian birthwort).

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].

New edition, partly original, revised, corrected and enlarged.

Bound in full red morocco, spines with five raised bands decorated with gilt garlands and compartments adorned with crowned “LL” monograms, gilt rolls on the caps, triple gilt fillets framing the covers, gilt armorial stamps of Louis XV at the centre of each board, gilt dentelle border on the turn-ins, gilt fillets along the edges, marbled edges. Slightly rubbed corners. Contemporary bindings.

Some leaves slightly yellowed, minor paper flaw on page 101 of the second volume.

Extensive and highly useful table of contents at the end of the second volume. Jean-Antoine Soulatges, lawyer at the Parliament of Toulouse, who died in that city around 1780, was also the author of a Traité des crimes.

A handsome copy, in red morocco, bearing the cipher and arms of Louis XV (OHR pl. 2495, tools 12 and 30).

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."

First edition of the French translation, one of 25 numbered copies on pur fil, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

Blood red morocco binding, gilt title lenghtwise, gold stingray boards framed in morocco, gilt decorative paper endleaves, original wrappers preserved, top edge gilt, an elegant binding signed Boichot. Front free endpaper slightly toned, otherwise a handsome untrimmed copy.

Illustrated with original woodcuts by Jean-Gabriel Daragnès.

First edition of this rare album illustrated with 18 lithographed plates, including the title-frontispiece (see Inventaire du Fonds Français, VII, 243, no. 21).

This unbound suite is housed in a grey cloth chemise and matching modern slipcase, spine unlettered with two tears at head and tail, plain boards, light soiling to the lower board.

Some scattered foxing.

Very rare first edition, illustrated in each volume with a copper-engraved frontispiece by Tardieu after Monnet.

Half black grained cloth bindings, smooth spines decorated with blind fillets, marbled paper boards with light rubbing, sprinkled edges, modest late 19th-century bindings.

Some foxing and a few pale waterstains at the end of the second volume.

This work is an essay whose concerns are strikingly close to our own, though expressed in a very different context.

A founder of French ecological thought, the civil engineer François-Antoine Rauch (1762–1837) demonstrated the direct relationship between deforestation and the increase in extreme weather, calling for the preservation of nature in the interest of humankind. He denounced the large-scale clearing of forests undertaken across continents and advocated the restoration and protection of woodland areas.

In the same spirit, he defended wetlands and marshes, to be made healthy without being drained. The first volume is almost entirely devoted to the dangers and imbalances caused by deforestation; the second focuses on the regeneration of rivers and streams, as well as the drainage of marshes, the whole promoting a return to the “primordial harmony.”

A rare first edition, of which no subsequent reprint exists, complete with all his Neo-Latin poems, chiefly composed in Rome. The volume also contains two Greek poems at ff. 60 and 62, together with a poem which inspired the celebrated sonnet Happy he who like Ulysses.

Modern binding in full limp vellum, smooth spine, red edges, white pastedowns and endleaves.

Some defects within: discreet restoration to inner margin of title verso; small tear without loss at foot of ff. 2-3; dampstaining to lower margin of ff. 25-28 and 45-48; minimal marginal defect to f. 44, not affecting text.

Published in March 1558, this precious copy contains four books of Latin poems - Elegiæ, Varia Epigr[ammata], Amores [Faustinae], Tumuli - written by Du Bellay in Rome and Paris between 1553 and 1557. The collection, also referred to as Poemata or Œuvres latines, appeared in the same year as three other works from his Roman period: Les Regrets, Divers Jeux Rustiques, and Les Antiquitez de Rome.

First edition.

Contemporary half calf in a bronze tone, the spine with four raised bands framed by double gilt rules and gilt pointillé work, together with broad black fillets; joints rubbed, marbled paper sides, marbled endpapers, edges sprinkled; a period binding.

Scattered foxing.

Second edition, partly original as it was revised and enlarged, and the most complete form of this celebrated manual of local law for the island of Réunion (cf. Ryckebusch 2407; Toussaint & Adolphe D439).

The work is illustrated with three folding tables inserted out of text (two in the fifth volume, one in the last).

Contemporary half-sheep bindings in dark green, smooth spines gilt-tooled with dotted ornaments, fillets and garlands, gilt rolls at head and foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.

Some rubbing to a few headcaps and spines, the upper headcap of the sixth volume torn, restorations to several spines.

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.

Very rare edition (cf. Saffroy III, 35 251).

Disbound copy, with a faint dampstain in the left margin of the title-page and a few insignificant spots of foxing.

This separately published tract was later inserted into the first volume of the celebrated *Histoire généalogique de la maison d’Auvergne* (1708).

Appended here, detached from the first volume and forming the origin of the controversy: [BALUZE, MABILLON et RUINART]: Procez verbal. Contenant l'examen & discussion de deux anciens cartulaires & de l'obituaire de l'église de saint Julien de Brioude en Auvergne, de neuf anciens titres compris en sept feüillets de parchemin, & de dix autres anciens feüillets aussi en parchemin, contenant des fragmens de deux tables, l'une par ordre des chiffres, & l'autre par alphabet, lesquels ont esté destachez d'un ancien cartulaire de la mesme église. Le tout pour faire voir que Géraud de la Tour, I. du nom, duc de Guyenne & comte d'Auvergne, comme il paroist par la table généalogique qui suit. Printed in Paris by Théodore Muguet, 1695, title-leaf and 22 pp. (cf. Saffroy III, 35 252).

This tract, drafted at the request of Cardinal de Bouillon, was likewise inserted into the *Histoire généalogique de la maison d’Auvergne*.

Rare first edition (cf. Tailliart 2391).

Backstrip skewed and untitled, with a few losses and small tears to the board corners; light dampstaining at the head of the opening leaves, otherwise a clean and pleasing copy.

The author served as a military intendant and published several concise monographs on fortification and military administration.

First edition (cf. O'Reilly, 2192.)

Modern Bradel binding in brown half-cloth, forest-green morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, beige endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers retained albeit lightly soiled; binding signed by Boichot.

Illustrated with 49 photographic plates hors texte.

"Minutieuse histoire analytico-chronologique des trente premières années de la Calédonie européenne. Il annonçait une suite qui n'a jamais vu le jour" (O'Reilly).

First trade edition, one of only 50 numbered copies printed on alfa paper, the only deluxe issue.
Rare and very attractive copy in original condition.

First edition, printed on Vélin d’Angoulême, with the usual typographical errors, and containing the six proscribed poems; one of the few copies presented to the author and "intended for friends who render no literary services".

Full claret morocco binding, spine with five raised bands richly decorated with multiple gilt- and blind-tooled fillets; third-state covers; boards framed with multiple blind-tooled fillets; marbled endpapers; gilt turn-ins; all edges gilt; marbled paper slipcase with morocco border; signed binding by Semet & Plumelle.

Precious copy, enhanced with an autograph dedication in ink by the author on the dedication page, addressed to Paul Meurice, playwright, journalist, and close collaborator of Victor Hugo, « à Paul Meurice, témoignage d'amitié. Ch. Baudelaire » ["To Paul Meurice, in token of friendship. Ch. Baudelaire"]. Featuring twenty autograph corrections by the author to the printed dedication and four poems:

- At the dedication: two pencil corrections to the last words of the first line. Baudelaire adds a plural to “es langueS françaiseS,” “es” being, in fact, the contraction of “en les.” A surprising syntactical correction, sacrificing coherence, which the author later amended in 1861 to “Magicien es Lettres Françaises”.

- “La muse vénale”, p. 29: one ink correction to the final word of the last line of the first tercet, “Guère S,” one of the earliest misprints corrected by Baudelaire, which had nevertheless escaped him on the proofs, as with the following.

- “Le chat”, p. 110: one ink correction in the second line of the sixth quatrain, “au” logically changed to “un.”

- “Don Juan aux enfers”, p. 43: three ink corrections to the third line of the third tercet. The first, a simple misprint, “errant S,” had already troubled Baudelaire on the proofs, but its earlier correction had not been carried over.

The other two, “leS rivageS,” are not orthographic corrections but represent one of the very first poetic variants, absent from most presentation copies, foreshadowing the forthcoming complete revision of Les Fleurs du mal and the new original edition of 1861.

-"Le reniement de Saint Pierre", p. 217: a pencil correction on the fourth line of the second quatrain. The “D” replacing the “C” in “Cieux” is underlined three times. Curiously, the proofs reveal the exact opposite: “Les Dieux” was then corrected with a “C,” equally emphatically underlined. Anti-clerical remorse or altered alliteration? This correction, found in only a few copies, drew the poet’s attention to another misprint, still intact in our copy, later corrected in subsequent presentation copies: “au X doux bruit.”

-Baudelaire also inscribed a large “C” in pencil on pp. 52, 73, 91, 187, 191, and 206, at the head of the six poems condemned on 20 August 1857 for removal from copies in circulation. He transferred the same “C.” to the table of contents, opposite the six incriminated titles: Les Bijoux, Le Léthé, À celle qui est trop gaie, Lesbos, Femmes damnées: À la pâle clarté, and Les Métamorphoses du Vampire.

In total, twenty autograph interventions by Charles Baudelaire.

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.

Autograph manuscript signed of Victor Hugo’s “Ballade du fou,” sung by the jester Elespuru in his play Cromwell (IV, 1). Two pages on a folded leaf backed with green glazed paper.

Exceptional autograph manuscript of Victor Hugo’s most celebrated poetic song, performed by the jester Elespuru in his resounding drama Cromwell.

Both grotesque and exalted, this piece embodies the freedom of Romantic drama championed by Hugo in the play’s famous preface: as noted by the Bibliothèque nationale de France, this song “is the only passage in the play as equally famous as its preface”.

Rare first edition of this complete set gathering the three parts of this practical Cantonese manual, accompanied by one of the instructional booklets intended for the Chinese teacher.

The first two volumes are each illustrated with eight plates of ideograms printed hors texte. No copies recorded in the CCFr.

The third volume shows staining at the foot of the spine, a few small spots of foxing, and minor marginal tears with slight losses to the boards of the first volume.

A very uncommon set.

Second edition, partly original as it is considerably expanded (cf. Sabin 59254, Howes 7805, F. Monaghan 1171).

Half black shagreen binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt double fillets and a gilt pastoral motif, a restored tear to the headcap, black paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, contemporary binding.

Scattered foxing.

Provenance: Copy from the library of Marquis Claude-Emmanuel-Joseph-Pierre de Pastoret (1755–1840), with his heraldic device gilt-stamped at the foot of the spine.

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 (cf. Tailliart 2540).

Quarter shagreen in a dark bottle-green hue with corner pieces, the smooth spine slightly toned and decorated with blind fillets, marbled paper sides, cat’s-eye patterned endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding signed Honnelaître.

A light marginal dampmark at the foot of the half-title and title pages; scattered, unobtrusive foxing.

The author (1781–1852) was a colonial administrator: "Une introduction de trente pages sur les erreurs de la politique suivie à l’égard des Arabes : trop de faiblesse chez nous ; de glorieuses expéditions, mais pas de résultat positif durable. Il attaque Bresson qui a préconisé la formation d’un empire arabe qui ferait la transition entre la barbarie actuelle et une civilisation voisine de la nôtre. Il est partisan de petits beyliks placés sous notre contrôle, indépendants les uns des autres. Il faut faire combattre les Arabes par les Arabes. Nécessité de la force à l’égard des Arabes.

En dernier lieu, réfutation du livre de Blanqui : il lave les colons des accusations lancées contre eux. Exposé de la thèse des colons avec leurs avis et leurs desiderata".

At the head of the half-title, signed presentation inscription from Armand Gabriel Rozey to M. Billi, "homme de lettres à Alger", dated 17 December 1841.

First edition of the French translation prepared by Michel Vaucaire, who would later write the lyrics to the famous song Non, je ne regrette rien, singed by Édith Piaf. One of the rare named copies printed on japon. 

Vertical creasing to spine, minor corner losses to spine and boards, traces of erasure to first two leaves, as issued.

Illustrated with 9 black-and-white photographs, including one on the cover.

First edition.

Half calf binding with small vellum corners, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and dentelle rolls, an old red morocco title label, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges; a modern binding.

A few passages unfortunately underlined in red ballpoint pen on several leaves (around ten in total), a light marginal dampstain on the first two leaves, modern bookplate pasted on a pastedown.

Only edition, uncommon, of this unexpected work: the Dauphinois Claude-Pierre de Delay d'Agier (1750–1827) was above all a political figure of the Revolution and the Empire, mayor of Romans in 1789, fully committed to the new ideas. Yet he had attended in Lunéville from 1774 the course in hippiatry given by Lafosse, who became his friend and whom he greatly admired; hence this atypical publication in the author's career.

Uncommon first edition.

An early controversy over the skin color of the first known anthropoids, marked by sharply divided opinions rooted as much in common preconceptions as in anthropological analysis.

All participants in the debate were recognized authorities in their respective fields: Pierre-Toussaint Marcel de Serres de Mesplès (1780–1862) in geology; Pierre Lacour (1778–1859) in art history and techniques; and Charles Des Moulins (1798–1875) in botany.

Minor tears and slight losses at the corners of the wrappers, without affecting integrity.

Manuscript ex-libris “La Neufville” at the head of the front cover.

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.

Rare first edition.

Only two copies recorded in the CCFr (BnF and Lyon).

Modern full grey paper Bradel binding, smooth spine, long paper spine label, sprinkled edges.

At the time of publication, this pamphlet stood far ahead of contemporary thinking and anticipated the formation of the Second French Colonial Empire in Africa: assuming that France would retain and expand its recent conquest of Algiers, the author advances the notion of a French civilising mission among the Black populations of Africa, whom he considers with notable intelligence and openness.

Jean-François-Aimé Peyré (1792–1868) served as a judge at the civil court of Villefranche-sur-Saône.

Near-complete run of this scarce bi-monthly magic periodical.

Profusely illustrated (lacking only issues 1, 4 and 5 for the year 1947), Robelly having voluntarily ceased publication after issue 121.

Contemporary half sheep bindings in shades of fawn, brown or beige, spines with four raised bands gilt-tooled with floral ornaments, most spines faded or discoloured, a few minor rubs to some spines, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges; modest period bindings.

Robert Rouet, known as Robelly (1894–1975), was something of the historiographer of the "magician’s" profession, assembling a remarkable body of information and documentation.

At the beginning of the first volume appear issues 1, then 7–19 (January–February 1944, then November–December 1944 to November–December 1946) of the CRMT – Bulletin officiel de l’Amicale Robert-Houdin, Groupe régional des magiciens de la Touraine (8 pp., then pp. 57–254, including two special issues).

A pleasing and uncommon near-complete set of this illustrated magic periodical.

Very rare first edition of the Japanese translation, accompanied by Taiichi Ogawa’s annotated commentary.

Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Alphonse Daudet.

Spine with two tears at head and foot, soiling to the wrappers, a few minor spots internally.

First Japanese edition of Alphonse Daudet’s masterpiece. Harshly received in Provence upon its publication in 1872, despite the support of Frédéric Mistral, the novel soon came to be regarded as one of the landmarks of French literature, and the character of Tartarin became the emblem—and finest ambassador—of the city of Tarascon.

Very rare first edition (cf. Monglond VII 661).

Contemporary half brown sheep with corners, smooth spine gilt with floral tools and fillets, rubbing to spine and joints, marbled paper boards, grey endpapers and pastedowns, corners softened, yellow edges.

Pleasant, clean interior.

A shadowy figure who was by turns (and at times simultaneously) a secret agent, Tallien’s associate, a Revolutionary pamphleteer, and a double agent under the Directory and the Empire, Méhée de La Touche (1762–1827) left in 1784 on a covert diplomatic mission to Poland and Russia, from which he was expelled at the end of 1791. The correspondence he publishes here (running from 1788 to July 1791) abounds in valuable information on the social and political situation of these countries at the close of the eighteenth century.

Rare collection, in first edition, of political texts relating to the affairs of Belgium (shaken by the Brabant Revolution since 1787) and the Netherlands (whose opponents of the Stadtholder had often taken refuge in France).

As indicated by the handwritten table bound at the beginning of the volume, this copy constitutes only the first of a series of collections compiled by Roederer (see below) from the memoirs and pamphlets he received while serving as a member of the Constituent Assembly.

Contemporary full mottled fawn calf, smooth spine gilt-decorated with garlands and urns (partly faded), rubbed head- and tailpieces, green morocco title-piece, gilt dentelle and garland borders on the covers, gilt fillet on the edges, corners rubbed, yellow edges sprinkled with red.

Some foxing at the end at the last booklet.

The contents are as follows:

 - I. Mémoire pour les patriotes Hollandois réfugiés en France. S.l.n.d. [Paris, 1790], 40 pp. 

• II. Mémoire remis au Comité des pensions de l'Assemblée nationale, par quelques Hollandois réfugiés en France, le 19 novembre 1790. S.l.n.d. [1790], 16 pp.
• - III. Note instructive remise en mai 1791 aux membres de l'Assemblée Nationale, par quelques Hollandois actuellement à Paris. [Paris], Imprimerie de H. J. Jansen, s.d. [1791], 23 pp.
• - IV. Manifeste du peuple brabançon. S.l., 1789, 40 pp.
• - V. [DUMOURIEZ (Charles-François):] Le Guide des nations, ou Correspondance politique et morale sur la France et les Pays-Bas. Paris, Imprimerie d'A.J. Gorsas, s.d. [1790], 110 pp.

Provenance: from the library of the lawyer, playwright, journalist and statesman Pierre-Louis Roederer (1754–1835), with his printed ex-libris on a pastedown, and at the head of part V, a signed presentation inscription from Charles-François Dumouriez to Pierre-Louis Roederer.

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, one of 24 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only deluxe issue.

With sections devoted in particular to Cesare Pavese and Alberto Moravia...

A rare and attractive copy of Dominique Fernandez’s first published work.