Sciences & Médecine

New edition, partly original, constituting a revised and expanded version of the author’s doctoral thesis.

A few minor spots of foxing. 

Contemporary full fawn calf, smooth spine gilt with decorative friezes and floral tools, slight rubbing to the joints, red shagreen title label, gilt rolls to the spine ends, marbled endpapers, marbled edges, gilt fillets to the board edges, period binding. 

A military physician, the author took part in the Russian campaign and was attached to the Imperial Guard field hospitals in Vilna under the command of Larrey. 

Rare first edition, complete with the folding plate depicting the stove bound at the end. "First collected edition of these various reports concerning charitable institutions built following the model of the famous 'Rumford stoves'" (Oberlé).
Contemporary binding in half blond sheep, spine elaborately decorated in gilt with fillets and tools in the shape of stars and leaves, and with a red morocco title label; marbled paper boards, all edges yellow. The front flyleaf bears bibliographical notes in pencil concerning the authors of the collection.

Complete new edition of Buffon's works, published in Paris by Eymery between 1825 and 1828 according to the arrangement established by the Comte de Lacépède and completed by the supplementary volume issued in 1828. A handsome complete set in 26 bound volumes (13.5 × 21 cm; total shelf length: 103 cm), illustrated with 245 plates: Buffon's portrait engraved by Devéria as the frontispiece, 216 hand-coloured plates - some heightened with gold - including 91 devoted to mammals and 126 to birds, 13 plates in black, and 4 folding maps. Most of the coloured plates were executed by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre, the animal painter successively attached to Empress Joséphine's menagerie...

A uniformly bound contemporary set of the Abbé Bertholon’s three major treatises on electricity, in five octavo volumes.

De l’électricité du corps humain dans l’état de santé et de maladie, Paris, Croulbois, and Lyon, Bernuset, 1786, 2 volumes: second edition, considerably enlarged, the first edition of 1780 having appeared in a single volume; 6 folding plates at the end of volume II.

De l’électricité des végétaux, Paris, P. F. Didot jeune, 1783: first edition, illustrated with 3 folding plates and a folding table of plant diseases.

De l’électricité des météores, Lyon, Bernuset, 1787, 2 volumes: first edition, Lyon...

New edition, illustrated with a full-length portrait frontispiece of Lavater by Stober and 30 plates for volume 1, 30 for the second volume, 30 for the third, 29 for volume 4 and 2 facsimiles of his handwriting; all these plates are contained in an atlas. The four volumes are bound in two volumes. Each plate contains 2 to 12 figures.
Contemporary 3/4 burgundy shagreen binding, spine with false raised bands decorated with gilt and blind fillets, marbled paper boards, all edges marbled.
Bindings skillfully restored. Scattered foxing throughout text.

Paris, Jean-Thomas Hérissant, 1759. Three octavo volumes.

First edition in French of Johann Gottlob Lehmann's Traités de physique, d'histoire naturelle, de minéralogie et de métallurgie, translated and annotated by Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach. All three volumes bear this collective half-title and bring together in French for the first time several of the German scientist's principal works on mining, mineralogy, metallurgy and geology.

Second edition statement, after the first published in 1762, with 14 folding tables (most copies announcing only 13). 4 pages of catalogue in fine. Author's preface for this new corrected and expanded edition.
Contemporary full marbled brown sheep binding. Raised band spine with ornaments. Red morocco title label, black morocco volume label. Headcap of volume I torn off, damage to that of volume II. A lack at the tail of volume II. Corners very blunted and stripped. Set very rubbed.
Red stamp on title page: Bibliothèque de M. Héricart de Thury, Conseiller d'état.
Treatise on mineralogy based on Wallerius's system and Linné's classification, with the mechanical properties...

Rare French first edition in the translation by Esprit Pézenas, illustrated with 2 title vignettes and 78 folding plates representing instruments used for physics demonstrations.

Armorial copy with unidentified coat of arms.
Contemporary full porphyry sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Beige calf title label, brown sheep volume label. One lack to foot of volume I. Light lack to head compartment of volume II and to foot compartment. Split to upper joints at foot of both volumes, 1cm. Corners with leather losses, as well as to edges. The use of acid to achieve the porphyry marbling has caused certain alterations to the leather, notably...

First edition, with the illustrations of the author (often missing) and 79 plates (plate 27-28 double page) hors texte steel-engraved by Forestier after drawings by Antoine Chazal.
Strictly contemporary Romantic binding in brown calf, spine in six compartments richly decorated with gilt fillets and blindtooled arabesques, boards with blindtooled arabesques to corners, double fillet frame and gilt initials ‘A.D.' to centre, gilt roulette framing marbled endpapers and pastedowns, double gilt fillets to edges of covers. Binding very skilfully restored.
Jacques-Pierre Maygrier (1771-1835) was a student of Antoine Dubois, the obstetrician of Empress Marie-Louise. He practiced at the...

First collected edition, bringing together Opuscules de physique animale et végétale and Expériences pour servir à l'histoire de la génération des animaux et des plantes; avec une ébauche de l'histoire des êtres organisés avant leur fécondation par Jean Sennebier. Translation by Jean Sennebier. The third volume: Expériences, etc, bears the imprint of Barthélémy Chirol in Geneva with the same date of 1787 (same imprint as for the original published in 1785). Edition illustrated with 9 folding plates at the end, 3 in the first volume and 6 in the third.

Contemporary full speckled calf bindings. Smooth spines decorated with...

Contemporary spotted sheep, spine with four tools and roulettes to head and foot, red morocco title- and black morocco volume- labels, roulette frame to covers. Spines uniformly and slightly faded, lack to first blind-ruled compartment of spine of volume one. A good copy.

The work, in the form of an alphabetical dictionary, provides an overview of contemporary knowledge of natural history (mineralogy, botany, zoology, entomology, astronomy, and so on). Each article...

First edition. Rare.

Contemporary full calf bindings. Smooth spines with gilt fillets. Red and black morocco title and volume labels. Gilt fillet borders on covers. All edges gilt. Some rubbing.

Antoine de La Salle (1754-1829), philosopher and scientist, was certainly one of the most curious thinkers of his time; his ideas, sometimes whimsical and muddled, made him the leader of the physico-moral school. Physiognomy naturally plays an important part in this theory. La Mechanique is both a classical treatise on physiognomy and a new way of considering the relationship between morals and the body from an educational perspective. Beyond this...

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".
 

First edition illustrated with 27 folding engraved plates and four charts.

Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Spine with five raised bands. All edges red. Head slightly worn, corners bumped, upper joint cracked at head for 3cm.

First edition of the French translation by Camus with the Greek text facing.

Contemporary marbled full calf bindings. Smooth spines decorated with two grotesque compartments and two stamps, fillets and rolls. Red morocco title labels and black morocco volume labels. Headcap of volume I worn. Rubbing.

Camus's translation is highly esteemed, though it concerns only the first volume, the second gathering notes and observations on modern natural history. Camus further establishes the importance of Aristotle's work and its influence on natural history bibliography. There is an interesting table allowing one to locate animals in Aristotle, in Greek, Latin and...