Illustrated Books

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.

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, 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.”

Reprint of the 1709 Regensburg edition by the heirs of Mathias Kerner, published under a false imprint (actually printed in Rouen). This copy illustrated with 10 plates (numerous portraits), including 2 folding plates (the procession of the League and the estates of the League) and one in-text illustration. Title pages printed in red and black. Frontispiece repeated in all 3 volumes. Contemporary bindings in full polished calf. Spines with raised bands, richly decorated. Red morocco lettering-pieces and brown morocco volume numbering-pieces. Headcap of volume III restored. Split at head of upper joint of volume I. Paper browned to varying degrees throughout. A handsome, decorative copy. 18th-century armorial bookplate of Louise de Vivier.

Reprint of the early edition, augmented for the first time with Jean Godefroy's notes. It incorporates all previous additions, including those from Duchat's edition.

Among the foundational texts of this late 16th-century collection, the Catholicon is attributed to Pierre le Roy, the verses to Jean Passerat and Pierre Rapin, and the harangues to J. Gillot. This gathering of distinguished and talented men of letters confers considerable literary value upon the pamphlet (the Satire enjoyed successful editions into the 19th century). "At once a comedy, a pamphlet, and a coup d'état, the Satyre Ménippée paved Henry IV's way to the throne" (P. Larousse). The collection of historical, polemical, satirical, and literary texts assembled in the 18th-century editions constitutes the richest testimony to the history of the League.

First collected edition of the works by the author of Les Étourdis ou le Mort supposé, a comedy that enjoyed great success just before the Revolution.

The set includes a portrait frontispiece in the first volume, four engraved plates, and ten engraved headpieces.

Bound in contemporary full polished and mottled brown calf, gilt decoration, smooth spines with six false raised bands highlighted with gilt fillets and repeated gilt floral tools, gilt fillet frames on covers bordered with a garland roll, gilt tooling to head- and tailpieces, green morocco spine labels, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt edges on boards, marbled edges, contemporary bindings.

Some foxing to a few leaves of volume IV and to the endpapers, with minor surface abrasions to the covers.

Poet and playwright F.-G.-J.-S. Andrieux (1759–1833) was for a time drawn to politics under the Consulate.

He is remembered for his famous retort to Bonaparte, who reproached him for his opposition in the Tribunate: « Citoyen Premier Consul, on ne s'appuie que sur ce qui résiste ».

In literature, however, his ultra-classical tastes prevented him from recognizing the genius of Balzac, of whom he said, after hearing Cromwell: « Ce jeune homme doit faire quoi que ce soit, excepté de la littérature ». A splendid copy in Bradel-Derome le jeune bindings (cf. Coligny, Bradel-Derome, type A-T2), bearing a printed label on the pastedown of the first volume and, beneath it, the bookplate of the library of Vicomte E. de Bourbon-Busset (1799–1863).

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 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 of this important work on cryptogams, illustrated with 36 hand-coloured plates (cf. Pritzel 3345).

Contemporary half calf with vellum corners, flat spine decorated with gilt floral rolls, partly rubbed, joints worn, lower cap trimmed with a small loss, black morocco title label, blue paper-covered boards.

Endpapers soiled, a few small spots of foxing.

Justin Girod-Chantrans, writer and naturalist [Besançon, 1750–1841], was one of the founders of the Société d’Agriculture du Doubs.

He was elected a member of the legislative body in 1802 (cf. Hoefer).

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with 34 plates, including one in colour.

See Garrison & Morton, 2465 (for the original German edition).

Contemporary full marbled cream paper boards, smooth spine with some rubbing and small losses, decorative motif of three acorns stamped in the centre of the covers, modern bookplate pasted on the verso of the front board.

Some light foxing.

First French translation of Abhandlung über die Saamen- und Infusionsthierchen, und über die Erzeugung, nebst mikroskopischen Beobachtungen des Saamens der Thiere in verschiedenen Infusionen (1778).

The biologist Wilhelm Friedich von Gleichen-Russwurm (1717–1783) was the first to develop the staining of bacteria (with carmine and indigo) to facilitate their microscopic observation.

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.

First edition, illustrated with two plates, one of which in colour, comprising thirteen figures (cf. Quérard IV, 49).

Half green shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands decorated with gilt tools, light rubbing to the spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, mid-19th-century binding.

Occasional foxing, three small holes to the lower right corner of the title page, manuscript ex-libris: Antoine Delarue – June 1810.

“One of the most remarkable works on natural history of this century. The author devotes an entire chapter to the history of the females; he describes their loves, the way in which new colonies are established and old ones preserved. Passing from the relations between the workers and the winged individuals to those between the workers themselves, he follows them in their migrations, their travels, their particular conduct; he observes the battles fought between ants of different species, etc.”

First edition of this first part illustrated with three copperplate engravings.

Contemporary flexible boards covered with marbled paper, smooth brown percaline spine with a small snag at foot, red morocco title label on the front cover, rubbed corners.

Rare.

Edition published one year after the original, illustrated with four fine copper-engraved plates by Charles Eisen depicting Nordic types (Icelandic women, a bear hunt, Samoyeds, a Laplander in a sleigh) engraved by Le Mire, one folding map by Bellin, thirteen maps, plans, or views (eight of them folding) engraved by Croissey, as well as a charming engraved title vignette and a headpiece by Le Gouaz.

See Sabin, 37616; Chadenat, 1633; Boucher de la Richarderie, I, 380.

Full mottled calf binding, smooth spine richly gilt in compartments decorated with gilt fleurons and geometric motifs, sometimes slightly rubbed, red morocco label, restorations to spine and joints, gilt roll tooling on the caps, red-speckled citron edges, gilt fillets on the board edges; late eighteenth-century binding.

A tall, wide-margined copy.

Provenance: copy from the Château de Menneval, with an engraved bookplate mounted on the pastedown.

First edition of the French translation prepared by Joseph Lavallée.

The atlas volume is illustrated with 16 plates (portrait, views, birds, insects), 12 engraved music plates (printed on 6 leaves), and a large folding map on thick paper (cf. Quérard, I, 6; British Museum (Natural History), I, 8 for the atlas only; Pritzel, 6 for the original English edition).

Bound in contemporary half calf, smooth spines gilt-tooled with floral ornaments, rolls and motifs, sometimes slightly faded, orange calf title and volume labels, marbled paper boards, a few rubs and minor defects along the joints, sprinkled red edges; the atlas volume in contemporary half brown calf, smooth gilt-tooled spine with a few small losses at foot, some rubbing to joints and boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

Our copy is complete with the Finnish bath plate, often lacking.

First edition, cf. Quérard I, 271: only cites an 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 title-frontispiece after Meunier, contains 52 double-page or folding plates inserted into the pagination, without following its numbering logic.

The second volume has an engraved title-frontispiece 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 title-pieces, green morocco volume labels, gilt rolls on the caps, 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 of the French translation (cf. Gay 368).

Rare copy preserved in its original wrappers, complete with the accompanying atlas volume containing 7 maps, including 2 large folding ones.

Some light foxing, a few marginal tears to the wrappers of the atlas volume.

The English geographer Hugh Murray [1779-1846] devoted many years to enlarging and completing this work begun by the English orientalist John Leyden [1775-1811].

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Magellan and four maps and plans depicting the Strait of Magellan (cf. Sabin, 16765; Leclerc, 1971; Chadenat, 552).

Our copy does not include the appendix published in 1793. "A work difficult to find with the second part" (cf. Chadenat).

Full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt fillets and decorated gilt compartments, gilt rolls on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges, gilt fillets along the edges, modern binding in period style.

An engaging account of this region of South America, containing the following illustrations: Carta Esferica de la parte sur de la America Meridional, año 1788. – Carta reducida des estrecho de Magallanes, año 1788. – Primer plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786. – Segundo plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786.

Fine copy formerly belonging to naval captain Gaston de Rocquemaurel (1804–1878), second-in-command to Dumont d’Urville during the South Pole and Oceania expedition from 1837 to 1840, with his signature on the title page.

Handsome example of a binding executed in imitation of the eighteenth century.

Pirate edition of 1812, imprint dated 1796. It features the exact pagination of the genuine 1796 edition, as well as the 13 plates and 2 frontispieces by Monnet, Mlle Gérard and Fragonard fils engraved by Baquoy, Duplessi-Bertaux, Dupréel, Godefroy, Langlois, Lemire, Lingée, Masquelier, Patas, Pauquet, Simonet and Trière. The pirate edition is identified by the letters “R. p. D.” in the plates' lower margins, as they have been retouched by Delvaux. In addition, the fillet preceding the date on the title-page is wavy, and the title is presented in seven lines rather than eight.

Bound in full morocco, slight rubbing on the corners, all edges gilt, splendid binding signed by Hardy.

A very fine copy in a magnificent decorated full morocco binding by Hardy.

Fine copy of the illustrated new edition of 1820, printed in 4 volumes, enriched with The Influence of Women during the Empire and historical notes by Charles Nodier.

Half burgundy embossed shagreen, smooth spine decorated with gilt friezes and fillets, marbled paper boards, yellow-stained edges. Corners of headcaps rubbed, wear to joints and some foxing. Scratch to spine of volume 2.

This copy contains 4 frontispieces engraved by Ad. Godefroy after drawings by Chasselat. The title pages of the four volumes bear a contemporary manuscript ex-libris: "Louis Perrot."

Some defects within this copy: in volume 2, edges slightly damaged; in volume 3, old restorations to the title page; in volume 4, one leaf folded at upper left corner p. 70, small corner chips to pp. 125 and 139 (not affecting text), slight corner tears to pp. 213 and 267, 4 pages stuck together (pp. 241, 242, 243, 244) and a wormhole p. 261.

The ‘Kehl edition’, the most renowned edition of Voltaire's works, illustrated and published on deluxe paper. It was printed on five different types of paper, and only the deluxe editions, such as ours on laid paper, feature engravings. These are naturally the most sought-after and rarest copies.

Binding in full painted sheep decorated with a “honeycomb” motif, smooth spine tooled with gilt fleurons, fillets and compartments, light beige calf lettering and volume pieces, gilt chain-roll border on covers, marbled endpapers, gilt roll on edges, all edges marbled, contemporary binding. Two volumes (nos. 50 and 70) with slight variations in gilt tools on the spines and with orange morocco lettering pieces, edges and covers treated somewhat differently. General condition of the 70 volumes: bindings with light rubbing to corners, gilt a little dulled, occasional foxing, a few wormholes and old restorations, not affecting the text. 28 volumes (vols. 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 43, 48, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70) with cracked joints at the ends, and 20 volumes (vols. 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 33, 34, 37, 42, 46, 49, 53, 56, 57, 60, 65, 66, 68, 70) with damaged caps.

Two editions were published at the same time. Our copy belongs to the prestigious in-8 edition on large paper published in 70 volumes (the other edition being in-12 format in 92 volumes). It is richly illustrated with 125 etched plates:

- There are 17 portraits, including 3 of Voltaire: a frontispiece portrait by N. de Largillière engraved by P. Alex. Tardieu; one drawn from Houdon's bust by Moreau le Jeune and engraved by P. Alex. Tardieu; and one allegorical portrait by Louis Croutelle after Moreau le Jeune, belonging to the second series of illustrations of Voltaire's works executed by Moreau for the publisher Renouard. The 14 other portraits include an allegorical frontispiece of Frédéric-Guillaume, Prince of Prussia, depicted in profile in a medallion by Dambrun after Moreau le Jeune; a portrait of Henry IV by Pourbus engraved by Tardieu; one of Charles VII engraved after the original in the King's Cabinet by Mavieri; another of Agnès Sorel drawn by Moreau the Younger after the original in the King's Cabinet and engraved by Mavieri; one of Joan of Arc engraved by Beisson; followed by the Count of Dunois engraved after the original in the King's Cabinet by J. B. Fosseyeux; one of Louis XIV drawn by Moreau Le Jeune after C. Le Brun engraved by J. B. Fosseyeux; one of Charles XII engraved by P. Alex. Tardieu after the original in the King's Cabinet; one of Pierre I engraved by P. G. Langlois after a painting by L. Caravaque; one of Madame du Châtelet after Marie Anne Loir and engraved by P. G. Langlois; one of the Count of Argental after J. Defraine and engraved by J. B. Fosseyeux; one of Frédéric II of Prussia painted from life by Van Loo and engraved by P. G. Langlois; one of Catherine II of Russia engraved by J. B. Fosseyeux; and one of d'Alembert after De La Tour engraved by N. F. Maviez.

- 93 engravings by Moreau le Jeune, including 44 figures for le Théâtre (engraved by Lingée, Simonet, de Launay, Trière, Halbou, Duclos, Romanet, Dambrun, de Longueil, Delignon, Le Mire, Le Veau), 10 for la Henriade (engraved by Masquelier, Delignon, Dambrun, Patas, Gutemberg, Helman, Simonet, Duclos, Romanet), 21 for la Pucelle (engraved by Simonet, Dambrun, Halbou, Baquoy, Trière, Delignon, de Longueil, Croutelle and Duclos), 4 for the Contes (in verse, engraved by Langlois, Duclos, Delignon and Le Veau) and 14 for the Romans (engraved by Trière, Duclos, de Longueil, Dambrun, Baquoy, Delignon, Simonet, Langlois and Halbou). 

- 14 scientific plates in volume 31, illustrating the experiments of Newton, Descartes and Leibniz.

- 1 battle plan in volume 24 about the Histoire de l'Empire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand.

According to Bengesco (IV, no. 2142), our copy is missing a portrait of Louis XV in volume 22, as well as a portrait of Voltaire by De La Tour (replaced here in the last volume by an allegorical portrait by Louis Croutelle after Moreau le Jeune). This copy includes all the additional portraits, with the exception of two illustrations that are almost always missing: a portrait of Vertot and an engraving of the Œuvres.

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 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.

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.

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.
 

Celebrated edition entirely engraved both images and text, richly illustrated with 6 engraved titles, a frontispiece and an engraved half-title for volume I, together with 243 figures, 473 vignettes and tail-pieces engraved by Fessard. The illustration of the first three volumes is the work of Monnet, and in the last three by Fessard after Bardin, Bidauld, Caresme, Desrais, Houel, Kobell, Le Clerc, Leprince, Loutherbourg, and Meyer. The text is entirely engraved by Montulay and Drouet within decorative borders. 
Contemporary red morocco bindings, flat spines gilt in a lattice design with floral gilttooling, beige morocco volume and title labels, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, gilt fillet on the edges, gilt roll-tooled borders on the pastedowns, blue paper endleaves and doublures, gilt dentelle turn-ins, all edges gilt. Joints expertly restored.

A handsome copy, elegantly bound in contemporary red morocco with richly gilt-tooled spines, of this edition undertaken by Etienne Fessard, dedicated to the heirs to the kingdom or"enfants de France", the Duke of Berry, the Count of Provence, and the Count of Artois.

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a portrait frontispiece and a folding map of Beloutchistan and Sindhy, together with parts of Kotch, Sedjistan, Khorasan, and Persia (cf. Quérard VII, 300).

Traces of removed bookplates on the pastedowns.

Half blond sheepskin bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and garlands, title and volume labels in fawn sheep, upper cap of the second volume lacking, small loss to the upper cap of the first volume, traces of rubbing to the spines, corners in green vellum, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges, contemporary bindings.

Very rare first edition illustrated at the end with 4 folding plates (cf Quérard VII, 190).

Modern binding in half mottled sheep with small vellum corners, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets, red morocco title-piece, marbled paper boards.

The author was a lawyer and architect in Lunéville.

Chapters on fire, the causes of fires, stoves and chimneys, floors, partitions, staircases, roofing, etc.

Pleasant copy.

New edition illustrated with 79 woodcuts in the text (cf. Bibliographie der Spielbücher).

Contemporary limp vellum, plain spine rubbed and soiled, covers stained.

Light dampstaining at the head of the opening leaves, at the foot of the first part, and affecting other leaves.

The work is generally attributed to Father Leurechon (1591-1670), a Jesuit from Lorraine, professor of mathematics, philosophy and theology at the University of Pont-à-Mousson (Dictionary of Scientific Biography VIII 271), though its authorship remains disputed (cf. David Singmaster, Bibliography of Some Recreational Mathematics Books, 2004, who attributes it to Hendrik van Etten).

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.

Rare first edition of the French translation prepared by Thomas-François Dalibard at the request of the Comte de Buffon (cf Wheeler Gift 367d. Waller 11339. DSB V, pp. 129-139).

Full mottled calf, spine with five raised bands ruled in gilt and decorated with double gilt compartments with floral tools, red morocco lettering-piece, gilt rolls on the caps (partly rubbed), restorations to head and tail of spine as well as to the corners of the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on the edges, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

Some foxing, a dampstain to the upper right corner of the first endpaper.

The English first edition was published in London in 1751 under the title "Experiments and observations on electricity made at Philadelphia in America" (cf. Norman 830 for that edition).

Rare first edition of Euler's first work devoted to astronomy (cf. Houzeau and Lancaster I, 11948. Poggendorff I, 689. La Lande 422. DSB IV, 467-484.)

Illustrated with a frontispiece (printed on f. A4) and 4 engraved plates at the end of the volume.

Some minor foxing, mostly towards the end of the volume.

Modern half vellum binding, smooth unlettered spine, comb-marbled paper boards, red edges.

This work dates from the very beginning of Euler's stay in Berlin (where he had been invited by Frederick II of Prussia), a period of intense activity across several fields of science.

The work is described as a "fundamental work on calculation of orbits" in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography.

Jérôme De La Lande already noted in his Bibliographie astronomique (Paris, 1803): «Ce livre est le premier où l'on ait traité analytiquement les orbites des planètes et des comètes».

One of the principal works of dynamical astronomy, Euler’s equations being of capital importance.

First edition of this fine collection comprising 72 numbered copper-engraved plates. (cf. Katalog der Ornamentstichsammlung Berlin, 2744. Brunet, V, 199 lists the author's name as Scheult).

Contemporary half calf binding with vellum-tipped corners, recently rebacked with a smooth spine decorated with gilt ornamental rolls and fleurons, olive green morocco label. Some rubbing to the spine, marbled paper-covered boards.

Scattered foxing, light dampstain to the upper outer corner of most leaves.

Rare first edition of the French translation established by P.-F. Henry. (Gay 2683.)

Some occasional light foxing.

The work also includes an oblong quarto atlas, in which map no. 6 has been bound upside down, containing 33 engraved plates and maps (1 to 32 plus 1bis) based on the author's original drawings.

The illustrations comprise 8 maps or plans and 25 plates depicting a variety of subjects: views, portraits, inscriptions, buildings, hunting scenes, animals, etc.

As is frequently the case, our copy lacks the out-of-text plate in volume 2 showing ancient inscriptions.

In 1809, Henry Salt was sent on a diplomatic mission to Abyssinia to establish trade relations with England. During this, his second journey to the region, he traveled along the eastern coast of Africa, visited Portuguese colonies, and collected extensive data on the hydrography of the coastal areas. In addition to the travel narrative, the work includes several vocabularies of African tribes ranging from Mozambique to Egypt: Makua, Monjour, Somali, Hurrur, Galla, Darfur, Amharic, Tigrinya, etc.; it also contains notes on Abyssinian birdlife and rare plants.

A handsome copy preserved in its original publisher’s wrappers, with plain covers and title labels pasted at the heads of the spines (minor marginal flaws to the plain covers, without significance).

Second edition of the French translation (Sabin 98442).

Bound in modern pastiche half beige calf, smooth spines ruled in gilt with double fillets, red morocco title labels and brown morocco volume labels, marbled paper boards.

The final two leaves of volume two have been restored, with loss of text: a few letters are missing from page 381, and there is a loss of text on pages 383–384, which comprise the table of contents; occasional light spotting, blind stamps to the lower right corner of title-pages.

Complete set including the atlas, sixth and final volume, illustrated with 17 plates and 9 maps.

A handsome copy of this celebrated voyage of exploration through the Pacific and along the west coast of America.

First edition of this highly important work, presenting the full text of all decrees and ordinances relating to trade with the Americas, primarily the West Indies (cf. Sabin 11812. Leclerc 113. Barbier I, 649 c. Ined 1038, 1783 edition).

Illustrated with two engraved frontispiece titles and ten maps (nine folding), depicting South America, North America (repeated in vol. 2), Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Domingue (2), Cayenne and its surroundings, Louisiana, the Guinea coast, as well as twelve engraved plates showing botanical specimens (sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, cocoa), genre scenes (a Black king dispensing justice, a slave market, turtle fishing), various tools and objects (ventilator, suction pump), industrial activities (plantation layout, sugar mill, indigo workshop), etc.

Bound in modern pastiche bindings: half mottled tan sheep over marbled boards, spine with five raised bands adorned with gilt garlands, double gilt panels, red edges.

Minor black ink stains to the edges of volume one, a pleasant copy overall.

First edition of this beautifully lithographed album after various artists, alternating picturesque views with architectural details. (Not listed in the Ornamentstischsammlung catalogue, Berlin.)

This splendid album contains 51 lithographed plates outside the text, our copy with two additional duplicate plates bound in.

Contemporary binding in half black morocco, smooth spine decorated with gilt typographic motifs, original black moiré paper boards with gilt title on upper cover preserved, original delivery wrappers bound in, corners rubbed, some marginal tears and wear to board edges, modern binding.

Some occasional foxing.

First edition of the French translation by Philippe Florent de Puisieux (see Chadenat 1412 and 6038; Brunet 27050; Polak 5580; and Sabin 3968 for the English edition).

The first volume retains its engraved frontispiece.

Contemporary full calf bindings, spines with five raised bands decorated with double gilt panels and ornamental tooling, red morocco labels for title and volume number, gilt roll tooling on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, partially faded gilt fillets on board edges, red edges.

Two scratches and two small losses to the upper covers of the first two volumes.

A handsome copy, attractively bound, from the library of Darest de Saconay, with his armorial bookplate pasted on the inside covers.

New edition, adorned with a portrait of the author by Daullé, three headpieces by de Sève engraved by Juste Chevillet, twelve plates engraved by Jacques Aliamet, Jean-Jacques Flipart, Noël Le Mire, Louis-Simon Lempereur, Dominique Sornique, and Jacques-Nicolas Tardieu, and thirteen vignettes and sixty tail-pieces, all by de Sève engraved by Jean-Charles Baquoy, Jean-Jacques Flipart, and Louis Legrand.

A superb copy of the first luxury edition of Racine, among the most sought-after, bound in the most sumptuous red morocco.

Contemporary full red morocco, spine with five raised bands and gilt compartments, triple gilt fillet border, corner fleurons, yellow morocco lettering pieces and volume numbers, double gilt fillets on the boards, marbled endpapers, double gilt fillet on the edges, gilt dentelle turn-ins, gilt edges. Occasional light foxing, mostly on the early leaves of the volumes; some browned pages; skilfully restored corners and joints; a few scratches.

First edition, illustrated with 27 engraved plates (13 in the first volume and 14 in the second – plates 1–7 mistakenly bound after plates 8–14), cf. Ryckebusch 4989. Toussaint et Adolphe D 903. Gay 3239. Robertson 129.

Full mottled fawn calf bindings, flat spines gilt with triple fillets and floral tools (gilding partly faded), gilt roll tooling to headcaps, cherry morocco title and volume labels, plain endpapers with some usual marginal soiling, marbled edges. 19th-century bindings presented in two modern custom slipcases.

Joints restored, internally clean and well-preserved.

The astronomer Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean-Baptiste Le Gentil de La Galaisière (1725–1792), a student of Jean-Dominique Cassini, spent nearly ten years in India and travelling through the Indian Ocean region.

"His work contains valuable information on currents, tides, monsoons, etc. He introduced knowledge of the Hindu zodiac and Brahmanic astronomy, and noted its concordance with Chaldean science" (Hoefer).

The second volume is entirely devoted to the Philippines (pp. 1–366, plates 1–5), Madagascar (pp. 367–628, plates 6–10), and the islands of France and Bourbon (pp. 629–844, plates 11–14).

Very rare first edition, illustrated with 73 plates outside the text, including a frontispiece portrait and two folding plates (see Gelli, 436-437).

No copy recorded in the CCF (French collective catalogue).

Our copy, with wide margins, is preserved in its original blue paper wrappers, untrimmed and with a reinforced spine.

Some minor spotting, slight loss at the corners of the plain wrappers, a faint dampstain to the lower left corner of the title page, and a small defect to the final page of the table of contents, not affecting the text.

Only edition of this fencing manual, compiled from both French and Italian sources.

Little is known of J. de Saint-Martin beyond what can be gathered from his work: a former cavalry officer and fencing master at the Theresian Academy, he states in his Preliminary Discourse: "Mon goût pour l’art militaire, et mon zèle pour l’avantage du service des armées impériales, ma vive reconnoissance pour les bontés du Grand Monarque que j’ai l’honneur de servir depuis sept ans, et qui a daigné me donner la place de professeur impérial de l’Académie Thérésienne pour l’Escrime, m’ont déterminé à publier et à donner au public cet ouvrage […]. Ce sont les fruits d’une expérience de trente ans, et d’une étude réfléchie tant sur les leçons des plus grands maîtres, et sur les assauts des salles les plus renommées, que sur les manœuvres et les diverses actions, où je me suis trouvé engagé dans la dernière guerre".

Fourth edition after the original of 1577 published in Paris by Nicolas Chesneau and the edition by Abel L'Angelier printed in 1584. It is identical to the 1612 edition by Artus Thomas d'Embry, the first to contain engravings and to offer the four final texts. It is illustrated with a large folding plan of Constantinople, a double plate captioned « Portraict de l'Armée de l'Empereur Turc rangée en Bataille », 17 plates for the prophetic tableaux, 62 full-page engravings representing the different inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire (men and women) and 27 plates of portraits of Turkish personalities. Repeated title-frontispiece. Title pages in red and black.
Contemporary full brown calf bindings, slightly dissimilar, spines with six raised bands decorated with gilt fleurons and compartments. One headcap and certain corners restored. Some worming without loss of letters to the first volume, one joint cracked at foot of volume I, last leaf of table in volume I remounted with some paper losses filled without affecting the text, otherwise a good copy.
This important collective work is composed as follows : 
Volume I :
Histoire des Turcs by Chalcondyle Athénien, translated by Thomas Artus and Blaise de Vigenère
 
Volume II :
continuation and end of l'Histoire des Turcs by François-Eudes Mezeray
Histoire générale du Serrail by Michel Baudier
Les Annales des Sultans
Plusieurs descriptions des accoustremens des Turcs
Tableaux prophétiques des Empereurs Sévère et Léon by Artus Thomas
Illustrations de Blaise de Vigenère bourbonnois, sur l'Histoire de Chalcondile athénien

First edition of the French translation of this celebrated travel account.

Our copy is complete with the accompanying atlas volume, which includes 19 plates and maps.

The three text volumes are bound in bottle-green half shagreen, smooth spines with gilt fillets and broad black rules, gilt ornamental rolls at head and foot of spines, minor rubbing to the spine of the first volume, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, original wrappers preserved, edges untrimmed.

The atlas volume, also preserving its original wrappers, is bound in a modern pastiche binding in the style of the text volumes.

Some foxing; joints of the first volume are split at head and tail of upper board.

The plates depict indigenous peoples, landscapes, weapons, utensils, and more.

First edition, illustrated with 6 folding plates at the end of the volume (cf. Polak 5375).

Contemporary Bradel binding in full red boards, flat spine, black shagreen label with gilt lettering, the upper cover stamped in gilt with the monogram of Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, stepson of Napoleon. Lower corners a bit rubbed. Period binding.

A few minor spots, not affecting legibility.

Only two copies listed in the CCF (BnF and École Polytechnique).

The only edition of this insightful analysis of French naval doctrine at the close of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, significantly bearing the motto on the title page: Delenda est Britannia. Charles-Louis-Victor de La Rouvraye (1783–1850) joined the navy in June 1799; he served in the Boulogne flotilla and later in the Indian Ocean, where he was taken prisoner by the British (1806–1811).

Provenance: A distinguished copy from the library of Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, stepson of Napoleon, then Duke of Leuchtenberg, bearing his gilt cipher and that of his wife Augusta Amélie of Bavaria.

Later owned by a member of the Montboissier de Canilliac family, with an armorial bookplate mounted on the pastedown, most likely that of Charles de Montboissier-Beaufort-Canilliac (1753–1836), maritime prefect of Cherbourg from 1816 to 1826.

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a folding copper-engraved frontispiece by Bénard: "Mort du Capitaine Cook à Owhy-hée, Fevrier 1779," and a folding map titled "Carte montrant la route suivie par M. Cook… dans son troisième et dernier Voyage."

See O'Reilly and Reitman, 419. See also Hill, p. 253, for the first English edition. Forbes, Hawaiian National Biography, 45.

Contemporary binding in half marbled calf with vellum-tipped corners, spine decorated with gilt floral compartments, red morocco title label, marbled paper boards, red edges.

Restored loss to the title page. The half-title is lacking in our copy; the boards are modern.

"An apocryphal account of the third voyage, published surreptitiously more than two years before the official edition. Hocken […] attributed it to Ledyard, who also wrote a narrative of the expedition. But F. W. Howay […] demonstrated that the true author was John Rickman, lieutenant aboard the Discovery. Includes some unpublished details and episodes." Cf. O'Reilly (no. 415). "All the journals kept on board were claimed by the Admiralty, thus the author remained strictly anonymous. The text, especially as regards details of Cook’s death, differs considerably from other accounts." Cf. Hill.

This work also contains one of the earliest high-quality accounts of the Hawaiian Islands: see Forbes, p. 23.

Second edition illustrated with two folding plates (cf. Polak 1048).

The first edition was published in 1729.

A hydrographer and mathematician, son of Jean Bouguer, Pierre Bouguer (1698–1758) would later gain recognition for his work on light and geodesy.

Disbound copy.

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

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

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

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

Some minor and insignificant foxing.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece by Ozanne depicting the frigate *L’Aurore*, engraved by Haussard, four plates of instruments, and one folding map at the end of the volume (cf. Polak 2098).

Contemporary-style binding in bronze half calf, flat spine decorated with double gilt fillets, bronze morocco title label with some rubbing, marbled paper boards, modern binding.

In 1767, Coutanvaux was commissioned by the Académie des Sciences to undertake a voyage to the North to test various marine timekeeping systems.

Some light foxing, not affecting the text.

Deluxe edition superbly illustrated with 3 engraved titles, a portrait, a frontispiece and 72 figures, 4 vignettes and 66 tailpieces, all by Le Barbier, and engraved by Alix, Baquoy, Dambrun, Delignon, Gaucher, Giraud le jeune, Godefroy, halbou, Langlois jeune, Le Beau, Lépine, Le Villain, de Longueil, Pauquet, Petit, Ponce, Taxier, Thomas, Trière and Viguet. The first plates are numbered and within frames with captions in the lower margin, the following ones bear pagination indications. Some plates are dated, from 1782 to 1792. Fine printing on vellum. 

Contemporary full green morocco binding. Smooth spine decorated with 4 cornucopia tools, and roulettes. Frame roulette on the boards. Roulette on the leading edges and interior. Pink paper on pastedowns. Edges gilt. Traces of rubbing. Darker areas on the boards of volume 2. Spine uniformly lightened. Scattered foxing.

First edition illustrated with 4 engraved plates by Ambroise Tardieu (portrait of Diai-Boukari in marabout attire from Foutatoro, view of the Foutatoro army on the march, view of the sources of the Rio Grande and the Gambia, view of Timbo); and a large folding map at the end of the first volume, copy signed by the author on the verso of the title page of vol. I.
Contemporary half calf bindings, spines decorated with gilt roll tooling in place of raised bands, title and volume labels in red calf, paper covered boards, speckled blue edges, small wormhole to the lower hinge of the first volume.
Shortly after the Treaty of Paris returned Senegal to France, Mollien—a mere naval clerk and survivor of the Medusa shipwreck—was sent to Africa by the French government on a geographical and political mission Sent to explore the sources of the Senegal and Gambia rivers, Mollien was also tasked with countering British expansion in the region. At the end of volume 2 are found an itinerary and glossaries of the Iolof (Wolof), Poule (Peul), and Serer languages, along with geographical observations on Mollien's discoveries by Eyries.

First and unique edition of this work, illustrated with 9 plates engraved by Benard after drawings by Penevert (cf Polak 8371).

Binding in half mottled tawny basane with vellum corners, smooth spine decorated with gilt friezes, black basane title piece partially torn, some rubbing and small holes on the spine, marbled paper boards with small paper losses, contemporary binding.

Some restorations on the spine, corners rubbed.

This work is one of the volumes of the *Description des Arts et Métiers* published at the initiative of the Académie des Sciences.

Author of numerous works on navigation and ships, Romme was a professor of mathematics at the School of Marine Guards of Rochefort. He developed a new method for measuring longitudes at sea, which earned him election as a corresponding member of the Académie des Sciences in 1775.

The plates depict ships with their rigging, as well as various types of sails with the pieces that allow them to be maneuvered: ropes, pulleys, shrouds, etc.

The text is accompanied by numerous tables detailing the technical characteristics of the sails and ends with an explanation of the nautical terms used in this work.

Pleasant interior condition.

Second edition, illustrated with two large folding maps mounted on tabs (cf. Polak 1755).

Bradel binding in full marbled pink paper-covered boards, spine sunned with losses. Title and shelving labels affixed at head and foot of spine. Some scratches and paper losses to the boards, minor abrasions and small chips to the edges. Contemporary binding.

In addition to his significant maritime and political activity since the Seven Years’ War, Charles-Pierre Claret de Fleurieu (1738–1810) was the inventor of the first marine chronometer.

Printed stamp of the Imprimerie de la République at the foot of the title page.

First edition, first issue, with every feature described by Cohen. The illustration includes a frontispiece, three dedication plates, four printed titles in red and black with engraved vignette, thirty vignettes, and a fine tailpiece concluding the final volume. In addition, there are 140 engraved full-page plates (including the frontispiece, numbered 2 to 140), by Boucher, Eisen, Gravelot, Leprince, Monnet, and Moreau, and engraved by Baquoy, Basan, Binet, Duclos, and de Ghendt - 48 in the first volume, 33 in the second, 37 in the third, and 22 in the last. The frontispiece, the fleurons in the first three volumes, and the vignettes were drawn and engraved by Choffart. 

The French translation by Abbé Antoine Banier is printed opposite the Latin text. It also contains historical notes by the translator and a Life of Ovid from his writings under the name M. G***. Our copy is complete, including the 'avis au relieur' bound in volume 4. The plates are printed on a cream thick laid paper, while the text appears on fine laid paper.

Full red glazed morocco contemporary bindings, spines with five raised bands elaborately decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons. The set is well preserved overall, with a few scattered spots and light foxing; some plates are slightly browned. To the upper joint of Vol. 3, a small perforation and minor crack.

A truly magnificent publication, pinnacle of 18th-century illustrated works by the engraver Le Mire. Together with the renowned Fermiers Généraux edition of La Fontaine’s Contes, it is undoubtedly the most elegantly illustrated book of this century. The project includes the finest illustrators and engravers, with mythological subjects serving as particular inspiration. Ovid’s timeless masterpiece comprises 246 fables of metamorphoses, from Chaos to the transformation of Julius Caesar into a star, providing a comprehensive repository of Greco-Roman mythology and an inexhaustible iconographic resource for the history of art.

A handsome and exceedingly rare first issue, bound in contemporary red morocco.

Armorial ex-libris of William Vincens Bouguereau (son of the painter), a card of the Baron de Noirmont.

Rare first edition including a general map of Africa, compiled from the most reliable observations and the latest discoveries, as well as 8 finely engraved plates (cf. Clozel 505; Gay 2897).

The 8 illustrations comprise: one folding view, three folding maps and plans, a key chart for the plan of Gorée, and three portraits of indigenous figures.

Some restorations and water stains affecting a few leaves.

Contemporary half calf binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt garlands, floral tools, and urns; red morocco title and volume labels, marbled edges.

Born in Colmar, Sylvain-Meinrad-Xavier de Golbéry (1742–1822) spent his entire military career in the Corps of Engineers.

The journey he recounts here—published belatedly—was commissioned by Louis XVI and took him through regions corresponding to present-day Senegal and The Gambia.

First edition of this excellent maritime dictionary, later reprinted in 1780, 1797, and 1799.

The work is complete in all its parts and includes 31 engraved plates by Le Gouaz after the author's drawings.

Contemporary full mottled calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and floral tools, red morocco title label, headcap worn down, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges, upper corners worn.

Small loss to the upper left corner of the front free endpaper, tears to the left margin of the title page, occasional foxing, otherwise a pleasant copy internally.

Born in Lyon on 5 November 1743, Daniel Lescallier entered naval service in December 1765 as a writer in charge of accounting at Môle-Saint-Nicolas in Saint-Domingue.

Appointed student-commissary in February 1767, then assistant commissary of ports and arsenals in February 1770, he sailed in 1773 aboard the ship *Le Languedoc*, before being sent by ministerial order to England, Russia, and Sweden. His travel account was published in 1775. Made commissary of ports and arsenals in January 1777, he was appointed in January 1780 as colonial commissary in Grenada, recently seized by d’Estaing, then in May 1782 as commissary in Demerara (British Guiana), recently occupied by Kersaint’s division. Appointed chief commissary in Cayenne in May 1785 and first councillor to the colony’s Superior Council, he endeavoured to rouse the colony from its lethargy before returning to France in July 1788. In 1789–1790, Lescallier travelled again to England and the Netherlands to study shipbuilding techniques. In August 1790, he became assistant to the Navy Committee of the National Assembly and, in February 1792, civil commissary in the Indian Ocean colonies. Captured by the English on 22 August 1793 after the capitulation of Pondicherry, he did not return to France until 1797. Head of the Colonial Bureau at the Ministry of the Navy from August 1797, he was appointed ordonnateur at Corfu but was unable to reach his post. Named colonial prefect of Guadeloupe in July 1801, he returned to France via the United States in April 1804. He was appointed maritime prefect of Genoa in February 1806 and of Le Havre from May 1808 to August 1810. In October 1810, he was made consul general to the United States, but was captured by the English en route. He escaped, returned to France at the end of 1815, left the service, and died in Paris on 14 May 1822.

First edition of the French translation established by Lallemant, illustrated with 3 folding maps with hand-colored outlines (cf. Gay 2788).

Bradel binding in full pink paper boards, smooth spine with laterally mounted paper title labels, contemporary binding.

Headcaps trimmed, some wear to the edges, marginal soiling on the lower cover, occasional foxing throughout.

Scottish surgeon and explorer Mungo Park (1771–1806) reached Pisania (Gambia) during a first expedition to Africa (1795–1797), where he stayed for a time to gather information on the Mandingo people and language. He then continued his journey to the Niger River, ascending it as far as upstream from Ségou; however, hostility from the Moors forced him to turn back. Irish explorer Daniel Houghton (1740–1791) undertook an expedition in 1790, commissioned by the African Society of London, aiming to reach Timbuktu via the Niger. He only got as far as the Falémé River and was likely killed by the Bambara people. Determined to reach Timbuktu after Houghton's failure, Mungo Park embarked on a second journey (1805), during which he died on the Niger.

Very rare first edition of the French translation, partially unpublished, enriched with historical, geographical, and botanical notes, as well as a notice on ancient and modern Cyrenaica, the Kingdom of Fezzan, Timbuktu, the oasis of Siwah (the ancient Ammon Oasis and the Temple of Jupiter), the desert wind, the sacred ibis, the lotus, Egyptian papyrus, and the silphium so highly prized by the Ancients.

Illustrated with 8 plates and 1 folding map out of text.

Not recorded by Gay. Bourquelot V, 657 mentions only 7 plates and 1 map.

Contemporary-style binding in black half calf, flat spine decorated with double blind fillets, marbled paper boards, red edges. Modern binding signed Laurenchet.

Restorations to the half-title and title pages. Internally fresh and attractive.

The plates depict: Tantalus Aethiopicus (Ibis) – Mus Gerboa – Musa Paradisiaca – Desert Grasshopper – Bedouin Arab Encampment – View of a section of the Necropolis of Cyrene – Moorish dwelling in Dernah – Lotus branch in bloom – Papyrus Egyptiaca – Map of Cyrenaica to accompany the advance of the Tripolitanian army.

Second illustrated edition, with 68 wood engravings within the text.

The first leaf bears, on its verso, a few lines of music (the recto is blank). On the final leaf, the same score reveals, when folded, lines of writing: "Les notes musicales qui servent de Frontispice à cet Ouvrage, ressemblent parfaitement au Discours & à la Musique ci-dessus. C'est la manière de plier le papier qui fait paraître l'un & disparaître l'autre" (cf. Fechner, p. 152).

Paris: Chez l'Auteur, Granger, Bailly, Lesclapart, Hardouin & Gattey, Varin, Lagrange [Printed by Veuve Hérissant], 1786. Octavo (in-8), 2 ff. n. ch., pp. [v] to xix, 328 pp., 1 folding unnumbered leaf in accordion format, 68 woodcuts in the text.

Bound in modern pastiche half brown calf with vellum tips, spine with gilt fillets and small tools, green morocco label, endpapers and pastedowns lightly shaded, red edges.

The first edition of this text appeared in 1785.

This volume constitutes the third part of Henri Decremps' renowned treatise on recreational science, the first volume of which, La Magie Blanche dévoilée, was printed in 1784; a supplement appeared in 1785, followed by this Testament, then a fourth and fifth part.

"Henri Decremps, born in Beduer-en-Quercy on April 15, 1746, died in 1826, jurist, mathematician and Doctor of Law, served as interpreter-secretary at the French Embassy to the Court of England" [Fechner].

A pleasant copy.

New edition of the French translation, illustrated in the first volume with a folding map of India with hand-colored borders, printed on bluish paper; and in the second volume with a folding map of Arabia, also printed on bluish paper (see Gay 83 and Lorin 2065 for the first edition of 1786).

Contemporary full speckled calf bindings, spine with five raised bands, gilt-tooled compartments with floral motifs, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt roll tooling at head and foot of spine, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges.

Library stamps to title pages, shelf labels at foot of spines, some rubbing to spines and covers with minor surface losses, internally clean and fresh.

Pages [283] to 414 of Volume II contain Capper’s account of the journey to India via Egypt and Arabia. "Capper was in the East India Company service from an early age. The text of his work is in two parts - a letter describing the voyage from India via the Red Sea, Suez and Egypt, and a journal of the route from India through the Arabian desert via Mesopotamia to Aleppo. At this time there was unofficial interest in opening a new route to India through Egypt - the two standard routes being via the Cape of Good Hope or through the Euphrates Valley - and some attempts were made to use this route. Irwin was forced to use the Egypt-Suez route ; Capper is advocating it" [Leonora Navari].

First edition of this highly significant document on the state of Parisian hospitals at the end of Louis XVI's reign, written by Jacques Tenon (1724–1816), surgeon at the Salpêtrière, which remained an influential reference for French hospital policy through to the Third Republic.

The work is complete with its 17 folding plates (including 2 tables and 14 architectural plans and elevations of hospitals).

Some light foxing; the copy appears to have been rebound in this later binding.

Contemporary pastiche binding in half Havana sheep, flat spine with gilt fillets and the gilt cipher and arms of the Chodron de Courcel family, green paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

The composition of this text took place within the framework of a public debate on the future of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Paris.

In the 18th century, the Hôtel-Dieu was notoriously overcrowded, unsanitary, and prone to fires. It was used almost exclusively by the destitute who had no other care options, and it had gained a reputation as a "death trap" due to its dire conditions and high mortality rate. Two major fires had occurred in 1737 and 1772, the latter destroying much of the complex. In this context, the Baron de Breteuil, Secretary of the King’s Household, commissioned the Académie des sciences to investigate; Tenon's report was the outcome of that consultation. The text comprises five memoranda:

1. General overview of Parisian hospitals
2. Architecture, organization, and outcomes of the major hospitals in Paris
3. Location, surface area, and optimal sites
4. Description and organization of the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris
5. Architecture and organization of a hospital intended to replace the Hôtel-Dieu. Tenon counted 48 hospitals in Paris, excluding the smallest institutions: 22 hospitals for the sick, 20 for able-bodied paupers, and 6 for the indigent (sick or otherwise). He also mentions a hospital specifically for Protestants. Their legal status was complex: some were what we would now call public (under the authority of the King, the City Hall, the Archbishop...), others private (run by religious congregations or funded by lay donations for orphans and the needy). Tenon finally proposes the creation of a purpose-built hospital—what he calls a “healing machine”—a measurable structure subject to management and evaluation. It would be based on principles such as visibility (patients should be distributed so that they can be seen, distinguished, evaluated, and compared), and adequacy and appropriateness in terms of rest space, air circulation, and separation of patients and diseases (isolation of the contagious).

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with two folding plates hors texte.

This is an abridged translation (unusually, this is stated) of the major work Reise durch Sibirien, published in Göttingen in 1751–1752 in four quarto volumes richly illustrated. It recounts a major scientific expedition to Siberia that took place from July 1733 to February 1743. Johann Georg Gmelin (1709–1755) held the chair of chemistry and natural history at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Despite the erratic pagination of the second volume, the set is complete.

Contemporary full marbled tan calf, flat spines decorated with gilt compartments, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt rolls at head and tail, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, marbled edges, corners somewhat rubbed.

Some light foxing.

Armorial bookplates from the 18th century, with the handwritten note “Longeville.”

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with one frontispiece plate in the first volume: "Infantrymen of Sindh in their battle dress", and a large folding map in the second volume: "Map of Beluchistan and Sindh, including parts of Cutch, Seistan, Khorasan, Persia, &c., drawn by Henry Pottinger, Lieutenant of the 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, in 1814" (cf. Quérard VII, 300).

Contemporary full green calf bindings, faded smooth spines gilt with fillets and small ship motifs, gilt rolls on slightly rubbed caps, gilt dentelle frames on covers, marbled endpapers lightly soiled at the edges, bookplates pasted on the front pastedowns, corners bumped, gilt fillets on the edges, yellow edges.

Some light scuffing, traces of restoration to the spines, internally well preserved with occasional foxing.

Henry Pottinger [1789–1856], British general, administrator, and diplomat, was one of the prominent figures of British colonial history.

“Dispatched to India as a cadet in 1804, he soon distinguished himself for his bravery and intelligence, was entrusted with several administrative duties which he carried out with skill, served for several years as judge and revenue collector in Ahmednagar (Deccan), later became political resident in Cutch, president of the regency in the same city, diplomatic agent in Sindh, took part in military operations on the frontier, was promoted to the rank of major general, and was granted the title of baronet in 1839, following the Afghan War.” Cf. Larousse.

After returning to England in 1840, Pottinger’s exceptional diplomatic career continued in China. From 1846 to 1849, he served as Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, before concluding his career as Governor of the Madras Presidency. After 1854, he retired to Malta, where he died.

Distinguished provenance: From the library of Talleyrand, with his bookplates pasted on the front pastedowns.

First edition of the French translation, made from the second English edition and illustrated with 7 plates outside the text and 1 folding map (Gay 1496 bis).

Contemporary quarter fawn sheep bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and typographic ornaments, brown morocco title label on the first volume, red morocco title label on the second; some restorations and rubbing to spines and joints, marbled paper boards, bumped corners, a few scrapes along the edges.

Some foxing; bookplates mounted to the pastedowns, names carefully erased.

Stated second edition, though in fact the fourth, and the second Parisian printing issued by Prault. According to Michaud's *Biographie Universelle*, the true first edition was printed in only 24 copies in Newport for the author's friends; the second, equally rare, appeared in Cassel in 1785. However, that latter version is believed to be erroneous and pirated, published without the author’s consent and incomplete (only one volume in 12mo format). The appearance of the second volume of this edition in 1791, following the first volume in 1788, suggests it is the most complete version. Includes two folding maps with contemporary hand-coloring and three folding plates at the end.
Contemporary full tree calf bindings. Smooth spines richly gilt with star tools and grotesque compartments. Red morocco labels for titles, green morocco labels for volume numbers. Small losses at head of both volumes, not affecting the caps. A wormhole through the first compartment of volume I, and a 1 cm split at the tail of the lower joint. Signs of rubbing and a surface abrasion to the upper board of volume II.

A good copy with both maps in color.

First edition of the French translation by Antoine Gilbert Griffet de La Baume of the first two volumes of "Asiatick researches, or, Transactions of the Society instituted in Bengal for enquiring into the history and antiquities, the arts, sciences and literature of Asia, Calcutta, 1788–1790" (cf. Chadenat 4934).

The first volume, Meteorological Journal kept by Colonel T. D. Pearse from 1785 to 1786, is illustrated with 33 full-page plates; the second, Meteorological Journal kept in Calcutta by Henry Trail from 1785 to 1786, with 11 plates and 2 tables, including one large folding plate.

Modern bindings in black half morocco, flat spines ruled with double gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers.

Some light foxing, a few restorations to corners (upper or lower) of the second volume.

This remarkable typographical edition features several plates and tables printed in Arabic or Bengali characters, the latter being the first use of this language type in France. Among the essays are: vol. 1: Dissertation on the Spelling of Oriental Words – Account of a Meeting with the Tichou Lama – Report on a Journey to Tibet – Observations on the Sykhs – On Hindu Literature – Conversation about the City of Gondar and the Sources of the Nile – On Ordeal among the Hindus; vol. 2: Discourse on the Arabs, Tartars, and Persians – On the Hebrew Origin of the Afghans – On Hindu Chronology – On the Indian Game of Chess – Introduction of Arabic Words into the Persian Language – On Hindu Astronomical Calculations – Description of the Kingdom of Nepal, etc.

A nephew of the historian and theologian Henri Griffet, Antoine Gilbert Griffet de La Baume (Moulins, 1756 – Paris, 1805) settled in Paris in 1776, where he was briefly employed at the Ministry of the Interior. He went on to translate numerous works from English and German, and contributed to various periodicals including the Bulletin de Littérature, La Décade, Journal Encyclopédique, Mercure de France, and Censeur universel anglais (cf. Hoefer).

Very rare edition comprising the independent pre-publication of the first part of the major geological expedition to the Antilles and the islands of Tenerife and Fogo, a seven-volume quarto work also covering Guadeloupe, Martinique, and others.

Illustrated with 9 lithographed plates, including a folding map of the Cape Verde Islands and 6 tinted views.

Not recorded by Sabin in his entry on the Voyage.

Bound after, by the same author: Recherches sur les principaux phénomènes de météorologie et de physique générale aux Antilles, printed in Paris by Gide and J. Baudry in 1849.

Bradel binding in full black textured cloth, smooth spine decorated with blind fillets, small losses to spine ends, hinges rubbed, double blind-ruled frame on boards, yellow endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, corners slightly rubbed; contemporary binding.

Charles Deville (1814–1876), known as Sainte-Claire Deville, was a geologist born in the Antilles on the island of Saint Thomas, a member of the Académie des Sciences and professor at the Collège de France.

Some occasional foxing, remains of a removed ex-libris on the pastedown.

His body of work remains little known, likely due to the extreme rarity of his publications.

First edition illustrated with 39 aquatint engravings, 37 of which are hand-colored (cf Atabey, 624. Hage-Chahine, 2388.)

Finely engraved and colored, the illustrations evoke the design of Persian miniatures: portraits (Fath Ali Shah, Abbas I, Nadir Shah), figures in costumes (Persian women, slave and eunuch from the harem, Persian rider…), views and ancient monuments (Tehran, ruins of Persepolis), scenes of daily life (Persian meal, village entertainments, writing master and his pupil, Persians in prayer…), musical instruments, etc.

Half dark green shagreen bindings, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets, gilt friezes on the head and tail, cat’s-eye paper boards with some marginal wear, endpapers and pastedowns made of handmade paper, speckled edges, slightly later bindings.

Some foxing, frontispiece of volume 4 restored, detached ex-libris mark on the pastedown of the first volume.

The orientalist Amable Louis Marie Michel Bréchillet-Jourdain, known as Jourdain (1788-1818), was a student of Sylvestre de Sacy before becoming assistant secretary at the School of Oriental Languages. He studied Persian and Arabic and was a secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rare copy.

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a portrait of the author and 29 engraved plates depicting objects, ornaments, coins, plants, and animals (cf. Cordier, Bibl. Japonica, 447. Gay, 3151. Brunet, V, 850).

Contemporary full marbled calf bindings, flat spines richly decorated with gilt typographic tools, gilt roll tooling at head and tail, brown morocco title-pieces, dark green morocco volume labels, gilt roll-tooled borders on boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, yellow edges.

A Swedish botanist and naturalist, Carl Peter Thunberg (1743–1828) studied medicine and natural history at Uppsala and became one of Linnaeus’s most brilliant pupils.

In 1771, he sailed as a surgeon aboard a ship of the Dutch East India Company. Upon arrival at the Cape, he remained in the colony for three years, exploring regions inhabited by the Hottentots and the Kaffirs while collecting specimens of plants and animals. In 1775, he traveled to Java, stayed in Batavia, and eventually reached Japan. He settled on the island of Deshima, in Nagasaki Bay, where the Dutch trading post of the Company was located. There he worked as a physician and obtained permission to botanize in the nearby mountains, where he collected a large number of rare and previously unknown plants, along with many natural history specimens. In 1776, he accompanied the Dutch Company’s director on a visit to the shogun in Edo (Tokyo), allowing him to explore further and gather more botanical samples. He returned to Sweden in 1779. The first volume recounts the voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, his stays at the Cape, and his first journey inland; the second volume describes his second trip along the Kaffir coast, return to the Cape, journey to Java, and arrival in Nagasaki; the third is entirely devoted to Japan: trade with the Dutch and Chinese, government, administration, religion, language, character and portrait of the Japanese, zoological observations, minerals, etc. The final volume continues with Japan: food, festivals, weaponry, agriculture, calendar, etc., followed by the account of the return voyage via Ceylon. It also includes Lamarck’s explanations of the eight natural history plates.

A rare copy of this important travel account.

Provenance: From the library of the Château de Menneval, with armorial bookplates on the pastedowns of each volume.

Rare first edition (cf. Gay 367; Leclerc 638).

The work is illustrated with a map of the port and harbor of Brest and five plates: How the beds of the Negroes are made [and] The house of the Negroes – How the Moors ride their Camels, Horses and Oxen with their merchandise – How the Negroes collect palm wine [sic] [and] How they climb the palm trees [and] How the Negroes make incisions to extract the palm wine [and] how they are dressed – Dress of lords and notable persons – How the women are dressed and how they carry their children on their backs [and] How the Negroes dance in a circle.

This account is considered a valuable narrative, offering noteworthy details on the trade of these regions.

Contemporary full mottled tan calf, spine with five raised bands framed with black fillets, bands renewed, hinges restored, corners worn, minor wear to edges, yellow edges sprinkled with red.

A surgeon at the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris, Le Maire was brought along by Dancourt, director general of the Company.

He left Paris in January 1682 and arrived in Gorée on May 20. It remains unclear why this contemporary of Louis XIV is regularly confused in bibliographies and public catalogues with the Dutch navigator Jacob Le Maire (1585–1616), with whom he shares no connection.

Second edition of Lucas’s third journey to the Near East, undertaken between 1714 and 1717 (first published in 1729); cf. Gay, 2122. Chadenat, 5090. Atabey 734. Blackmer, 1038.

The illustrations include two folding maps (Anatolia and surrounding regions by de l’Isle; Lower Egypt and the course of the Nile by Lucas) and 32 plates outside the text: monuments, picturesque views, architectural plans, archaeological artefacts, various inscriptions, etc.

Contemporary half tawny sheep, smooth spines ruled in gilt with triple fillets, headcaps stained, some rubbing, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges, some wear to the edges of the first volume. 19th-century bindings.

Pleasant internal condition.

According to Brunet (III, 1204), the text was written by Abbé Banier.

A soldier, naturalist, collector and dealer, Paul Lucas (Rouen, 1664 – Madrid, 1737) showed a marked passion for travel from an early age.

He first left for the Levant to trade in precious stones, joining the Venetian army in 1688 and becoming captain of a ship armed against the Turks. Returning to France in 1696 with a collection of antiquities and coins he sold to the King's Cabinet, he was commissioned by Louis XIV to undertake journeys that would make him famous. From 1699 to 1703, he visited Egypt, Cyprus, Persia and Syria. His second expedition, from 1704 to 1708, took him to Greece, Macedonia, Asia Minor, the Holy Land, Egypt and Libya. In 1714, he was entrusted with a new mission in the Levant: he travelled through Rumelia and Thessaly, passed through Constantinople and Smyrna before visiting Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Departing from Cairo, he returned to Paris in December 1717.

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with 12 folding plates and maps outside the text, and 11 folding tables included in the pagination (cf. Sabin 62574).

Contemporary full mottled calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with double gilt panels, floral tools and gilt medallions, red morocco title label with some loss and partially lifting, gilt garland frame on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, all edges yellow.

Some minor foxing, one joint fragile.

Famous account of this "unfortunate expedition which served to demonstrate the impossibility of crossing the Polar ice" [Hoefer]. Pages 187 to 208 are devoted to natural history, with 2 plates [XI and XII] depicting crustaceans and mollusks.

First edition, rare, illustrated with a large folding engraved map (cf. Gay 3082).

Contemporary full marbled calf, smooth spine gilt in compartments adorned with gilt floral tools, tan morocco title label, gilt roll tooling at head and foot of spine, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, red-speckled yellow edges.

Some restoration to spine and covers, occasional foxing and slight age-toning to a few gatherings.

Written from the memoirs of the missionaries Descourvières and Bellegarde. The first part offers a description of the country and the customs of its inhabitants, followed by notes on their language; the second part recounts the history of the French mission from 1766 to 1773. Originally from Goux-les-Usies, near Pontarlier, Jean-Joseph Descourvières (c. 1740–1804) "fit ses études à Besançon, entra dans les ordres, et fut nommé vicaire à Belfort. Il quitta cette position, vint à Paris, et entra dans la Compagnie de Jésus comme missionnaire. Il fut désigné pour le royaume de Loango, et partit de Nantes en mars 1768, avec un autre prêtre, l’abbé Joli. Ils arrivèrent à Cabinde à la fin d’août. Leurs collègues du Loango, découragés, venaient de retourner en Europe. Descourvières et Joli ne suivirent pas cet exemple ; ils s’établirent dans le Kacongo, et apprirent avec rapidité la langue du pays. Protégés par le roi du Kacongo, les missionnaires firent de nombreux prosélytes ; mais Descourvières ne put résister au climat, et revint en France en janvier 1770 ; son collègue l’y suivit bientôt. Dès qu’ils furent rétablis, ils reprirent leur entreprise, et s’embarquèrent à Paimboeuf, le 7 mars 1773, avec quatre autres missionnaires et six cultivateurs. Ils abordèrent le 28 juin sur la côte d’Afrique, et se rendirent aussitôt à Kacongo ; ils y furent très-bien accueillis, mais cette fois encore le climat les contraignit à renoncer à leur œuvre. Descourvières revint en France en 1775. En 1779, il fut nommé procureur général des missions françaises de Chine. Il se fixa à Macao : son séjour n’y fut qu’une longue suite d’avanies ; il fut enfin expulsé par les naturels, en 1786. De retour en France, il émigra en 1793, et alla terminer ses jours à Rome. Le père Descourvières avait recueilli de précieux documents sur les divers pays qu’il avait habités : ces travaux ont servi utilement à la composition de plusieurs bons ouvrages. Outre un Dictionaire et une Grammaire Kacongaise, il a laissé une volumineuse correspondance, dans laquelle Proyart a puisé son Histoire de Loango (…) Les volumes II, V et VI du Recueil des nouvelles Lettres édifiantes, Paris, 1818, 8 vol. in-12, contiennent de nombreux extraits des écrits de Descourvières". Cf. Hoefer.

A good copy in contemporary binding, with the bookplate of the Château de Laplagne library pasted on the front pastedown; an additional Château de Laplagne label has been affixed over it, with a small loss along the right margin.

Illustrated edition featuring 6 charming lithographs, including 5 costume plates, executed by Madame Veuve Jobard in Dijon.

No copy listed in the CCF; not recorded by Vicaire or Colas.

Contemporary half brown sheepskin binding, spine slightly faded, gilt double fillets and decorative gilt rolls at head and foot, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges.

Scattered foxing, small paper flaw on half-title.

A rare, wide-margined copy in period binding.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece, a portrait of the author, and 14 copper-engraved vignettes within the text, mostly depicting inhabitants of the North (cf Sabin, 38711.)

Restored binding in full grained morocco, spine with five false raised bands adorned with gilt fillets and double compartments, gilded roulettes on the partially faded caps, small repairs to the joints, gilt fillets on the edges, slightly worn corners, binding of the period.

Ink annotations on the white endpaper and at the top of the false-title page.

Born in Rouen in 1634, La Martinière embarked around 1670 as a surgeon on a ship of the Northern Company bound for Norway, and visited Lapland, New Zemble, the Siberian coasts, and Iceland.

His account contains numerous details on the lifestyle, customs, and superstitions of the peoples of these regions, as well as natural history (reindeer, bears, penguins, etc.). There are also passages on hunting and fishing. Author of several medical works, notably on blood transfusion, La Martinière also published 'The Happy Slave', Paris, 1674, in which he recounts his captivity by the Barbary corsairs a few years before his voyage to Norway. A fine copy of this rare book.

Provenance: from the library of the Menneval château with its engraved bookplate pasted on the inside cover.

Rare first edition of this "relation (...) much sought after for its accuracy", illustrated with 19 folding plates, including 2 maps (cf. Sabin 3604, Leclerc 119).

Full marbled tan calf binding, spine with five raised bands, gilt compartments decorated with gilt floral motifs, small chip at foot of spine, scuffing to covers, red edges, bumped corners, gilt fillets along the board edges, contemporary binding.

The author, a physician and botanist born in Perpignan in 1690—where he held a post at the military hospital—was introduced by Antoine de Jussieu to the Conseil de la Marine in August 1721 and appointed royal physician and botanist in French Guiana. He landed in Cayenne at the end of 1721 and left the colony in May 1724. During his stay, he explored the banks of the Kourou and Orapu rivers, studying the local flora, fauna, and indigenous customs.

His account, one of the earliest on French Guiana, is of great importance and was widely used by eighteenth-century geographers.

First edition, illustrated with 3 hors-texte plates (cf. Rodrigues 1357. Borba de Moraes I, 381. See INED 2496 for the 1774 edition).

The plates depict: Brama, god of the Indians – View of a pagoda tower – Snake charmer.

Contemporary-style binding in marbled tawny calf over vellum-tipped corners, spine with five raised bands, ruled in gilt, brown calf lettering-piece, marbled paper-covered boards, red sprinkled edges, modern binding.

Coromandel Coast, European trading posts, military strongholds, Indian religion, medicine, anatomy, caste system, Indian manners, dress, dwellings, gardens, food (and temperance), wedding rituals, funerals, Indian morals, fauna, flora, etc.

Pages 3 to 21 are devoted to Brazil. The author made a stop at Bourbon Island (pp. 25 to 27).

Provenance: from the Breitenbauch library, with its armorial bookplate pasted on the endpaper.

A pleasing copy.

First edition, comprising the original narrative of the discovery of the Kerguelen Islands, together with a memoir on Madagascar (pp. 154-169), and the portion headed “Observations sur la guerre de l’Amérique” (pp. 121-133, Sabin 3718).

Work illustrated with a folding map bound out of text (“Terres Australes ou partie septentrionale de l’Isle de Kerguelen”), bordered by eight smaller coastal charts or views.

Contemporary full marbled fawn calf, spine tooled in gilt with sawtooth motifs and floral devices; red calf title label with a minor loss at the foot; joints showing rubbing; boards framed in black along the leather edges; gilt fillets on the leading edges, partly faded; red edges.

Spine restored; a scattering of insignificant foxing; faint waterstaining at the top edge towards the close of the volume; a corner loss at the head of leaves 241-42, with the text entirely unaffected.

Seized under the ruling of 28 May 1783 for its dedication “à la Patrie”, the work saw many of its copies eliminated in the aftermath.

Born in Trémarec on 13 February 1734, Kerguelen died in Paris on 4 March 1797. “En mai 1771, il partait pour l'Océan Indien sur le Berryer et arriva en août à l'île de France. Avec la Fortune et le Gros Ventre, il vérifia la nouvelle route des Indes découverte par Grenier puis descendit vers le sud, découvrit en février 1772 les îles de la Fortune, prit possession des terres qui portent depuis son nom et rentra à Brest en juillet 1772. Promu capitaine de vaisseau, il repartit en mars 1773 avec le Roland et l'Oiseau. Arrivé en vue des terres australes en décembre, gêné par le mauvais temps, il dut remonter vers le nord, fit escale à Antongil (Madagascar) et rentra à Brest en septembre 1774 pour être accusé de commerce frauduleux et d'embarquement clandestin d'une jeune fille à son bord. Condamné en mai 1775 à être rayé du corps et emprisonné à Saumur, il fut libéré en août 1778 et arma aussitôt la Comtesse de Brionne à Rochefort avec laquelle il fit la course en mer du Nord” [Taillemite]. 

["In May 1771, he departed for the Indian Ocean on the Berryer and reached the Isle of France in August. With the Fortune and the Gros Ventre, he confirmed the new route to the Indies discovered by Grenier, then sailed south, discovering the Isles of Fortune in February 1772, taking possession of the lands that now bear his name, and returning to Brest in July 1772. Promoted to ship’s captain, he departed again in March 1773 with the Roland and the Oiseau. Upon sighting the southern lands in December, hampered by bad weather, he was compelled to return north, stopping at Antongil (Madagascar), and returned to Brest in September 1774, only to be accused of fraudulent trading and of clandestinely taking a young girl aboard. Condemned in May 1775 to be struck from the service and imprisoned at Saumur, he was released in August 1778 and immediately outfitted the Comtesse de Brionne at Rochefort, with which he cruised in the North Sea."] 

Second edition, partially original (cf. Gay, 3227. Grandidier, I, 1776. Ryckebusch, 3188. Boucher de La Richarderie, IV, 269–271. Brunet, II, 1278).

Two volumes bound in one, illustrated with 15 engraved maps and plates: a map of the island of Madagascar, a plan of Fort Dauphin, maps of Sainte-Marie Island and Bourbon Island, depictions of inhabitants in traditional dress, genre scenes, flora and fauna.

The plates and maps have been mounted on thick paper; old repairs to pages 27 and 47.

Contemporary full calf binding, spine with five raised bands framed in gilt garlands, decorated with double gilt panels and floral ornaments, some rubbing to joints and boards; marbled endpapers and pastedowns, blind-ruled fillets to board edges.

Nephew of Jules de Loynes, Secretary General of the Navy and member of the Compagnie de l'Orient founded by Richelieu in 1642, Étienne de FLACOURT (1607–1660) was appointed Governor of Fort-Dauphin in Madagascar in 1648. He spent seven years on the island, seeking to exploit its resources and convert the local population to Christianity. He also explored nearby islands and took possession of the Mascarene Island, which he named Île Bourbon. Returning to France in 1655, he became the first traveller to provide a detailed description of Madagascar, with particularly notable ethnographic and botanical content: "Sa relation comprend deux parties. Dans la première, Flacourt fait une description générale de Madagascar, puis des descriptions particulières des provinces avec leurs rivières et les îles voisines : ces descriptions sont complètes et portent sur la religion, le langage, les usages et le gouvernement des habitants et aussi sur les plantes, les métaux et les animaux. La seconde partie est le récit des événements qui se sont passés depuis l'arrivée des Français dans l'île en 1642 : elle est complétée par la relation de quelques voyages qui ont été faits dans les îles voisines et dans les Mascareignes […] . Sans doute, il n'a pas tout vu et il ne peut pas tout rapporter : mais, après avoir bien étudié, il en arrive aux mêmes conclusions que son prédécesseur Cauche, dont il connaissait la relation, et, comme lui, il fait une peinture très enthousiaste des ressources végétales et minérales de Madagascar. Lorsque l'on a lu son livre, qui est le premier ouvrage sérieux sur la grande île, on comprend pourquoi la colonisation française n'a pas alors réussi malgré les grands avantages que l'on pouvait retirer de Madagascar. Dans l'édition de 1658 est une addition de 42 pages relative aux causes de l'insuccès que la Compagnie a eu : cette addition ne se trouve pas dans l'édition de 1661". Cf. Bourgeois & André, XI, 475.

This copy includes, bound at the end, a 17-page octavo pamphlet entitled "Cause pour laquelle les interessez de la Compagnie n'ont pas fait de grands profits à Madagascar". This text, extracted from the appendix of the original 1658 edition, has been inserted into the volume and is not part of the 1661 edition.

A handsome copy of this scarce work, complete with all its maps and plates.

Illustrated edition comprising 54 plates depicting twelve views and over sixty different costumes, along with monuments and picturesque scenes (including bullfights), most of them based on drawings executed in 1809 and 1810 (cf. Colas, 439; Lipperheide, 1214; Brunet, I, 1226, no. 3; Quérard, I, 506).

Contemporary half blond calf bindings, spines with four false raised bands adorned with triple gilt and black fillets, gilt rolls at head and foot, marbled paper boards with minor surface losses along the fore-edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges. Unsigned bindings, yet attributable to Thouvenin.

Scattered foxing, small tear on page 63 of volume 5.

"J'ai tâché d'offrir à mes lecteurs quelque chose de neuf […] Ce sont particulièrement des ouvrages en langues étrangères qui ont servi de base à ma description et au texte explicatif d'estampes jusqu'alors inédites pour la France. Sans négliger le voyage pittoresque de don Antonio Ponz, dont j'ai eu constamment l'original espagnol sous les yeux, j'ai recouru plus particulièrement à deux ouvrages publiés récemment en Angleterre, l'un en 1812, l'autre en 1813. Le texte magnifique de ces ouvrages est enrichi d'un grand nombre d'estampes qui ont été transportées dans le mien. M. Bradford, auteur du plus considérable des deux, étoit attaché en qualité de dessinateur à l'état-major de lord Wellington. L'autre, publié sous ce titre modeste, Costumes of Portugal, est rempli d'observations ingénieuses et piquantes…" (Preface, pp. V–VII).

The historical overview, spanning from the Carthaginians to Ferdinand VII, occupies volume 1; the second volume describes Catalonia and the kingdoms of Valencia, Murcia, and Granada. The next volume is devoted to the kingdom of Seville (including Cádiz and Algeciras), Gibraltar, the Jewish communities of Spain, Andalusia, and the kingdom of Galicia. Volume 4 covers the principality of Asturias, Old Castile, Biscay, and the kingdoms of Aragon, Navarre, and León.

The fifth volume continues with the kingdom of León, New Castile (including a description of Madrid), the kingdom of Córdoba, and Majorca.

The sixth and final volume is entirely dedicated to Portugal.

The charming period binding is by Thouvenin, who signed only one volume (La Suisse) of this impressive collection that has passed through our hands.

Provenance: from the library of Sinety, with an armorial bookplate affixed to the front pastedown of each volume.

First edition of the French translation of this rare and significant travel account.

Illustrated with 16 folding and full-page plates featuring numerous figures: landscapes, natural history subjects, elephant hunting scenes, and more (cf. Gay 2808).

Contemporary full brown calf, spine with five raised bands, gilt tooled compartments with double gilt frames and decorations, gilt rolls on caps, gilt fillets on board edges.

Spine expertly rebacked to style, repairs to p. 1 and several plates, occasional foxing.

"De toutes les anciennes relations de la Guinée, celle-ci est la plus estimable : elle est aussi très recherchée. C'est sur la Côte d'Or, sur celle des Esclaves et sur le royaume de Benin, assez imparfaitement décrits avant et après Bosman, que ce voyageur s'est particulièrement étendu". Cf. Boucher de La Richarderie.

A Dutch traveller, Willem Bosman lived during the second half of the 17th century. He spent fourteen years in Africa, where he successively served the Dutch West India Company as a factor on the Guinea Coast, and as chief director of the Axim and Elmina trading posts on the Gold Coast. He visited in detail the most notable locations across these regions, commissioned drawings of local fauna, and had maps made of the territories east of Elmina. Upon his return to Europe, he published his observations under the title Naauwkeurige Beschryving van de Guinese goud, land en Slaven-Kust, Utrecht, 1704, followed by a French translation the following year (Hoefer).

Provenance: from the library of Joseph M. Cleason, with his bookplate pasted on the inside board.

Collective edition, partly original. It is illustrated with 3 frontispiece titles and 23 figures by François Chauveau. The three frontispiece titles dated 1660, the title page of the second volume with the date 1664, the other two title pages dated 1660. In the second volume, the privilege is also dated 1664, while the other two volumes have the privilege dated 1660. The second volume is therefore the 1664 reprint, identical in every respect to the 1660 edition, with the exception of the collation of the preliminary pieces. The three discourses as well as the examinations of each piece appear for the first time.

Binding in full 20th-century chocolate morocco signed Alix at the bottom of the endpapers. Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 grotesque panels, author, title, volume number, and date in gold. Large and rich interior border. Triple fillet border on the boards. Gilt edges. Minimal traces of rubbing. Volumes of great purity, with paper of beautiful freshness. Slipcases edged with chocolate morocco covered with old laid paper.

Magnificent copy.

First edition, illustrated with an allegorical frontispiece and 34 half-page engravings by Sébastien Le Clerc.

Contemporary full red morocco binding with elaborate dentelle gilt decoration. Spine with raised bands, richly tooled in gilt with onion flower motifs. Red morocco title and volume labels. Wide gilt dentelle border on the covers, executed with small tools. Gilt edges. Headcaps, joints, and corners restored; gilt decoration on the headcaps renewed. Noteworthy: the engraving on p.125 has been printed in reverse.

Bookplate with the armorial bearings of Pierre de Laussat, apparently reaffixed to the front endpaper.

First French edition published simultaneously with the octavo edition (more common), by the same publisher. Illustrated with a folding frontispiece, a large folding map of the Cape and 15 plates, some folding. All plates have been bound at the end of volumes I and II.

Contemporary full speckled brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label, black morocco volume labels. Double blind fillet to boards. Lacks to joints at head of volume I. Upper joint narrowly split at head and tail of tome I. In tome II upper joint rubbed. Corners restored with leather strips. At the end of the second volume, some leaves browned, otherwise scattered light foxing. Plate 2 of tome 2 poorly folded. Some plates are erroneously captioned tome 3, which would suggest that the octavo edition preceded the quarto edition, the latter being longer to produce.