La Henriade
Contemporary full red morocco binding. Smooth spine decorated in grotesque style. Brown morocco title label, olive morocco volume label. Triple fillet frame on covers with

First edition, illustrated with 1 plate and 3 folding maps printed outside the text (cf. Tulard, 694.)
Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, in soiled temporary covers with angular losses and wear to the spine; internally in pleasant condition despite some foxing.
The only edition, and uncommon, of this report on the operations at Peschiera (1–19 January 1801), which followed the Battle of Marengo and were entrusted to François de Chasseloup-Laubat, Commander-in-Chief of Engineers with the Army of Italy.
The diplomat Étienne-Félix d'Hénin de Cuvillers (1755–1841) was then serving in the same army as a captain, and later as a squadron leader attached to the Gen
First edition of the French translation (cf. Sabin, 43416; Smith, Pacific Northwest Americana, 6381; Pilling, Bibl. of the Algonquian Languages, 327; Hoefer, XXXII, 566-567).
Illustrated with a portrait of the author after Sir Thomas Lawrence as frontispiece to the first volume and, at the end of each volume, three engraved maps showing the route from Fort Chipewyan to the Arctic Sea in 1789 and to the Pacific Ocean in 1793, together with the portion of North America lying between the 40th and 70th degrees north latitude and the 45th and 180th degrees west longitude.
Handsome half red shagreen bindings, flat spines ruled in gilt with quintuple fillets, traces of former label
First edition from the Imprimerie Royale, complete in nine quarto volumes with all 262 black-and-white engraved plates.
Contemporary full mottled calf, spines with raised bands decorated with guilloche tooling and gilt ornaments in the compartments, red morocco lettering-pieces and numbering-pieces, triple gilt fillet border on boards, double gilt fillet on board edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges. Minor variations in the tooling on volume 3.
In t
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
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 marg
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 fo
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 volu
First edition, highly sought after in the 19th century, comprising 14 of the first 15 volumes, published between 1789 and 1792, of the first series of the celebrated French scientific periodical Annales de chimie. Volume 10 missing.
Contemporary full brown calf, spines smooth with gilt fillets, brown morocco lettering-piece and green morocco numbering-piece, blind-ruled border to covers, red speckled edges, bookplate of P. H. Chavoix to front pastedown of each volume. Volumes 1 and 11 numbered in Roman rather than Arabic numeral
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 f
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 frag
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 i
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 (1717–17
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 Wald
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 fr
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 to
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-toole
First edition. Quérard I, 271 lists only one edition: "Paris, Née de La Rochelle, 1789." Kress B.1163; Goldsmiths 13858. Not in Einaudi."
With loose printed title pages for each volume, dated 1789.
The first volume, with an engraved pictorial title after Meunier, contains 52 double-page or folding plates inserted into the pagination, without following its numbering logic.
The second volume has an engraved pictorial title by Zaveris after Meunier and includes 154 etched plates of coins.
Full mottled calf, spines with six raised bands, gilt fillets and double gilt panels, red morocco lettering-pieces, green morocco numbering-pieces, gilt rolls on
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 Mer
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 volume
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
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 d
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 a
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; m
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, smoo
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.
Contempor
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 h
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
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 t
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 rela
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
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 (ven
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, wi
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 moro
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
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 b
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 upp
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 d
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 apocr
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.
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 boa
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, Molli
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 Gua
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
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 Engin
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 i
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; ho
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
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 woodcu
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 an
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 an
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 a
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,
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.
Contempo
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 d
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 fill
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 wit
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
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
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.
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,
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
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 Lapla
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 C
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.<
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; board
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'a
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 botto
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.