First edition, one of 150 numbered copies, the only copies on deluxe paper.
Inscribed and signed by Jean-Pierre Abel to Paul Devivat.
Rare and handsome copy with full margins.
First edition published under the pseudonym Cévennes and completed under oppression in Paris on August 1, 1944.
Pleasant copy.
First edition, not issued for sale (cf. Sabin 30913).
Some defects with losses along the spine, minor corner creases to the boards, endpapers browned, otherwise a clean and attractive copy internally.
Published in the very year of Maximilian's coronation. The Austrian author supports the acceptance of the crown by the archduke prince, an opinion not shared by many of his compatriots. Contains reflections on the Mexican nation, the two Americas, United States politics, etc.
Subscription prospectus issued in the format of the work, with 2 black-and-white reproductions in the text and 2 colour plates hors texte.
A fine copy.
Illustrated edition with 192 color plates of military uniforms, chiefly from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, after watercolors by Job (see Colas I, 1549).
Texts by various members of La Sabretache.
Contemporary bindings in cherry red morocco-grain half shagreen, spines with five raised bands framed by black fillets, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edges, original wrappers preserved.
The illustrated plates are distributed as follows: in the first volume, 48 hand-colored plates numbered and captioned on their tissue guards; in the second, 48 unnumbered color plates; in the third, 48 unnumbered color plates; and in the fourth, 48 unnumbered color plates.
Complete set of all that appeared in La Sabretache, consisting of 48 issues each containing 4 color plates.
Themes of military life, patriotism, and even nationalism were the hallmark of Jacques Onfroy de Bréville (1858-1931), an illustrator whose vocation was initially thwarted.
A handsome set uniformly bound in contemporary bindings.
First edition (cf. Polak, 9297. Only two copies listed in the CCF, at the BnF and Marseille).
Small loss at foot of spine, covers slightly soiled at the margins, contemporary ownership inscription at head of the front wrapper, some foxing.
Unique edition of this very bleak portrait of the state of the French navy at the end of the July Monarchy ("Tout est à refaire dans la marine, c'est un échaffaudage craquant de tous côtés, il faut y faire une révolution radicale, si l'on veut obtenir un résultat digne de la France ; tous les palliatifs employés jusqu'à présent, pour masquer la décrépitude de l'édifice, ne tendent qu'à inspirer une dangereuse confiance à ceux qui ne voient que la surface des choses"). The attribution comes from a handwritten note on the front cover, and is consistent: the future Admiral Louis-Adolphe Bonard (1805-1867) had just been appointed captain in 1847, and had spent much of his career in Oceania (cf. his chapter VII on the colonies).
First edition of the French translation of the only portion translated (and adapted) from the monumental Geographie der Griechen und Römer, comprising 14 volumes published between 1788 and 1825 in Nuremberg, which at the time constituted the finest synthesis of the Ancients’ geographical understanding of the known world (cf. Brunet 23 388).
First gatherings loosened, angular losses to the spine and boards, a few minor spots of foxing.
Konrad Mannert (1756–1834) was among the foremost Bavarian historians of his time.
Second editions, partially original, of the French and Dutch translations; the text is bilingual (Dutch and French), and includes numerous passages printed in Malay (cf. Cordier, "Indosinica", 1385. Not mentioned by Quérard).
Bound in chocolate-brown half shagreen, spine with four small raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and dots, joints split then restored, marbled paper boards showing some scratches, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, small tears to edges; 19th-century binding.
Waterstains affecting the first and last few leaves of the volume.
The translator’s lengthy preface (47 pp.) appears here for the first time. Pages 235 to 344 contain exercises (original texts and their translations). "The first proof sheet of my Dictionary of the Malayan language was received from the printer on the 21st March, and the last on 11th October 1811. On the 24th of that month I corrected the first sheet of the Grammar, and both works were published in the early part of the following year. The impression was large, and, unfortunately for my labours, the extensive possessions conquered from the Dutch, where the Malayan is spoken, were gratuitously restored to them, and my sale contracted. Within these few years the Government of the Netherlands has done me the honour of causing translations of my Grammar and Dictionary, which has been hably executed by M. Elout fils, and to the politeness of M. Elout, minister for the colonies, I am indebted for copies of them." Cf. Marsden, Memoirs, pp. 143–144, cited by Cordier. The English orientalist William Marsden (Dublin, 1754–1836) was also director of the East India Company and secretary to the Admiralty. He had travelled to Sumatra in 1771 following his brother, an agent of the Company, and devoted his time there to learning the local language. "After spending eight well-used years in Sumatra, he returned to England in 1779 in hopes of securing a more lucrative position. Initially unsuccessful, he dedicated his retirement to a geographical and historical study of the island. Around this time, he became acquainted with Sir Joseph Banks, who introduced him to several eminent figures such as Dalrymple, Rennell, Maskelyne, Solander, and Herschel. He was soon elected a member of the Royal Society. His History of Sumatra, published in 1782, earned him that distinction (...) The principal fruits of his studious retirement were a Grammar and a Dictionary of the Malay language, an excellent translation of the Travels of Marco Polo (1817), with a highly valuable commentary, a catalogue of his rich collection of Oriental coins, and three Essays, the most important of which concerns the languages of Polynesia" [Hoefer].
First edition illustrated with figures in the text.
Comprising two articles (issues 111-114, then 121-126) published in the periodical Les Grandes usines de France, which appeared from 1859 to 1898 and gathered, issue by issue, monographs on the country’s industrial establishments (the complete collection includes 360 issues in 19 volumes).
Disbound copy.
First edition illustrated with original photographs by Robert Doisneau, Marcel Arthaud, Pierre Jahan, Jean Roubier, Pierre Roughol, René Zuber, and Suzanne Laroche.
Publisher’s binding in full tricolour boards, smooth spine without lettering, slightly faded, upper cover decorated with a celebrated photograph by Robert Doisneau, minor spotting to the boards.
A pleasing copy.
First edition adorned with numerous copper-engraved reproductions of medals and coins distributed across 4 plates outside the text, together with 19 vignettes within the text.
Half blue sheep binding with corners, unlettered spine with five raised bands, moiré-patterned paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, covers preserved, front cover marginally soiled, modern binding.
Rare collection of twelve letters focused on coinage.
The Lorrain scholar Nicolas-Damas Marchant (1767-1833) was a military physician, numismatist, and also served as mayor of Metz from 1 November 1805 to 6 May 1815, spanning almost the entire Imperial period.
First edition illustrated with an engraved view of Oran by Fichot.
Only three records in the CCF (BnF, Troyes, Saint-Geniez). Not listed in Tailliart.
Contemporary half bottle-green cloth, smooth spine decorated with false raised bands and blind-stamped fillets, marbled paper boards, rubbed corners.
Some minor foxing, endpapers partly shaded.
Sole edition of this curious work composed by a "first-class engineer guard," intended to counter metropolitan prejudices against the Arabs of Algeria.
Rare first edition illustrated with 9 plates, including a large folding map.
Publisher’s binding in full havana cloth, smooth spine decorated in black, vignette of a ship within a double black circle on the upper cover, black endpapers and pastedowns, joints split, corners slightly rubbed.
The author was a former officer of the 90th Light Infantry Regiment and wrote several works on various military subjects.
Manuscript ex-libris of R. B. Knight on the half-title, blue ink stains on the edges at the beginning of the volume.
First edition of this important and early collection of 50 superb lithographs of Algiers printed on china paper mounted on heavy wove, executed by the two painters Emile-Aubert Lessore (1805–1876), a pupil of Ingres, and William Wyld (1806–1889), a friend of Vernet. The work was originally issued in five parts: buildings, landscapes, figures, scenes, etc.
See: Bibliothèque algérienne de Gérard Sangnier, no. 207. Not in Blackmer. Playfair, 517. Tailliart, 896. Gay, 919. Brunet III, 1018.
Contemporary binding in half green shagreen, flat spine with triple gilt fillets and blind-stamped fleurons, gilt decorative bands at head and foot of spine, the upper band partially faded; marbled paper-covered boards with some marginal discoloration. Contemporary binding.
Spine restored, occasional scattered foxing.
First edition, printed in 500 numbered copies, of this splendid archaeological album featuring 78 in-text illustrations and 13 full-page plates with tissue guards (including 7 double-page or folding plates).
Text by Henri Lechat.
Publisher’s Bradel binding in full forest green cloth, smooth spine, headcaps slightly crushed, one joint split at head, spine and boards ruled in ochre, corners slightly rubbed, bookplate affixed to the front pastedown.
Copy from the library of industrialist Anatole Descamps (1833–1907), with engraved ex-libris by Devambez mounted on the pastedown.
A handsome copy.
First edition, illustrated with 11 double-page folio plates, including 2 plans printed on tracing paper. (Not listed in Hage Chahine.)
The text fascicle is in wrappers and the suite of plates is loose, both housed in the publisher’s original black cloth-backed portfolio with corners, flat spine without lettering, title label centered on the upper board, sand-colored boards showing some stains and scuff marks, with flaps and ties.
On the inside flap of the publisher’s portfolio, autograph inscription signed by Henri Chevrier to Pierre Glénat: "... dans l'espoir de faire un jour sa connaissance sous le soleil der Thèbes..."
First edition printed in a very small number (cf. Polak 1648-1649).
Collection of two obituary notices published in the days following the death of Auguste-Nicolas Vaillant (1793-1858), the renowned navigator who commanded "La Bonite" during the celebrated scientific voyage of exploration of 1835-1837.
With continuous pagination (26 pp.), two separate title-pages and a general title, they are extracted from the "Moniteur universel" and the "Journal des débats" of 9 November 1858 (Vaillant died on 1 November).
The authors are Frédéric Chassériau and J.-J. Baude (their names appear at the end of each text). Cf. Taillemite 332.
A rare and appealing copy.
One of the very few copies bearing an autograph inscription—fewer than ten are recorded—of this first edition, containing the Marseillaise.
First edition illustrated with an engraved frontispiece by Charles-Étienne Gaucher after Jean-Jacques Le Barbier and four pages of engraved musical score at the end of the volume. La Marseillaise appears here in its true first edition, having first been pre-published in the Almanach des Muses in 1793 and circulated as separate leaves.
Contemporary half-sheepskin binding, smooth spine gilt-decorated with compartments, fleurons and fillets, red morocco title-piece, black pasteboard sides. Several manuscript and pasted ex-libris on the pastedown and endpapers. Spine restored, some foxing. The last two letters of the dedicatee’s name have been trimmed in the binding.
The work is enriched on the half-title with an exceptional autograph presentation by Rouget de L’Isle to a fellow artist of the Revolution: “M de La Chabeaussiè[re] / de la part de l'auteur.”
Rouget de Lisle and Poisson de la Chabeaussière, the recipient of the dedication, both embodied the revolutionary fervour and left their mark on the republican history of France through their writings.
La Marseillaise is presented here alongside other poems and songs. This first edition delivers the celebrated anthem in its original form: six quatrains, as written by Captain Rouget de L’Isle for the Army of the Rhine in April 1792, and proclaimed the national anthem in 1795 by the decree of 26 Messidor Year III.
As lyricists and men of letters, Rouget de L’Isle and La Chabeaussière were zealous servants of the Revolution but also victims of its excesses. At the time of this inscription, in Year V of the Republic, the two men were at the height of their glory: one as the author of the national anthem that thrilled revolutionary France, the other as the writer of the most widely disseminated republican catechism of the Revolution. Indeed, La Chabeaussière composed another major work of revolutionary heritage: a Catéchisme républicain, philosophique et moral, reprinted eighty-two times up to the Third Republic, which earned him a seat on the Commission exécutive de l’instruction publique. Like Rouget de L’Isle, he also achieved success as a lyricist and librettist, notably for the comic operas of Nicolas Delayrac. The history of La Marseillaise from its creation is interwoven with that of La Chabeaussière and of the composer Delayrac, whose heroic drama Sargines ou l’Élève de l’amour presents striking similarities with the anthem.
Neither La Chabeaussière nor Rouget de L’Isle, despite the fame of the Marseillaise, escaped the terrors of the Revolution. Declared “suspects,” they were both imprisoned in 1793, respectively at the prisons of the Madelonettes and of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. After these dark hours, they resumed a more peaceful existence and continued to collaborate actively with the Almanach des Muses, which first published La Marseillaise in volume form.
Upon La Chabeaussière’s death in 1820, the copy embarked on a most romantic history. It still bears the inscription of its second owner, Édouard Gendron: “Ce livre a été acheté en 1821 – à un carrefour près la place de l’école de médecine, parmi un tas de ferraille.”
First publication by its composer of the most celebrated symbol of the French Republic: La Marseillaise. Its precious presentation brings together revolutionary poets whose intertwined destinies left an indelible mark on the history of France.
First edition. Adorned with headpieces, initials, and illustrated with 16 folding tables, 3 in the first volume and 13 in the second, together with a great number of tables on single leaves. Title pages printed in red and black.
Contemporary full polished and marbled brown calf binding. Spine with raised bands, gilt compartments. Red morocco title label. Volume labels in wax, rubbed and illegible. Triple blind fillet framing on the covers. Red marbled edges. Headcaps worn. Loss to the tail of volume II. Joints of volume I split at head and tail. Upper joint of volume I tightly split along its full length and lower joint split at head and tail. Several corners bumped. Spines rubbed. Some surface abrasions to the covers. Dampstain to the lower margin of the endpaper and half-title, with losses. At the foot of the title page, an old dampstain extending across three leaves. Overall, a relatively fresh copy, with some scattered foxing.
First edition (cf. Polak 8547).
Rare copy preserved in its original stitching, in temporary cream paper wrappers.
A few marginal manuscript annotations on page 49.
This publication includes only the decrees issued between 7 Thermidor Year II [25 July 1794] and 9 Fructidor Year II [26 August 1794], although the mission of the Convention member Jeanbon Saint-André (1749–1813) in Toulon continued until March 1795.
An important document on the work of one of the reformers of the French navy during the Revolution.
Uncommon first edition, cf. Polak 7724 (only three copies recorded in the CCF: Musée de la Marine, Angers, and Caen), illustrated with a portrait frontispiece of Count Martin lithographed on cream paper mounted, together with 6 folding lithographed maps hors texte.
Spine cracked with small losses, some foxing.
Rare copy complete with the extensive printer’s catalogue at the end of the volume.
This account of Admiral Pierre Martin (1752-1820) was published by his grandson, Denis Pouget (1808-1892), through his only daughter Marguerite. It notably discusses the fire-ship affair off the Île d’Aix, a naval battle between the British and the French which took place on 11–12 April 1809 during the Fifth Coalition, and which led to the Admiral’s near-permanent disgrace.
First edition illustrated with a large folding map of Algeria outside the text, together with a portrait frontispiece.
Gay 938: "le fait capital du volume est la prise de Constantine."
Pleasing copy.
First edition (cf. Sabin 47206. Leclerc 952.).
Some joints cracked at head and tail, minor marginal losses of no consequence to the temporary wrappers.
The author, Italian by birth, emigrated to America before the Revolution and settled in Virginia near Monticello.
His book, written in collaboration with Condorcet, is of particular interest with regard to the history of independence and the government of the United States, cf. Fay pages 24-25: "Compilation très exacte, qui réfute les théories de Mably et de Raynal et constitue un répertoire précieux de renseignements de tous ordres sur les États-Unis."
Rare and appealing copy preserved in its original stitching and in plain pink temporary wrappers.
First edition of this preliminary study to the monumental Historia fisica, politica y natural de la isla de Cuba (Paris, 1832-1861).
Cf Kress 26 754. Palau 284 794. Sabin 74 919.
Contemporary half calf, flat spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons as well as a large blind-stamped fleuron, gilt rolls at head and tail, marbled paper boards with some rubbing along the edges, a few small bumps to the extremities, sprinkled edges.
Headcaps rubbed, tear to leaves v–vi with loss of a few letters on the final leaf, title-page slightly soiled, a faint dampstain affecting the lower margin of the first few leaves.
Inscribed by Ramon de La Sagra to the naturalist and explorer Alcide Dessalines d'Orbigny (1802–1857), whom he must have met during a stopover in Cuba on the course of the seven-year journey he undertook in South America for the Muséum (1826–1834).
The final letter of the word 'auteur' shows a small loss in the calligraphy.
Rare first edition illustrated, at the end of the volume, with 2 folding plates.
Unique edition, of the utmost rarity, rendered all the more so by the second dedication to Berthier, unrecorded elsewhere and evidently added later.
It is known that the young Bonaparte, assigned to the artillery regiment of La Fère, had passionately learned his military trade at the Royal School of Artillery in Auxonne.
It is also known that he had studied in depth the Nouveaux principes d'artillerie by Benjamin Robins, on which he left notes.
This work must therefore have drawn his particular attention. The author long taught artillery in military schools, yet little is known about him. "Napoléon n'oublia jamais sa formation d'artilleur..."
"Il fit jouer à cette arme un rôle de plus en plus marqué," confirms Jean Tulard.
A rare and appealing copy preserved in its original temporary blue wrappers, with the title inscribed in manuscript at the head of the spine.
First edition, very rare (cf. Lorenz XII, 926).
Half caramel calf with corners, spine with four raised bands ruled in black, brown shagreen lettering-piece, restored original wrappers and spine bound in, modern binding.
Loss of paper to the upper right corner of the half-title, some passages underlined in pencil, pp. 399-400 detached with loss of text.
An important work: one of the most comprehensive studies on Toussaint Louverture and the revolution in Saint-Domingue.
This was his final work, published on the occasion of the centenary of the French Revolution. It recounts, in particular, the events following the slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue in August 1791, the abolition of slavery in the colony in August–September 1793, the Convention’s decree of emancipation on 16 Pluviôse Year II (4 February 1794), and the protracted war waged by the French troops—dispatched by Napoleon Bonaparte to the colony in December 1801—against the newly freed slaves, ending with the French defeat in November 1803 and the proclamation of independence.
First edition in Spanish, printed simultaneously with the French edition (Not cited by Sabin, who records only the French version under no. 39838).
Contemporary mottled tan sheep bindings, spines with four raised bands decorated with gilt dentelle and floral tools, red morocco lettering- and volume-pieces, headcaps shaved, gilt dentelle framing on the boards, marbled endpapers, corners rubbed, bindings signed "Felipe Montilla, Merida de Yucatán".
Joints split at head and foot of the first volume, joints rubbed, small marginal tears to a few leaves of the first volume without loss of text, light waterstaining to the edges of both volumes.
This collection of documents constitutes a complete history of the French intervention in Mexico and the ill-fated imperial venture of Maximilian.
First edition, one of 15 numbered copies on Japan paper, the only deluxe issue.
Illustrated with 121 wood engravings and a folding coloured map.
Bound in modern half black oasis, flat spine decorated with double gilt fillets, brown oasis lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of marbled paper, lower cover preserved and mounted on a tab.
First edition of this work published in Toulouse, cradle of aeronautics.
Precious and rare signed autograph inscription by Clément Ader to René Fonck, « l'As des As » of French aviation, who achieved the highest number of aerial victories during the First World War: « à monsieur René Fonck membre du Comité de Direction de l'Aéro-Club. En souvenir du 2 mars reconnaissant hommage. »
This remarkable dedication was most likely written on 2 March 1922 on the occasion of a banquet held by the Aéro-Club de France at the Palais d'Orsay, celebrating the award of the Commander's insignia of the Légion d'honneur to Clément Ader, the first Frenchman who, as early as 1890, attempted flight with his prototypes named « Éole » and « Zéphyr ». This final tribute marked the pinnacle of the career of this brilliant inventor, from whom the French army had nonetheless turned away after the unconvincing demonstration flight of his « Aquilon » at Satory in 1897.
A rare and desirable copy, enriched with an exceptional signed autograph inscription from the father of aeronautics to René Fonck, the military hero of French and Allied aviation, nicknamed « l'As des As » during the First World War with seventy-five confirmed victories to his credit.
First edition printed in 130 copies, all nominative and numbered, on Rives vellum.
Full chocolate-brown morocco binding, spine with four double raised bands framed by black fillets extending onto the covers, gilt date at foot, gilt rolls on the caps, endpapers and pastedowns of hand-made paper, quintuple gilt fillet borders on the pastedowns, double gilt fillets on the board edges, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt.
Illustrated with a frontispiece, 15 plates and 6 vignettes by Georges Leroux engraved on copper by Raoul Serres.
This copy is supplemented, at the end of the volume, with a suite of the 22 illustrations together with the printed menu for the dinner of 30 June 1930 of the Société bibliophilique des "Cent centraux bibliophiles".
In addition, the work includes, mounted on a tab, four original preparatory sketches in black pencil and, following them, an original drawing by Georges Leroux, dated, signed, and executed for the representation of the menu of the dinner of 30 June 1930 held by the "Cent centraux bibliophiles".
Manuscript signatures of Rosny aîné and Raoul Serres on the verso of the original menu drawing.
A very handsome copy accompanied by five original drawings by Georges Leroux, finely bound in full morocco.
First edition, very rare. "Aucun exemplaire de ce livre imprimé aux frais de la duchesse d'Orléans avant 1814 ne fut distribué de son vivant (Tourneux, Bibl. de l'hist. de Paris pendant la Révolution fr., IV, 21752)
Cf Quérard, VIII, 258. Brunet, II, 1136. Tourneux, 21572.
Some leaves browned or foxed.
Contemporary Bradel bindings in full purple paper boards imitating long-grain morocco, spines slightly faded, decorated with gilt fillets, friezes, and fleurons, gilt crowned monogram at the head of the spines, entirely uncut, headcaps slightly worn, some wear to the corners of volumes 3 and 4, bindings contemporary to the publication.
Some leaves slightly browned.
The work is a reply to Montjoie’s defamatory pamphlet, Histoire de la conjuration d'Orléans (1796), which would later be reprinted and condemned under the reign of Louis-Philippe. It was written by a controversial figure, the politician and conventionnel from Toulouse, Jacques-Marie Rouzet de Folmon (1743-1820).
Kuscinski (Dict. des conventionnels, pp. 540-541) notes that Rouzet accompanied the dowager duchess of Orléans into exile, after securing her release from the Luxembourg prison. They both returned to France in 1814, and "au dire de Mme Cavaignac, il aurait fini par l'épouser, ce qui aurait presque complètement brouillé la mère avec ses enfants. Rouzet a été enterré à Dreux dans les caveaux de la chapelle de la famille d'Orléans."
Provenance: Precious copy bound for Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, with his crowned gilt monogram at the head of the spines and the stamp of the Bibliothèque du roi, Palais Royal, on the title pages.
The endpaper of the first volume bears the handwritten note: "à l'armoire des médailles, par o[rdre] du Roi", referring to the reserve of precious, or confidential, books of the royal library.
Rare and appealing copy in contemporary boards, entirely uncut, complete with the 3 leaves of errata bound at the end.
The last two volumes are unopened.
The set is preserved in two modern slipcases of half long-grain red morocco, flat spines decorated with gilt fillets.
First edition, no copies printed on deluxe paper.
Illustrated, a pleasant copy
Precious and very fine autograph inscription, dated and signed by Samuel Mbajum: "Paris, 30 June 2014, au ministre Bernard Kouchner, avec ma sympathie pour votre combat humanitaire, en espérant que vous m'aiderez à plaider le plus largement possible la cause de ces oubliés de l'histoire franco-africaine, et aussi des débats sur la commémoration de la Grande Guerre."
First edition of the most significant 19th-century scientific expedition to Iceland and Greenland.
A few light spots of foxing, otherwise a very good copy.
The 8 volumes of text include:
- History of the voyage, by Joseph-Paul Gaimard and Eugène Robert: 2 volumes with a portrait.
- History of Iceland, by Xavier Marmier: 1 volume.
- Icelandic Literature, by Xavier Marmier: 1 volume.
- Travel journal, by E. Mecquet: 1 volume.
- Zoology and medicine, by Eugène Robert: 1 volume, with folding table.
- Physics, by V. Lottin: 1 volume.
The 4 atlas volumes comprise:
- Mineralogy and geology, by Eugène Robert: 1 volume. Atlas:
- Mineralogy and geology: 1 volume with 36 black plates, some printed on China paper and mounted.
- Historical: 2 volumes with 150 lithographed plates and views in black, printed on China paper and mounted.
- Zoological, medical, and geographical: 1 volume with 51 plates, 35 of which are finely hand-colored (one plate present in both states: black and colored).
Bound in modern half blond calf, flat spines richly gilt with garlands and gilt and blind-stamped fillets, gilt decorative bands at foot of spines, red and dark green morocco spine labels, marbled paper boards, bindings signed by Laurenchet.
A very rare and attractive uniformly bound complete set.
First edition, illustrated with 11 lithographed plates by Théodule Devéria and printed by Kaeppelin.
Some occasional foxing.
Rare.
First edition, illustrated with 265 engravings (including 70 heliogravure plates on thick paper with captioned tissue guards), after the author's own photographs, and including a folding color map at the end of the volume.
Contemporary binding in half tawny morocco with marbled boards, spine with five raised bands framed by black fillets, red morocco title label, some rubbing to spine and headcap, gilt double fillet and garland borders on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, top edge gilt.
Scattered light foxing, mostly at the beginning of the volume.
First edition and first issue of the suite of 24 color lithographs.
Publisher’s original soft illustrated folder, flat red cloth spine without lettering (expertly restored), red cloth framing on the boards, showing some soiling; original cloth ties intact and present.
Some occasional foxing.
Very rare first edition, printed in only 80 copies (According to CCFr, copies are held only at the BnF and in Lille).
This edition was printed on August 27, 1867, in the presence of Emperor Napoleon III, during his visit to northern France with Empress Eugénie from August 26 to 30, 1867.
Publisher’s binding in full green grained cloth, flat spine decorated with blind fillets, panels framed with blind fillets, slightly bumped corners, pink edges.
Minor foxing mainly affecting the endpapers; a handsome copy.
On a blank endpaper, an autograph inscription signed by Léonard-Jean-Baptiste Danel (1818–1905), nephew and successor of Louis Danel since 1843, addressed to Auguste Ohnet, likely the paternal uncle of the novelist Georges Ohnet (1848–1918), in which case he lived from 1808 to 1882.
Laid in: a chromolithographed broadside (39 x 29 cm) presenting a copy to the Empress ("Offert à S.M. l'Impératrice Eugénie par le personnel de l'imprimerie Danel à Lille").
First and only edition, illustrated in the first volume with 9 folding plates and 4 large maps at the end; and in the second volume with in-text figures and 10 folding maps at the end (numbered 10–19 as a continuation of the first volume).
A few minor spots, not affecting the text; handwritten ownership inscriptions in the upper left corners of the front covers.
The work, complete in two volumes (I. With 9 plates out of text. – II. The March to Battle. The Battle. The Engagement), is regarded as the most thorough strategic and tactical study of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905.
Émilien-Victor, known as Emile Cordonnier (1858–1936), then a colonel of infantry, served during the First World War as commander of the French Army of the Orient, operating from headquarters in Salonika from 1915 to 1918.
First edition of this significant publication issued by the Commission of Inquiry tasked with collecting all available data and documentation on the cultivation, production, and sale of tobacco.
Illustrated with numerous folding tables and a folding map of France, printed in lithography by A. Cabassol and bound out of text.
Apparently not recorded in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Contemporary half calf binding, flat spine rebacked and decorated with gilt fillets, morocco labels in light brown, some rubbing to the spine, marbled paper boards with minor marginal flaws, marbled endpapers, sprinkled edges.
Some spotting to top edge; an embossed ownership stamp appears on the first leaf, with the initials CA in a medallion (possibly Caroline Augusta of the Two Sicilies, Duchess of Aumale?).
Comprehensive alphabetical index at the end of the volume.
First edition of both parts; the second includes a folding map at the end.
No copies of either text recorded in the CCF (Catalogue collectif de France).
Pale green cloth Bradel binding, flat spine with vertical green morocco label, original wrappers preserved for both volumes, green paper endleaves and pastedowns; modern binding.
These are the very first reports on the Central Asian expedition (Ladakh, Xinjiang) undertaken in 1913–1914 by Dr. Filippo De Filippi (1869–1938).
A rare and attractive set.
First edition.
Bound in green half shagreen, spines with five raised bands ruled in black and decorated with gilt floral tools, gilt names of a former owner at foot of spines, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers bound in.
Some occasional foxing, minor rubbing to two upper corners, and light surface wear to a few boards without affecting the integrity of the binding.
Contemporary ink ownership inscriptions at the head of the wrappers, with blind collector's stamps on the endpapers.
A handsome set of these important memoirs from the Napoleonic era.
First edition of this rare album illustrated with 15 line-engraved plates, each protected by a tissue guard and accompanied by a caption leaf, including a reproduction of the author's portrait drawn by Ingres in Rome in 1818.
Publisher's original full grey boards, flat spine without lettering, some rubbing, blind-ruled borders on covers, a scratch to the foot of the upper cover, central title, corners rubbed.
Some foxing.
Inscribed by Antoine-Marie Chenavard to his friend Antonin L., with the author's signed presentation note.
Rare first edition of the Spanish translation commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I, with the French text printed opposite (Not in Sabin. Not held at the BnF).
French and Spanish texts printed side by side in two columns.
Contemporary binding in navy blue half calf, spine with four raised bands framed with gilt garlands and decorated gilt compartments, restored to spine and joints; marbled paper boards, cat's-eye patterned endpapers and pastedowns.
Stamp of the Centro de estudios jurídicos "Lex" Mexico, Jul 16 1934, on the half-title and fore-edge ; clean and attractive interior condition.
First edition of this uncommon work (cf. Atabey 138. Blackmer 178.)
Return journey via the Black Sea, Rumelia, Bulgaria, Russian Bessarabia, the Danubian Principalities, Hungary, Austria and Prussia, in May, June, July and August 1853. Paris, Treuttel et Würtz, Dumoulin, Derache, Victor Didron, 1855, 2 vols. 12mo,
Contemporary half cherry calf bindings, flat spines decorated with gilt fillets, dotted lines, and garlands, gilt rolls at foot, black marks and discoloration to spines and boards, red paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.
Occasional light spotting, a fresh and well-preserved copy.
First edition, cf. Blackmer 133. Not in Atabey.
Contemporary romantic binding in navy-blue half sheep, spine gilt with decorative romantic tools, gilt rolls (partly faded) at head and foot, gilt fillet framing the boards decorated in blind with romantic arabesques, gilt-stamped plaque of the "Lycée impérial du Mans" to upper board, some wear along board edges, endpapers and pastedowns of marbled paper, marbled edges, gilt tooling at head and foot of the boards’ edges mostly rubbed. A handsome romantic binding of the period.
A near-spotless copy, attractively preserved in a period romantic binding.
First edition of this magnificent work, one of Gustave Le Bon’s (1841–1931) contributions to anthropology, in which he applied his pioneering theories to the Arab world. One of the few copies printed on japon paper, unrecorded in bibliographies.
Illustrated with 10 chromolithographs, 4 maps, and 366 engravings, including 70 large plates, after the author’s photographs or the most reliable documentary sources. Cf. Vicaire V, 134.
Contemporary half cherry-red shagreen, spine with five raised bands adorned with gilt fillets and double gilt compartments, double gilt fillet frame on marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, top edge gilt.
Minor superficial rubbing to spine ends.
A rare and attractive copy on japon paper, handsomely bound in contemporary period style.
New edition illustrated with 47 engraved and hand-colored costume plates (cf. Colas 2784).
This is a reissue, under the Metz imprint, of a portion (volume IV) of the Tableau Historique des costumes, des moeurs et des usages des principaux peuples de l'antiquité et du moyen âge, originally published in Paris and Metz between 1804 and 1809.
Rare and attractive copy preserved in its original publisher’s wrappers, with the original plain waiting cover and a printed title label affixed at the head of the spine.
First edition of this rare album illustrated with 15 outline-engraved plates, each protected by a tissue guard and accompanied by a leaf of descriptive text, including a reproduction of the author's portrait drawn by Ingres in Rome in 1818 (cf. Castiglione, p. 226. Only three copies listed in the CCF: BnF, INHA, Lyon).
Contemporary green half sheepskin binding with corners, spine with four raised bands framed by dotted rolls, gilt double fillets and floral tools, triple gilt fillet border on green paper-covered boards, gilt title to upper board, marbled endpapers, contemporary binding.
Some rubbing to spine, corners restored.
A handsome copy.
Author's copy with inkstamp to the title-page.
Very rare collection comprising offprints of original editions of articles and reviews first published in the Journal des savants or the Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient.
Bradel binding in green bottle cloth-backed boards, flat spine decorated with a central gilt ornament and double gilt fillet at foot, red morocco title label, marbled paper boards, some original wrappers preserved, modern binding signed Boichot.
Most of the fascicles are by the Indologist Auguste Barth (1834–1916), one of the founders of the École française d'Extrême-Orient, and the originator of Indochinese epigraphy through his studies of Sanskrit inscriptions in Cambodia. He was also a specialist in Indian religions.
The collection includes the following items:
I. Die Religion des Veda, von Hermann Oldenberg. Berlin, Wilhelm Hertz, 1894 (September 1896, 55 pp.).
II. Le pèlerin chinois I-Tsing. Edouard Chavannes: Voyages des pèlerins bouddhistes (...). Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1894 (November 1898, 52 pp.).
III. Le Mahavastu, Sanskrit text published for the first time with introductions and commentary, by E. Senart. 1882–1897 (October 1899, 41 pp.).
IV. Grundriss der indo-arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde, edited by Georg Bühler. Strasbourg, Karl-J. Trübner, 12 fascicles published from 1896 to 1899 (September 1900, 82 pp.).
V. Le Cambodge. Le Royaume actuel, by Etienne Aymonier, Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1900 (August 1901, 17 pp.).
VI. Kaccayana's Pali Grammar, by Satis Chandra Acharya Vidyabhusana, London and Calcutta, 1901 (October 1902, 16 pp.).
VII. Lunet de Lajonquière, Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, Paris, Imprimerie nationale, E. Leroux éditeur, 1902 (July 1903, 4 pp.).
VIII. On the Origin and Diffusion of Fables. Francesco Ribezzo: Nuovi studi sulla origine e la propagazione delle favole indo-elleniche comunemente dette esopiche. Napoli, Francesco Giannini, 1901 (January 1904, 29 pp.).
IX. L'École française d'Extrême-Orient (Hanoi, Imprimerie F.-H. Schneider, n.d. [1900], 11 pp.).
X. Stele of Vat Phou, near Bassac (Laos) (1902, 2 unnumbered ff., 6 pp., one folding plate).
XI. The Doublets of the Stele of Say-Fong. Letter to the Director of the École française d'Extrême-Orient (1903, 7 pp.).
XII. FOUCHER (Alfred): Report to the Governor-General of Indochina on the work of the École française d'Extrême-Orient during the year 1901 (1902, 10 pp.). – XIII. LEVI (Sylvain): Chinese Notes on India (1902, 2 unnumbered ff., 10 pp.).
XIV and XV. FINOT (Louis): Notes on Epigraphy (n.d. [1902], and 1903, 36 pp., one unnumbered leaf of errata and 4 photogravure plates).
XVI. SPECHT (Edouard): On the Deciphering of Sindo-Ephthalite Coins (Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1901, 43 pp.).
Most of the pamphlets bear a signed presentation inscription from the authors to Father Boyer.
First edition including 113 statistical tables compiled by Dr. Chassinat, surgeon for the Ministry of the Interior.
Spine lacking, minor losses to corners of the boards.
Rare collector’s head volume of this fascinating economic, agricultural, and industrial journal founded by economist and statistician César Moreau (1791–1860), who also established the "Société française de statistique" (cf. BNF, "Catalogue collectif des périodiques", III, p. 157. Not in Hatin.)
Text printed in three columns.
Contemporary half brown sheepskin binding, smooth spine gilt-ruled with decorative panels, joints rubbed and professionally restored, marbled paper-covered boards, corners worn, yellow edges speckled with red.
Issue no. 23 of the second year is lacking from our set, which collation is as follows:
First edition of the French translation of the compilation entitled Historia de la dominacion de los Arabes en España sacada de varios manuscritos y memorias arabigas (Madrid, 1820–21), cf. Playfair 528. Palau 59020.
Contemporary bindings in black half sheepskin, flat spines decorated with gilt garlands and blind-tooled floral ornaments, gilt library shelfmark numbers at foot, vellum-tipped corners, headcaps rubbed on two volumes, covers in mottled paper, bookplates pasted on the endpapers, a few small chips to the upper edges and corners of the third volume, sprinkled edges.
Scattered foxing, minor rubbing to the bindings.
Copy from the library of Vittorio Rochstol, with his bookplates mounted on the front endpapers.
Rare first edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author, lithographed by Légé after J. Philippe.
Only three copies listed in the CCF (BnF, Pau, Toulouse).
Bound following the second part, which bears a different title: Cour d'assises de la Haute-Garonne. Affaire Lesnier. Deuxième partie, published in Bordeaux and Toulouse by Métreau and Delboy in 1855, 88 pp.
Some scattered foxing, mainly at the beginning and end of the volume.
Contemporary-style binding in chocolate-brown half shagreen, spine with five raised bands framed by black fillets, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.
First edition describing 1,271 objects, illustrated with 3 full-page line-engraved plates.
Inscribed on the upper cover with a signed autograph presentation from François Lenormant to the eighth Duke of Luynes (1802–1867).
Minor foxing, light creasing to the upper cover.
First edition of the French translation of England, The United States and the Southern Confederacy, originally published the previous year in London (Sabin 76968).
Copy belonging to the philosopher Charles Renouvier (1815–1903), with a manuscript presentation inscription at the head of the front wrapper.
Spine cracked with small losses and tears. Some light foxing; slight marginal tears to the wrappers.
Very rare first edition of the author's very first work, in which he clearly sought to draw attention during this period of revival of the national stud farms, abolished during the Revolution and officially reinstated in 1806 (see Mennessier de La Lance II, 138).
Contemporary full marbled fawn calf, flat spine richly gilt with garlands, Greek keys, floral tools and geometric motifs, green morocco title labels, gilt rolls on the almost faded caps, gilt ornamental borders on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillet on edges, worn corners, sprinkled edges.
Facing the title page, signed autograph inscription by Louis de Maleden to "Messieurs Talendier et Laforest," in which he mentions the publication of his Plan organique, which appeared in 1805 followed this first work.
Ex-libris label of Waldemar Schwalbe, dated 1937, pasted on the front pastedown.
First edition of this French translation prepared by Abbé J.B. Morvan de Bellegarde, who here renders six of the nine books of the celebrated Brevissima relación by Las Casas, first published in Seville in 1552 (cf. Sabin 11273. Medina BHA 1085n. Streit I:733. Palau 46966. JCB (4) 344-345. Leclerc 337. "European Americana" 697/33).
Contemporary full marbled calf binding, spine gilt in compartments with decorative tooling, red morocco label, gilt rolls to head and tail caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets to board edges, red edges.
Minor repairs to joints, discreet restoration in the inner margin of the frontispiece.
A handsome copy.
Las Casas wrote this text in 1549 to defend himself against accusations from Spanish colonizers following his advocacy on behalf of the Indigenous peoples. In this impassioned denunciation, he condemns the colonial system introduced in the Indies by the Spanish, a system founded entirely on violence and plunder. The publication caused considerable stir in Spain and led to the abolition of the encomiendas—a land allocation system which, under the guise of converting and assisting the natives, legalized one of the most brutal forms of slavery. From a historical perspective, this work stands at the origin of the concept of the "noble savage", which, through missionary apologetics, would inspire the primitivist movement that ultimately gave rise—within Rousseau's thought—to a return to nature and to the new moral, political, and aesthetic sensibilities of the 19th century. Cf. Dict. des œuvres.
First edition, one of 35 copies printed on Japan paper, the deluxe issue, complete with the four states of the etchings (pure etching with remarque, with remarque, before letters, final state), see Vicaire, VII, 534.
(Vicaire mentions a blank leaf and a dedication leaf which appear to be missing here, although the copy is otherwise perfectly complete.)
Contemporary binding in half Empire green morocco, spine with five raised bands framed by black fillets, minor rubbing to the spine, spine and boards slightly faded, black fillet border on marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt on witnesses, binding signed by Pétrus Ruban.
Excellent internal condition.
First edition in book form, illustrated with 5 color plans of Kyoto, Osaka, Yedo, Asaksa, Imato, and Yokohama, a map of Japan, two plates depicting examples of Japanese syllabaries (Katakana and Hiragana), and 476 wood-engraved illustrations within the text (see Cordier, Japonica, 670; Wenckstern I, 5; Nipponalia I, 2036).
Contemporary red half shagreen bindings, spines with five raised bands decorated with blind-ruled fillets and gilt compartments; joints slightly split then discreetly restored at head and tail; boards covered in grained cloth with blind-stamped borders; endpapers and pastedowns of white moiré silk with minor, marginal spotting; all edges gilt.
A handsome copy of one of the first major travel accounts of Japan published in French.
First and only illustrated edition with 12 engraved plates on India paper, under serpents.
Restored spine with minor tears, slight marginal tears on the boards, a crease on the corner of the second board, otherwise in pleasant interior condition.
The eighth Duke of Luynes (1802-1867) gained a significant reputation as an archaeologist, numismatist, and art collector.
Attractive promotional album, complete with its 600 sepia-toned photographs (small prints, each approximately 7 x 5 cm), produced by the La Corona cigar brand. Each vignette was originally included inside the brand's cigar boxes and was meant to be collected and mounted in the album, following a well-established marketing model that remains in use to this day.
Publisher’s original flexible boards with black cloth tape along the margins; some scuffing to covers, corners rubbed.
First edition of this work written in collaboration with Christian Funck-Brentano and Marcel Bousser.
"L'Institut des hautes études marocaines a cru opportun de faire réunir en volume les tirages à part de la Bibliographie marocaine, publiée régulièrement dans la revue Hespéris."
The archivist Pierre Hellouin de Cénival (1888–1937) had served as curator of the Archives and Library of the French Protectorate in Morocco, based in Rabat, from 1918 to 1927.
Spine slightly faded with minor tears skillfully repaired at head and foot; clean and attractive interior.
First edition illustrated with four plates of medals and one folding map with hand-colored outlines.
Contemporary half chocolate-brown sheep bindings, smooth spines slightly faded and decorated with triple gilt fillets, gilt letter "N" at foot of spines, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, speckled edges.
Minor rubbing to spines, occasional foxing.
A senior tax official, Baron de Nervo (1810–1897) authored several works on financial history, but was also an eclectic traveler: his account of a journey to Sicily undertaken in 1833 is decidedly uncommon.
Rare first edition of this predominantly folkloric and literary work: the Forest of Bréchéliant, also known as the Forest of Paimpont, is traditionally identified in Breton folklore with the mythical Forest of Brocéliande from Arthurian legend.
Illustrated with 14 full-page plates in the first volume and 21 in the second.
Our copy was uniquely extra-illustrated at the time with 59 postcards and 2 original photographs mounted on thin cardboard and bound into the volumes.
Contemporary half black shagreen bindings, flat spines with gilt compartments and decorative gilt typographic motifs, marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edges, original wrappers preserved.
The author of this text had no particular intention of reinforcing the authority of a location now regarded as such—if one may speak of a myth layered upon a myth. Trained as a chemist, Félix Bellamy (1828–1907) of Rennes eventually abandoned retorts to embrace the arcane.
A handsome copy, remarkably enriched.
Very rare first edition.
No copies listed in the CCF or WorldCat.
Official recognition by the Peruvian Senate of the rank of Rear Admiral granted to Antonio Ambrosio de La Haza Rodriguez (1825–1891), one of the most distinguished naval officers of the Andean Republic.
He served as Minister of War in 1877 and as Commander-in-Chief of the naval forces in 1878–1879.
A handsome copy.
First edition, illustrated with a portrait of the author after Sir Thomas Lawrence in the text volume, and, in the atlas volume, with 1 engraved map (numbered 1) and 74 lithographed plates (numbered 2 to 75; plate 27 misnumbered 17), including 8 hand-coloured plates: plates 28 (Fresco of Dieudonné de Gozon), 41 (Tomb of Fabrice Caretti), and 61 to 66 (Frescoes from the crypts of Our Lady of Philerme).
See Atabey 1056. Blackmer 1450. Loukia Droulia 1474. Weber, I, 163.
Text volume bound in contemporary green half shagreen, spine with four raised bands adorned with gilt garlands and floral tools, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, rubbed corners; atlas volume in contemporary red half calf with corners, flat spine with gilt fillets, rubbed, marbled paper boards with scratches, some wear to edges and corners.
Some foxing, stains at foot of plate no. 10 in the atlas, and minor foxing on some other engravings.
Brunet, IV, 1415: "Ouvrage curieux et dont les planches sont fort belles".
The lithographs, after drawings by Witdoeck, depict the coastlines of the island of Rhodes, the harbour, fortifications, and principal buildings and monuments, some in ruins: the gates of Saint Catherine, Saint Paul and Saint John, the site and reconstruction of the Colossus, the interior of the palace, Fort Saint Nicholas, Garden of Auvergne, Street of the Knights, tomb of Robert de Julliac, castellany, convent, Lodge of Saint John, priories of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and England, Church of Saint Mark, bishop's palace, façade and interior of Saint Stephen, Admiralty, watchtower of the Knights, Church of Our Lady of Philerme with its frescoes, etc. After studying at the University of Louvain, Bernard Eugène Antoine Rottiers (Antwerp, 1771 – Brussels, 1858) joined the Dutch army in 1789. He fought at the Battle of Jemappes and sailed to England in 1795 with Stadtholder William V. He then served in the British army before leaving for Russia, where he joined the Georgian army. Promoted to colonel, he later returned to the Netherlands. A man of letters and archaeologist, he was entrusted in 1825 with a scientific mission to the Levant: "In January 1826, I departed with one of my sons and my painter, Mr. P.-J. Witdoeck. After stopping in Santorini, we landed in Rhodes, and barely arrived, we began our work. It was as dangerous as it was laborious. The Turks had never permitted anyone, until us, to draw the monuments of the island, especially the interiors of churches and other buildings... These dangers recurred everywhere. We had to brave them again for the drawings of the fortifications, the harbour, the tombs. But the goal was well worth the risk to attain it..." (pp. 15–16).
Rare work.
First edition.
Bound in full cherry red morocco, smooth spine richly gilt with romantic typographic ornaments, gilt roll tooling on the caps, boards framed with double gilt fillets and interlaced motifs with gilt corner fleurons, gilt AO monogram stamped at the center of the boards, gilt garland border on the pastedowns, moiré sky-blue silk endpapers and pastedowns, trace of a removed bookplate on one pastedown, gilt fillets on the edges, all edges gilt, contemporary binding.
The sections relating to the colonies are as follows: Martinique, pp. 199–203; Guadeloupe and dependencies, pp. 204–209; French Guiana, pp. 210–212; Bourbon, pp. 216–220; French settlements in Oceania, pp. 223–224.
Copy from the library of Antoine-Marie-Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier (1824–1890), youngest son of Louis-Philippe, with his gilt AO monogram stamped at the center of the boards. OHR 2590 (tool not listed).
A very handsome copy, finely bound in a period romantic binding with the Duke of Montpensier's monogram.
Very rare first edition (see Ryckebusch 6726).
Only two copies listed in the CCFr: Paris (BnF) and Poitiers.
Unbound copy presented in original grey paper wrappers, handwritten title on the spine (partly missing), some foxing mostly at the beginning and end of the volume.
A staunch advocate for the abolition of slavery, the author structures his study as follows: I. On Slavery. – II. On Emancipation. – III. Essay on the History of the Colonies. – IV. On the Colonial System. – V. Note on Algeria.
This well-documented text is supplemented with statistics and numerous historical observations: "La servitude est un crime et un malheur ; il faut donc l'abolir, et j'ajoute qu'il importe qu'on ne tarde pas à le faire" (chap. II, p. 58).
French economist Michel Gustave Pastoureau Du Puynode was born in 1817 in Les Forges de Verrières (Vienne). Appointed to the Ministry of Justice in 1845, he resigned his post during the Revolution of 1848 and declined the position of Secretary General at the Ministry of the Navy offered to him by Schoelcher. He was one of the principal contributors to the Journal des économistes and a member of the Société d'économie politique until around 1898, the probable year of his death.
A precious copy bearing, at the head of the half-title, a signed autograph inscription by Gustave de Puynode: "A Monsieur le Cte Victor du H[amel], hommage de l'auteur".
Writer and politician Victor Du Hamel (1810–1870) was the author of several novels and was appointed prefect of the Lot in 1849.
A very rare work, offered as is.
First edition, illustrated with 69 full-page color plates.
Published under the authority of the Governor General of French West Africa, Mr. W. Ponty.
Includes a double-page general map of the buoyed section of the Senegal River, plans of the ports of Saint-Louis and Kayes, four signaling plates, examples of river marking, a flood gauge, and a detailed chart of the buoyage system across 57 plates, all in color.
Spine warped with black stains at midsection, a few small spots of foxing, black stains along the left margin of the lower cover with minor corner losses.
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.
Uncommon first edition (cf. Polak 8200).
Modern binding in light blue cloth, smooth spine, speckled edges, original wrappers preserved and mounted on tabs.
The work was written at a time when the abolition of privateering was increasingly being discussed—a measure that would later be enacted in the Treaty of Paris of 1856.
Very rare first edition illustrated with 3 lithographed plates (including a frontispiece), (cf. Polak 4516).
Only two copies listed in the CCF (BnF and Caen). Other copies are reported in Bayeux and Granville.
Copy preserved in its original wrappers, with blue paper covers showing minor losses to the corners; dampstains affecting the lower margin of the second half of the volume, without any loss of text.
Bookseller's label pasted on the inside of the upper cover, printed stamp of the same bookseller on the title page, blindstamp of a bibliophile on the half-title and the verso of the frontispiece.
Rare account of the shipwreck off the coast of Newfoundland on 29 May 1826, of a vessel from Granville engaged in cod fishing. The author served as second-in-command on board. Other pamphlets circulated on the subject, most of them based on this present account.
Rare first edition (cf. Polak 2250).
Copy preserved in its original wrappers and in a plain grey waiting cover.
Some marginal staining affecting a few leaves; at the end of the volume, marginal repairs to three leaves, not affecting the printed text.
This double shipwreck occurred off the Algerian coast.
First edition of the proceedings from the inaugural congress of the newly founded International Maritime Association, established on 16 January 1901.
Contemporary full black shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt fillets and adorned with triple gilt compartments, gilt roll tooling on the caps, covers framed with triple gilt fillets, large gilt armorial stamp and the inscription “A S.A.R. la princesse Waldemar” on the upper board, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle borders on pastedowns, all edges gilt.
The congress, held in Monaco from 12 to 15 April under the high patronage of Prince Albert I, featured some thirty presentations on topics such as seafarers’ welfare, oceanography, maritime rescue, coastal lighting, yachting, and free ports. A sumptuous presentation copy for Princess Waldemar of Denmark.
Illustrated with in-text figures.
A rare and attractive copy, handsomely bound.
First edition of this work, primarily focused on Dieppe sailors and trade, which includes particularly compelling passages on the discovery of the Canary Islands, the exploration of the West African coasts, and expeditions to Sumatra (see Frère I, 436).
Contemporary-style binding in half tan shagreen, smooth spine gilt-tooled with double fillets, decorative rolls and black fillets, pebble-grain paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding.
Some foxing, mostly at the beginning and end of the volume.
Born in Eu, Louis Estancelin (1777–1858) served as deputy for the Somme from 1830 to 1846.
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.
Partly original and substantially expanded edition of this key work, first published in 1836–39 (see Gay 944. Playfair 1700. Tailliart 1736).
Modern bindings in brick-red half shagreen with corners, spines with five raised bands, marbled paper boards framed by a single blind fillet, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spines preserved.
Title pages and half-titles swapped. Volumes II and III mislabelled: volume III actually contains the content of volume II.
Two small holes to the half-titles of the first two volumes; some light foxing.
Edmond Pellissier de Raynaud (1798–1858) took part in the 1830 Expedition to Algiers as a staff officer, later serving as head of the Arab Affairs Bureau until 1839, when he resigned in disagreement with the government’s policies towards the indigenous population.
His chronicle offers a penetrating and critical view, far from complacent towards Europeans. "Ces annales, après un si long temps écoulé, ont conservé toute leur valeur ; c'est la mine la plus riche où l'on trouve les matériaux les plus solides concernant l'histoire de la conquête et celle de l'administration de l'Algérie. Il n'est pas d'historien qui n'ait eu recours à cet ouvrage; il en est même qui l'ont pillé, copié sans toujours le citer. Il ne s'est pas contenté des renseignements officiels publiés, des récits oraux, de ce qu'il connaissait personnellement ; il a eu recours aux archives. Il raconte l'histoire de l'Algérie année par année, avec les détails les plus circonstanciés sur les faits militaires et sur l'administration civile".
Very rare first edition of the principal work by archaeologist and anthropologist Ernest Chantre (1843–1924), specialist of the Caucasus.
Spine of the first volume restored and replaced; a vertical scratch to the upper cover of volume one; some lacks to several spine-ends; some foxing; occasional lacks to the boards; a tear with some leather lacking to the rear endpaper of vol. 4.
This foundational work is composed of four parts in five volumes:
I. Prehistoric period, with in-text illustrations, a colour map, two tissue-guarded portrait plates, and six lithographs with facing captions. –
II–III. Protohistoric period, illustrated with 78 lithographs numbered I–LXVII (including 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 19, 20, 22, 30 and 36 bis), each with facing captions. –
IV. Historic period, with 29 lithographs on a tinted background, each with a facing caption (except plates XXVII and XXVIII). –
V. Contemporary populations, with 31 plates and a large folding colour map.
First edition and rare collection of the first 12 issues of La Revue de Madagascar, preserved in unusual bindings of incised and stained leather, decorated with Malagasy landscapes and views.
The issues are illustrated with numerous photographic reproductions.
Contemporary full mahogany-stained and incised sheep bindings, spines faded, with four raised bands and tooled decorative motifs, cold-stamped dates and volume numbers, the last volume unlettered; large African-style ornamental designs on the covers (each of the three covers is different) with incised titles; original wrappers bound in. Period bindings dated and signed by Ramanakanja, 1935.
A slip inserted in the first issue states: “La Revue de Madagascar remplace le Bulletin économique trimestriel (partie documentation).” “La Revue de Madagascar, publication officielle et luxueuse du Gouvernement Général, se plaît aussi à publier des textes littéraires” (Jean-Louis JOUBERT, Littératures de l’Océan indien).
Some rubbing to the spines; the decorative designs on the third and final volume are partially faded.
Rare early run of this scarce journal, bound in a striking African-inspired incised leather binding.
First edition, no deluxe copies on fine paper were issued.
Spine and rear cover slightly soiled; a clean and attractive copy internally.
Illustrations.
Valuable signed presentation copy from General Gambiez: "A monsieur J. Debu-Bridel en bien cordial hommage cet envoi de synthèse sur la libération de la Corse cette île qui nous est si chère. Château de Vincennes 26 septembre 1974."
A moving relic of the Resistance and Gaullist legacy.
First edition illustrated with 10 plates, including 9 folding ones.
Spine cracked and with losses despite some adhesive repairs; corner losses to the covers.
Section solely devoted to Cochinchina (the second volume, focused on Annam and Tonkin, was published in Hanoi). This series, issued since 1889, replaced the Annuaire de la Cochinchine (1865–1888). It was not until 1899 that the two separate parts of this colonial directory were merged into the Annuaire général de l'Indo-Chine française (1899–1925), later renamed Annuaire administratif de l'Indochine (1926–1943).
Scarce, though in a worn condition.
