First editions of historical works: chronicles, memoirs, political pamphlets, libels, founding texts in first edition

First edition illustrated with 8 folding plates.

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

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

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de Constantine de l'année 1873.

Not in Tailliart.

Front wrapper detached then reattached, losses to the spine, small chips to the corners.

Scarce work illustrated with 14 plates printed hors texte and numbered I–XII (including plates VI bis and ter). Not in Tailliart.

A volunteer in the Corps of Engineers from 1841 onward, Baptiste-Charles Brunon (1821–1888) spent most of his military career in Algeria; after the 1871 war he returned to oversee the Engineering Corps in Constantine.

First edition illustrated with seven folding plates.

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

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

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

First edition describing the 388 items offered in the sale.

A few pencilled hammer prices in the margins, a loss to the upper right corner of the front wrapper and title-page, and small corner losses to the wrappers.

The introduction is by Fröhner, though the expert in charge of the sale was Hoffmann.

Of Baden origin, the numismatist Ludwig Wilhelm Fröhner (1834–1925) settled in Paris in 1859; he became a close friend of Napoleon III and assisted him in the preparation of his Histoire de Jules César (1865–1866), which helped him obtain both French naturalisation (1866) and an important post at the Louvre.

He later devoted himself to the cataloguing of collections, producing works that became major references for Antiquity and early medieval archaeology.

Rare first edition (cf. Tailliart 1697, Playfair 554, Polak 5050).

Spine clumsily restored with small losses, slight marginal tears to the covers, a few scattered foxmarks.

The crew of the "Béarnaise," consisting of about thirty men, seized the citadel of Bone without firing a single shot.

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

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

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

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

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

First edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with three folding maps (cf. Tailliart 3080; Playfair 4334).

The original colour map, frequently lacking, has here been supplied in photomechanical reproduction, while the two others are later insertions.

Full brick-coloured sheep binding, unlettered spine with five raised bands showing traces of rubbing, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved; modern binding.

Minor foxing, pencil annotations on the initial endpapers and in the margins of several passages, with a handwritten note in blue ink "états de service" at the head of the front endpaper, followed by a brief pencilled biography of the author.

Only edition, highly sought after, of this exceptionally well-documented study, addressing a subject that preoccupied the French administration in Algeria (which, by an inaccurate analogy with Catholic religious "orders"—then targeted in mainland France—sought to curb the influence of Muslim brotherhoods).

Louis Rinn (1838–1905) spent almost his entire military career in Algeria, where he lived from 1864 to 1889.

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

Chuquisaca, Imprenta de Sucre, 1851, octavo,

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

Copy slightly trimmed.

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

Rare first edition.

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

“…their change of residence, abandoning the old city to settle in the new districts? A memoir awarded by the Société académique de médecine de Marseille at its public session of 1 August 1819; (…). Enlarged with the plan of a medical topography of the city of Marseille, which the author proposes to publish.” Marseille, Joseph-François Achard, 1819, 8vo, disbound. Title, 40 pp. Only two copies recorded in the CCF (BnF and Marseille). Very rare. The author was a physician attached to the dispensaries and the maternity hospital of Marseille.

First edition.

A single copy recorded in the CCFr (Roanne).

Contemporary half green calf, smooth spine cracked and with losses, marbled paper boards, original printed wrappers preserved, binding of the period.

Lower board tending to detach.

The Venetian historian Ronaldo Fulin (1824–1884) produced numerous publications and original studies based on the exceptionally rich holdings of the Archivio di Stato of Venice.

The question addressed in this communication is linked to the presumed relations between Columbus and Venice (see the accompanying letters).

Copy from the library of the celebrated Americanist Henry Harrisse (1829–1910), a specialist of the earliest discoveries of the New World, with an autograph inscription by Ronaldo Fulin at the head of the front wrapper.

Henry Harrisse enhanced this pamphlet with seven autograph signed letters, mounted, in French or Italian, generally accompanied by their envelopes: 1. One from the Italian historian Cesare Cantù (1804–1895), dated 10 December 1881. – 2. One from the Columbian scholar Marcello Staglieno (1829–1909), dated 3 August 1888. – 3. One from the director of the Archivio di Stato of Venice (signature illegible), dated 27 June 1888. – 4. A card from the publisher B. Calore, dated 17 December 1881. – 5.–6. Two letters from the philologist and Hispanist Alfred Morel-Fatio (1850–19245), dated 2 and 9 December 1881. – 7. One letter from Henry Vignaud (1830–1922), in his capacity as First Secretary of the United States Legation in Paris from 1882 to 1909, dated 30 May 1888.

Most of these letters revolve around the existence of a purported letter from Christopher Columbus to the Senate of Venice, prior to the voyages of exploration.

First edition of the French translation.

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

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

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

Rare first edition (see Cordier, Japonica 583; Nipponalia I, 2073. Neither of these bibliographies mentions the map. Polak 8448).

Contemporary half cherry-red calf, spine slightly faded, with four raised bands gilt with dotted tools and fillets; light rubbing to the spine, red paper-covered boards, corners slightly bumped, speckled edges.

Occasional light foxing; a pale dampstain affecting the opening leaves and the folding double-page map showing the plan of the Strait of Shimonoseki.

This work relates the Anglo-French naval campaign of 1862–1863, by Alfred Roussin (1839–1919), a naval officer who commanded the frigate Sémiramis.

The text offers detailed descriptions of trade and the political situation in Japan, as well as of the political relations between the French, the British, and the Japanese during the years 1853–1865.

Rare first edition of this project, whose development was certainly collective (with contributions from several democrats, including Frédéric Charrassin, Charles Fauvety, Adolphe Louis Chouippe, and Alexandre Erdan), but which was authored by the neo-criticist philosopher Charles Renouvier (1815–1903).

Bound in contemporary half cherry-colored sheepskin, with a smooth spine adorned with gilt fillets; some rubbing to the spine and boards. Marbled paper over boards, handmade laid paper endpapers and pastedowns, modern bookplate affixed to the front pastedown, slightly bumped corners, minor tears to the joints, speckled edges. Original binding.

Minor, insignificant foxing.

The central idea of this work is that of direct government and direct legislation, inspired by the debate initiated by Rittinghausen.

At the time, this idea was considered utopian and dangerous—much like in contemporary debates—on the grounds that it would discredit the representative system and, contrary to the authors’ intentions, play into the hands of the emerging Caesarism (this was 1851...).

The book also presents other proposals for institutional reform, notably the adoption of the canton as the basic administrative and political unit of the nation, intended to form the true French commune.

Provenance: from the library of Georges and Geneviève Dubois, with their bookplate affixed to the front pastedown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First edition, printed in a small run, of this offprint from the Journal des savants.

Work illustrated with a finely engraved plate printed outside the text.

Some scattered foxing internally and to the wrappers.

Appointed in 1820 to the chair of archaeology at the Sorbonne, succeeding Quatremère de Quincy, Désiré Raoul-Rochette (1789–1854) was chiefly known for his expertise in Greek antiquity. He also served as curator of the Cabinet des médailles.

On the upper cover, authorial presentation inscription from Désiré Raoul-Rochette to the physician and botanist Henri Dutrochet (1776–1847), the discoverer of the phenomena of exosmosis and endosmosis.

First edition, illustrated with a large folding colour map printed out of text (cf. Tailliart 2645).

Bradel binding in half blue percaline, the smooth spine slightly sunned, the brown skiver lettering-piece lightly rubbed, marbled-paper boards, blue endpapers and pastedowns showing a few small spots, corners softened, top edge sprinkled.

A few light spots.

The only edition of this comprehensive survey of the state of Algeria, published after the death of Jules Ferry (17 March 1893), the driving force behind the senatorial commission that had commissioned the work. It serves as a reminder that Ferry was a staunch advocate of France’s colonial expansion and of the mission to “civilise” indigenous peoples, a view then broadly shared across the political left, with the exception of a few dissenting voices (including Clemenceau).

On the half-title, presentation inscription by Henri Pensa to Madame Jules Ferry (Eugénie Risler).

The volume later entered the library of Ferry’s nephew, Abel Ferry (1881–1918, member of parliament for the Vosges from 1909), with his ink stamps on the title-page and at the foot of p. 105.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece and four plates after drawings from life by Voutier, engraved on copper by Normand fils (cf. Loukia Droulia, 429; Blackmer, 1750; not in Atabey).

Half black shagreen binding, spine restored, with four raised bands ruled in triple gilt fillets, aubergine paper boards, boards faded, gilt armorial device stamped to the upper cover, modern bookplate pasted at the head of a pastedown, contemporary binding.

Scattered foxing.

"Voutier went to Greece in 1821 and acted as ADC to Mavrocordatos on the Peta campaign" (Leonora Navari).

Distinguished provenance: copy bearing the arms of King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover (1771–1851), with his library’s red stamp on the verso of the title-page.

First edition, illustrated with four tinted plates, including a frontispiece (cf. O'Reilly & Reitman, Tahiti, 6452).

Contemporary half plum sheep, the spine faded and decorated with gilt garlands and floral tools, some rubbing to the spine, marbled-paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, a few worn spots along the edges.

Scattered foxing, the plates evenly toned.

The work offers a history of the island, written in the aftermath of its annexation following the cession of his domains by King Pomare V. It provides an overview of the voyages of Quirós, Wallis, Bougainville and Cook, a portrait of Tahitian life a century earlier, and a sketch of the island’s development since the arrival of the first missionaries.

Chapter V is devoted to the principal episodes of Captain Cook’s three voyages to Tahiti: encounters with the inhabitants, meetings with local chiefs, the revolt on the island of Eimeo, visits to the surrounding islands... (pp. 107–220).

Joseph Bournichon (1839–1924) was a priest and the author of several edifying monographs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First separate edition, the text having previously appeared in the series Philipp's new voyages and travels (London, 1820–1823) (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 308).

Bradel-style binding in full grey boards, smooth spine, title label, sprinkled edges; a modern binding.

An exceptionally early account of the coastal region between Macao and Canton, published anonymously despite the initials J.R. at the end of the preface (this J.R. served as supercargo on the ship The Friendship).

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

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

A few scattered spots.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exceptional album comprising 54 original caricatures, some captioned, executed in India ink, pencil, and watercolour (including three small pencil sketches on loose leaves), together with several blank leaves.

This entertaining and highly personal album, evidently compiled by an amateur artist, appears to chronicle the various adventures and misadventures of a small cast of recurring characters, all seemingly connected in one way or another with the French Embassy to the Ottoman Porte, as suggested by a piece of official letterhead inserted between two leaves.

Contemporary full ivory vellum with yapped edges, smooth spine ruled in red, a restored split at the head of the spine, red fillets framing the boards, some marking to the covers, comb-marbled endpapers, red edges.

The album also includes one autograph letter signed in black ink, embellished with marginal caricatures, addressed to Mr H. Fournier and opening with "Cher Washington n°2".

The recipient of this satirical, illustrated letter appears to be the diplomat Hugues Marie Henri Fournier (1821–1898), appointed ambassador to Constantinople in 1877.

The adventures of the small group, identified by captions in black pencil, seem to begin in Florence in September 1872 and continue on to Rome.

The album includes, among other scenes, a watercolour depicting the Temple of Vesta.

In December 1872, according to an ink caption, the group—comprising the Vicomtes Bresson, de Mareuil, d'Hauterive, and d'Hérisson—is caricatured in Rome: at the theatre, on the Capitoline Hill, on horseback, and so forth.

A panoramic watercolour likewise satirises the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and its protagonists.

Also portrayed in pencil alongside Fournier are General de Castelbajac and the Baron de Talleyrand.

The album further contains a fine pencil portrait of Khalil Bey.

The renowned Ottoman diplomat and collector, born in Cairo in 1831 and deceased in Istanbul in 1879, had indeed returned to Constantinople in 1872, after his ambassadorship in Vienna (1868), to marry the Egyptian princess Nazli Fazl. In addition to his role in the Crimean War, he is remembered for his celebrated art collection which, sold at auction in 1868, included works by Courbet (among them L'Origine du monde), Ingres, Delacroix, and others.

The Comte d'Osmond and Alfred de Courtois are likewise caricatured.

The album also features a view titled Pointe imaginaire du sérail and a watercolour depicting a game of lawn tennis.

A unique ensemble.

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

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

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

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

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

Very rare first edition.

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

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

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

A very fine and rare copy in its original condition.

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

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

Some light foxing in the text volumes.

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

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

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

Rare work. 

A substantially posthumous publication, prepared by Ayres de Sá from the notes and papers of the second Viscount of Santarém (1791–1856), who, in addition to his diplomatic and political roles amid the turbulent struggle between Marianist and Miguelist factions in Portugal, was the first historian to develop the study of cartography in a methodical manner.

The work is illustrated with 97 plates in the first volume and 40 plates in the second.

Cherry half-shagreen bindings with corners, spines with five raised bands framed by black fillets and showing some rubbing, marbled paper sides, a scratch to the left margin of the upper cover of the first volume, endpapers and pastedowns with gilt effects, top edges gilt, original wrappers preserved with minor marginal tears and repairs, corners bumped, bookplates pasted on the pastedowns, contemporary bindings.

Exiled to Paris with Dom Miguel in 1834, he continued his research there, leading to significant cartographical publications.

Autograph inscription by the Viscount of Santarém, a descendant of the author, to José Joaquim Ascenção on the half-title of the first volume.

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

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

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

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

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

First edition, illustrated with a single folding plate bearing two figures: a plan of Algiers and its surroundings (cf. Quérard IV, 343 : does not record the plate and gives xlviii pp. for the "pièces à l'appui" indeed, p. xlviii carries, like the final leaf, the printer's address. Tailliart 2420 : does not record the plate).

Minor marginal losses to the spine and boards, a few light spots.

"Causes de la rupture avec Alger. Historique des rapports de la France avec Alger. Les torts des représentants d'Alger dans la Régence pendant ces dernières années. Ultimatum. Blocus. Nécessité d'une enquête ou au moins d'une information spéciale avant d'entreprendre une expédition. On va dépenser beaucoup d'argent sans profit. Cette guerre n'est pas juste ; elle n'est pas utile ; elle n'est pas légale" [Tailliart].

The supporting documents include : the Treaty of Peace between France and the Regency of Algiers, 17 December 1801; the letter from Mustapha-Pasha, Dey of Algiers, to the First Consul, 13 August 1802; the settlement concerning the claims of Messrs. Bacri and Busnach of Algiers, followed by the law of 24 July 1820 ordering its execution; a notice on the African concessions; and a summary of the debates held in both Chambers on Algerian affairs during the sessions of 1820, 1827, 1828, and 1829.

Author's signed presentation on the half-title: "De la part de l'auteur, 3 avril 1830" (scarcely more than two months before the French landing in Algeria).

Very rare first edition of the new laws enacted in 1775 by Catherine II, Empress of Russia, here translated into Turkish for the recently annexed Turkic-speaking provinces taken from the Ottoman Empire.

The work is divided into two parts: the first, dated 12 November 1775, comprises the first 28 chapters (pp. 1–190); the second contains chapters 29 to 31 (pp. 191–248).

Contemporary-style half mottled sheep with small corners, unlettered spine with five raised bands decorated with double gilt fillets and gilt thistle tools, marbled paper boards, red edges, modern binding.

Pale marginal dampstaining to the upper right corner of the initial leaves.

First edition of this splendid lithographed album by A. Bayot, Eugène Cicéri, and Morel Fatio, comprising a lithographed title on a tinted background, a line-engraved map by Avril, and 15 color lithographs on tinted grounds.

Contemporary black half shagreen binding with corners, spine with five raised bands and blind-stamped double fillets, cherry-red shagreen title label (with minor losses) mounted on the upper cover, black paper-covered boards, white moiré silk endpapers and pastedowns, endpapers slightly foxed and creased, all edges gilt, the binding recently restored.

Scattered foxing, a few faint marginal dampstains, one stain at the head of the final plate.

First edition.

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

Scattered foxing.

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

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

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

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

Very rare first edition of this splendid photographic album, produced in Cairo in 1871, representing the first illustrated catalogue of the earliest museum devoted to Egyptology.

The photographs by Hippolyte Delié and Émile Béchard depict the rooms and antiquities of the Boulaq Museum, founded in Cairo in 1863 by the eminent Egyptologist Auguste Mariette (1821–1881).

The album comprises forty albumen prints (approx. 24.5 × 18 cm), mounted on thick card leaves set on guards, each accompanied by a letterpress commentary leaf (except plates 4 and 11, which each have two). The prints are mounted on the versos of the plates, the rectos bearing the printed captions.

Contemporary half brown shagreen, spine with five raised bands decorated with blind-tooled compartments and gilt floral tools, minor rubbing to spine and joints, headcaps slightly softened, blind-tooled interlaced borders on the boards, gilt title on upper board, endpapers and pastedowns in white moiré silk with a few light spots, all edges gilt.

Repairs to the spine and one joint at head, a few scattered internal spots.

New edition, embellished at the close of the first volume with a folding plate printed out of text (cf. Palau 17346).

Cherry half-shagreen bindings, spines with four raised false bands decorated with gilt fillets and double gilt panels, gilt lettering at the foot of the spines, slight rubbing to the headcaps, blind-tooled frames on the textured cloth boards, pebble-paper endpapers and pastedowns, a few bumped corners, period bindings.

Rear board of the first volume partially soiled.

New edition prepared under the supervision of the physician Rafael Ángel Cowley Valdés-Machado (1837–1908) and Andrés Pego, gathering three major sources for Cuban historiography: José Martín de Arrate y Acosta’s (1701–1765) Llave del Nuevo Mundo. Antemural de las Indias Occidentales, a meticulous portrait of eighteenth-century Cuban society first published only in 1830; Ignacio Urrutia y Montoya’s (1735–1795) Teatro Histórico, Jurídico, Político, Militar de la Isla Fernandina de Cuba, of which only the first part had appeared in 1795; and finally Antonio José Valdés’s (1770–1824) Historia General de la Isla de Cuba y en especial de la Habana, published in 1811.

Provenance: from the library of Ricardo Quintiliano Garcia, his name gilt-stamped at the foot of the spines; with his presentation inscription to his brother dated 15 July 1877 on the front flyleaf of the first volume.

Rare first edition (cf. Tailliart 2391).

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

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

Second edition, partly original as it was revised and substantially expanded (cf. Ferguson 7152a; Lacassagne 47).

Half black shagreen bindings, spines with four raised bands decorated with gilt rules and double gilt panels, boards framed with a single blind rule over marbled paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, period bindings.

A few minor spots.

This second edition was issued simultaneously either in a single volume with continuous pagination or in two volumes with separate pagination (our copy, see Ferguson 7152).

Bénigne-Ernest Poret, Marquis de Blosseville (1799–1886), was a legitimist politician and man of letters. He was active in political life throughout the nineteenth century.

At the head of the half-title of the first volume, presentation inscription signed by Bénigne-Ernest Poret, Marquis de Blosseville, to Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat (1805–1873), then Minister of Algeria and the Colonies (1860–1867).

The latter affixed his armorial bookplate to the pastedowns and stamped the title pages with his ownership seal.

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

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

Illustrated with 49 photographic plates hors texte.

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

First edition of this rare work, offering the very first description in French of this small canton, still nominally under Ottoman rule—though in fact largely autonomous—and which appeared as exotic to early 19th-century Westerners as the most remote corners of China.

Illustrated with 13 hand-coloured plates, including a large folding map, two botanical plates, two depicting celebrations, three views of churches, and five costume plates. (cf. Atabey 1286. Lipperheide 1443. Not in Blackmer or Colas.)

Contemporary half calf binding, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, garlands, and floral tools, red morocco lettering-piece, black morocco numbering-piece, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.

Joints fragile, hinges rubbed and split, scattered foxing.

Jacques-Louis-Claude Vialla, known as de Sommières after his birthplace in the Gard (1764–1849), served as governor of Cattaro (in the then French Illyrian provinces) from April 1811 to April 1812. In this capacity, he was officially commissioned in October to approach Vladika (Prince-Bishop) Petar I of Montenegro (reigned 1781–1830), ancestor of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty, in an attempt to win him over to the cause of the Empire.

This was the first time an official Western embassy had reached these remote, largely self-sufficient regions. Written at a time when the author, placed on half-pay after the Restoration, needed to earn a living, his account abounds in fascinating detail.

First edition of the earliest of the four works devoted by the deputy Amédée Desjobert (1796–1853) to the situation in Algeria (the second concerns the year 1838 – see below –, the third 1844, and the last 1846) (cf. Tailliart 2333).

Contemporary full tree-calf bindings, smooth spines gilt with garlands, fillets and floral tools, the gilt sometimes a touch dulled, red morocco lettering-pieces, green morocco volume labels slightly faded at the margins, marbled endpapers, gilt fillets to the board edges, marbled edges, modern bookplates mounted to the endpapers, contemporary bindings.

A few small losses to the leather on the boards, the half-title to the first work wanting, a pale marginal stain at the head of several leaves in the second volume, occasional foxing.

A member of the left in the Chamber, Amédée Desjobert opposed by every means the colonisation of Algeria, relying chiefly on arguments countering those advanced by the settlers and the military.

Volume II gathers the following texts, all dating from 1837 and 1838 and concerned with whether Algeria should be retained or abandoned:

• - I. AUBEL: De l'Importance de la question d'Afrique et du choix d'un système de colonisation. Paris, Delaunay, 1837, 2 unnumbered ff., 56 pp. Tailliart 2667.
• - II. BROSSARD (Amédée-Hippolyte de): Mélanges sur l'Afrique. Perpignan, Imprimerie de Jean-Baptiste Alzine, 1838, 2 unnumbered ff., 80 pp. Tailliart 2296.
• - III. DESJOBERT (Amédée): L'Algérie en 1838. Paris, P. Dufart, 1838, 2 unnumbered ff., 184 pp. Tailliart 2334.
• - IV. DUVERGIER DE HAURANNE (Prosper): Chambre des Députés, session de 1838. Discours (...) dans la discussion du projet de loi relatif aux crédits d'Afrique (séance du 6 juin 1838). [Paris], Imprimerie de Mme Vve Agasse, n.d. [1838], 30 pp.
• - V. FORTUNÉ DE LAIDET (Joseph-Guillaume): Chambre des Députés, session de 1838. Discours (...) dans la discussion du projet de loi relatif aux crédits d'Afrique (séance du 8 juin 1838). [Paris], Imprimerie de Mme Vve Agasse, n.d. [1838], 11 pp.
• - VI. LA GRANGE (Édouard Lelièvre de): Chambre des Députés, session de 1838. Opinion sur les projets de loi relatifs aux crédits d'Afrique. [Paris], A. Henry, n.d. [1838], 14 pp.
• - VII. FUMERON D'ARDEUIL (Maurice): Opinion sur le projet de loi relatif au crédit extraordinaire pour le service des possessions françaises dans le nord de l'Afrique. S.l.n.d. [1838], 8 pp.
• - VIII. [BUGEAUD (Thomas-Robert):] Simple document sur l'Afrique. Par un officier attaché à l'Armée d'Afrique, sous le premier commandement de M. le Maréchal Clausel. Paris, Imprimerie de L.-E. Herhan et Bimont, 1838, 15 pp.
• - IX. BUGEAUD (Thomas-Robert): De l'Établissement de légions de colons militaires dans les possessions françaises du nord de l'Afrique, followed by a draft ordonnance addressed to the government and the chambers. Paris, Firmin Didot frères, 1838, 2 unnumbered ff., 53 pp. Tailliart 2700.
• - X. [ROGER (Jacques-François):] Alger. Boutade. Paris, Imprimerie de Bourgogne et Martinet, n.d., 8 pp. A verse piece. Items IV–VIII and X escaped Tailliart.
• A rare group of works and pamphlets either defending or condemning the colonisation of Algeria.

First edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with four hors-texte plates printed on chamois paper.

Not recorded by Brunet, who lists the author’s principal works.

Scattered foxing, including to the boards.

The orientalist Michelangelo Lanci (1779–1867) produced a fascinating blend of genuine erudition and improbable conjectures, shaped by the pre-critical and broadly concordist mindset then prevailing without challenge in the learned circles of pontifical Rome (Lanci being a subject of the Pope).

This largely accounts for the profound neglect into which most of his works have since fallen.

Prisse d’Avennes (1807–1879), who had worked with Champollion on the decipherment of hieroglyphic script, must have received with some surprise these observations drawn essentially from personal interpretations of Old Testament texts.

First edition published anonymously, the work of the Bayonne man of letters Coste d'Arnobat (1732–1808), probably based on accounts provided by English merchants (cf. Barbier IV 1060).

Contemporary half sheep in dark brown, smooth spine tooled with gilt floral motifs, gilt initial “V” at the foot, some rubbing to spine and joints, a small marginal loss at the head of the spine, marbled paper boards, yellow sprinkled edges.

A dampstain affecting the folds of the final ten leaves.

An account of Bambouc, a region of Upper Senegal particularly noted for its gold mines and inhabited by the Mandinka people.

This narrative, later translated into German, offers highly valuable information on the activities and customs of the Malinké of Upper Senegal. Coste appended to it an essay on the Indian castes (pp. 65–113), “d’après les mémoires d’un savant observateur qui a vécu trente ans dans l’intérieur de l’Inde,” followed by two further dissertations on Holland (pp. 117–312) and on England (pp. 315–358), countries he visited in 1774.

First edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with tables printed on two large folding plates included in the pagination (cf. Ferguson 2165a.)

Contemporary half bordeaux shagreen, the spine very lightly faded, with five raised bands framed by black fillets, marbled-paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers marginally soiled and showing small preserved restorations, edges untrimmed, modern binding signed Laurenchet.

Botany Bay, on the eastern coast of Australia, had been chosen in 1787 by the British government as a place of deportation. This study seeks to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of penal colonies at a time when the proposal to establish one in France still had many supporters.

A pleasing copy.

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

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

Scattered foxing.

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

First edition (cf. Tailliart 2540).

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

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

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

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

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

First edition, illustrated with 12 in-text reproductions of coins.

Contemporary half Russian-cherry morocco over marbled boards, smooth spine gilt with a floral tool, date gilt at foot, marbled paste-paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt edges at head.

Sole edition, uncommon.

Henri Lavoix (1820–1892) served as curator of the Department of Medals and Antiquities at the Bibliothèque nationale.

At the head of the half-title, which shows heavy foxing, signed presentation inscription from Henri Michel Lavoix to the archaeologist Alban-Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916), a specialist in medieval Syria and in particular the Frankish settlements in the region.

The ink of the inscription has faded; scattered foxing, with heavier foxing to the final endleaf.

A handsome contemporary half-morocco binding.

Rare first edition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some foxing at the end at the last booklet.

The contents are as follows:

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

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

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

Rare first edition comprising a fine series of 40 two-tone lithographs by Yuko Watanabe depicting Japanese types, scenes of traditional life, costumes, and more: Ronin, hara-kiri, samurai, the attack on Shogun Nobunaga, a geisha’s visit, young women paying a call, a game of go...

Not in Colas, nor Hiler & Hiler; lacking from the Bn; not in Nipponalia or Cordier. Wenckstern, I, p. 228 (gives the Yokohama address, undated, and mentions two volumes, the second—of which no trace could be found—containing 25 plates).

Bound in full beige cloth, smooth spine without lettering, lithograph mounted on the upper cover; twentieth-century binding.

Minor tears affecting three remargined plates and the final leaf (backed); a few small spots of foxing; small green ink stain touching most of the prints in the margin only, not affecting the image.

First edition of the French translation by Jean Mourier.

Only one copy listed in the CCF (BULAC).

Full burgundy cloth binding, smooth spine with gilt lettering running lengthwise, pink paper pastedowns and endpapers, a modest modern binding.

Some light, insignificant foxing.

Very rare work tracing the origins of the Kingdom of Georgia up to the introduction of Christianity.

First edition.

Copies recorded in the Catalogue collectif de France only at the BnF, Versailles, and Bar-le-Duc libraries.

Half bottle-green shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt dotted rules and floral tools, blind-stamped frame on bottle-green grained cloth boards, gilt initials stamped at the centre of the upper board, white moiré silk endpapers and pastedowns, all edges gilt. Slight rubbing to the corners, a handsome contemporary binding.

The Courrier de Lyon case dates back to the period of the Directoire (April–October 1796). The execution of Joseph Lesurques was soon regarded as a major miscarriage of justice, and his family spent more than sixty years trying to obtain a revision of the case, despite the absence of any law permitting rehabilitation.

The decision of the Cour de cassation in December 1868 brought the matter to a definitive close in the negative sense.

Nevertheless, the confiscation of Lesurques’s property—customary in cases of capital punishment—was revoked, and his estate returned to his heirs. Today, some historians remain convinced of Lesurques’s innocence, while recent investigations by gendarmerie commander Éric Dagnicourt and historian Éric Alary tend to support his guilt as the financial instigator.

Provenance: a distinguished copy belonging to the celebrated lawyer and statesman of the July Monarchy, Odilon Barrot (1791–1873), with a fine signed presentation inscription from Louis Méquillet dated 15 February 1864, and Barrot’s gilt monogram (O. B.) stamped in the centre of the covers.

Odilon Barrot was among the active supporters of the Lesurques family’s petitions, which explains this presentation inscription.

Rare first edition illustrated with 31 figures in the text.

Contemporary half blond calf, the spine slightly sunned, with five raised bands decorated with gilt and black fillets, fawn morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper sides, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled comb-marbled edges.

Christophe-Edouard Mauss (1829–1914), architect to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, undertook several archaeological missions in the Levant (Salonika, Smyrna, Alexandria) before being sent by the French government to Jerusalem (1862–1874) to restore the Church of Saint Anne.

He was also deeply interested in ancient metrology, on which he wrote several monographs (the final section of the present work provides a notable example).

Our copy is enriched with a substantial autograph contribution by Christophe-Edouard Mauss, mounted on a guard at the front of the volume and addressed to the archaeologist Alban-Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916), a specialist in medieval Syria: Note pour Mr. Rey sur le stade philéterien de 159 m 963,428 ([9] unnumbered ll., unbound, written on one side only, in a medium and very legible hand). This is an early version of an article supplementing the present work and published in 1894 under the title: Note additionnelle sur le stade de 159 m 963 et sur les mesures philétériennes.

Very rare first edition.

Only three copies recorded in the CCF (BnF, Sainte-Geneviève, CNAM).

Half blond calf, spine lightly sunned, with five raised bands decorated with gilt and black fillets, tan morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, mottled comb-marbled edges, original front wrapper preserved; contemporary binding.

The architect of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christophe-Edouard Mauss (1829–1914), undertook several archaeological missions in the Levant (Salonika, Smyrna, Alexandria) before being sent by the French government to Jerusalem (1862–1874) to restore the Church of Saint Anne. He also developed a keen interest in ancient metrology, on which he produced several monographs (including this one).

Bound after it, by the same author: 

 I. La Pile de Charlemagne et le Sâ du prophète. Le pied d'Egypte et le ratl de Bagdad. Les poids français comparés aux poids anglais. Le ratl wâfy du Musée égyptien du Louvre. Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1897, 2 ff.n.ch., 79 pp.

II. Loi de la numismatique musulmane. Classement par séries et par ordre de poids des monnaies arabes du Cabinet des médailles de Paris. Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1898, 2 ff.n.ch., VIII pp., 48 pp.

At the head of each fascicle, an autograph presentation inscription from Christophe-Edouard Mauss to the archaeologist Alban-Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916).

Very rare first edition of this address delivered on the seventy-eighth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

No copy listed in the CCF. Not in Sabin.

Rear wrapper missing, a few minor marginal foxings.

Born in Pennsylvania, David Lawrence Gregg (1819–1868) was appointed by President Franklin Pierce to negotiate the annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii with King Kamehameha III, a mission that ultimately failed. The king died on December 15, 1854, and the attempts to integrate Hawaii into the United States were abandoned by his successor, Kamehameha IV.

First and only edition of the author's sole work.

Adorned with a fine engraved portrait of Jacques-Nicolas Colbert (1655–1707), youngest son of the minister and Archbishop of Carthage, to whom the book is dedicated.

Bound in full red morocco, spine with five raised bands, richly gilt compartments decorated with gilt fleurs-de-lys, gilt fillets, and Du Seuil-style panels on the covers; gilt tooling to headcaps and board edges, all edges gilt. Contemporary binding.

Some foxing, small wormholes at head and foot of spine, three black spots at the head of the upper cover.

Provenance: from the library of Alfred Massé (1911–1951), Radical-Socialist deputy for Nièvre under the Third Republic, with his bookplate.

Monogram stamps on the title page.

First edition illustrated with 24 plates, including 18 views and cross-sections, and 6 folding maps and plans (cf. Tailliart, 1229).

Half brown shagreen binding, spine faded with five raised bands, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, brown endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding signed Honnelaître.

First and last leaves lightly and partially soiled.

This volume gathers the official reports of the exploration mission led by Mircher (1820–1878), Vatonne, and Polignac, which departed from Tripoli in 1862 and returned via El-Oued after signing a trade treaty with the people of Ghadamès and the Tuareg. This agreement enabled the inclusion of the locality within Algeria until 1951, when it was returned to Libya. In addition to Mircher’s reports, the work contains a notice on Sudanese trade, an account of the political and social state of the “land of the Negroes,” studies on the terrain and water of the regions traversed by the mission, as well as medical observations collected during the journey to Ghadamès, among others.

Rare first edition with bilingual text (French with facing Italian translation).

Our copy is preserved in its original state, uncut and unbound in temporary dominoté paper wrappers (with pen and black ink accounts and trials on the verso of the second cover). Minor foxing.

Only one copy recorded in the CCF (Avignon). Not listed in Starace.

A very rare collection documenting a little-known aspect of the famous "Miot decrees", which have given rise to much commentary, though only concerning their fiscal and customs provisions.

The regulatory activity of this unflinching State official extended into many other areas. When he disembarked from the Hirondelle on 25 March 1801 in Bastia, it was the second mission undertaken by Miot (1762–1841) in Corsica to implement continental legislation (the first had taken place in 1796–1797).

Settled in Ajaccio in the Bonaparte house, he exceptionally held full military, administrative, and judicial powers, tasked with bringing, as far as possible, the islanders under the French legal system, the constitutional regime having been temporarily suspended on the island by the First Consul.

The task was far from easy, hampered by numerous personal oppositions, and until his departure on 14 September 1802, he was often compelled to adapt the legal requirements to local customs and institutions.

First edition of this collection of political speeches.

Full red percaline binding, smooth spine without lettering showing slight rubbing, gilt inscription stamped to the upper cover: "République de Guinée R.D.A. à S.E. Jean Paul Sartre. N°30"; endpapers partly toned, a contemporary presentation binding offered to Jean-Paul Sartre.

Frontispiece photographic portrait bearing the autograph signature of President Ahmed Sékou Touré: Secretary General of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée, Supreme Leader of the Revolution.

First edition of the French translation.

Full flexible bottle-green cloth binding, smooth spine with rubbing, author's name and title gilt-stamped on the upper cover, some surface wear to the boards, wrappers preserved.

First edition illustrated with three folding plates.

Half vellum binding, smooth spine, gilt initials at foot, black sheep title label with some rubbing, red sheep year label, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, restored original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.

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

Rare and sought-after first edition, first issue.

Includes the subscribers' list and the foreword, later removed when the remainder of this edition passed into the hands of another publisher, Dion-Lambert. It also features the pagination error in volume two: page 164 instead of 364. 

Black half-morocco bindings, smooth spines with double gilt fillets and double blind-stamped compartments, black paper boards, slight superficial rubbing to some boards, marbled paper pastedowns and endpapers, sprinkled edges; contemporary bindings. Sparse foxing.

Outstanding copy in a contemporary binding of this masterpiece expertly described by Proust : "And when Chateaubriand even as he laments, allows the marvellous and transcendental being that he is to soar aloft we smile, for at the very moment he declares himself to have been annihilated he makes his escape, he lives with a life in which death is not." (Against Sainte-Beuve and other essays)

Very rare complete set of this economic and commercial publication, issued from 1879 to 1938, providing the most detailed information on all aspects of trade and production in Cochinchina.

The set includes 78 folding tables (one folding table from the second volume is detached).

According to the CCF, only the BnF holds a series comprising several volumes, and even that collection is incomplete.

Contemporary bindings in half Havana sheep, smooth spines decorated with triple gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

First edition.

Only one copy listed in the CCF (BnF).

Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine, green shagreen title label with a small loss, modern binding.

Very rare report of the administration of the "Argenterie, Menus-Plaisirs et affaires de la chambre", which under the Ancien Régime formed part of the King's Household, in charge of the "King’s pleasures"—that is, the organization of court ceremonies and entertainments.

Compiled from 393 records (and 21,000 invoices).

By drastically reducing the expenses of his household, Louis XVI retained only a single “Maître des Menus-Plaisirs”, endowed with a budget infinitely smaller than that of his predecessors.

First edition of these significant memoirs by a close companion and comrade-in-arms of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Half aubergine sheep bindings, smooth spines slightly faded and decorated with gilt romantic arabesques, some rubbing with small losses to a few spines and joints, embossed aubergine paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges; romantic bindings of the period.

Some foxing, a light marginal dampstain on the final leaves of volume 8.

A pleasant set, attractively bound in contemporary romantic bindings.

First edition of the French translation, of which no deluxe copies were printed.

Crease to the upper left corner of the lower cover and the last leaves.

Illustrations.

Precious inscribed copy to Bernard Kouchner: "To my dear friend Bernard always true to his beliefs and a great partner. With deep admiration and affection. Madeleine 15/11/03."

First illustrated edition, with four folding plates bound at the end of the volume (cf. Tailliart 1979).

Contemporary half green calf binding, flat spine faded and yellowed, decorated with a gilt cartouche and ornamental tooling at head and tail, caps trimmed, joints fragile, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, period binding.

Some foxing.

In fact, this pamphlet was intended as the first of a series, hence the general title; however, only this installment was ever published. The secondary title specifies the subject of the volume: "Relation d'une excursion de Bône à Guelma et à Constantine, par sir Grenville Temple et le chevalier Falbe, délégués de la société établie à Paris pour l'exploration de Carthage. Premier fascicule de l'ouvrage, accompagné d'un recueil d'inscriptions et de quatre planches représentant des monumens antiques, des mosaïques et des peintures à fresque découvertes à Carthage."

The two archaeologists had in fact accompanied the French divisions during the second expedition to Constantine, and their account combines scholarly and military perspectives, characteristic of the early period of French colonization in Algeria.

Provenance: Copy from Honoré-Théodoric d'Albert, 8th Duke of Luynes (1802–1867), with the bookplate of the Château de Dampierre affixed to a pastedown.

First edition illustrated with six folding lithographed plates (cf. Tailliart 1862).

Contemporary full tan sheepskin binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and floral motifs, partially faded, brown morocco title label, some rubbing to the spine, surface abrasions to the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

Two library ink stamps on the endpaper, a few small spots of foxing inside.

A work serving both as a firsthand account and a collection of documents (from page 109 onward) on the events surrounding the conquest of Algiers.

Pierre-Paul Denniée (1781–1848) was Chief Intendant of the Army of Africa.

First edition, no deluxe copies printed.

A pleasant copy.

Inscribed and signed by Yves Coppens to Emile Noël.

First edition, with no copies printed on deluxe paper.

Minor spots to the covers, not affecting the condition.

Inscribed and signed by Georges Didi-Huberman to a friend named Annick.

A collection of 59 manuscript letters sent to his family representing approximately 180 pages, mostly octavo, most written on mourning paper, sometimes on letterheads notably from the Ministry of the Navy.

The collection is contained in a modern red cloth box with a black title label.

A Polytechnique graduate and marine artillery officer, Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes (1839-1900) is known for having led, from 1880 to 1883, three expeditionary columns across Upper Senegal and Upper Niger, these operations having enabled the construction of several military forts, a railway and a telegraph line of more than seven hundred kilometers linking Bakel (on the Senegal) to Bamako. He then served in Tonkin (1884-85) as colonel commanding the artillery of the expeditionary corps. He participated in several battles near the Chinese border and had to replace General de Négrier wounded at the battle of Lang Son on March 28, 1885. The hasty retreat of French troops, ordered by Colonel Herbinger, gave rise to a controversy that brought down the Jules Ferry ministry. Borgnis-Desbordes wrote a report that implicated Herbinger, but the latter benefited from an order of dismissal and Borgnis was accused of having slandered him. The present correspondence, which extends from January 1886 to August 1887, evokes the Lang Son affair and the delicate situation in which he found himself: supported by Generals Faidherbe, Brière de l'Isle and de Négrier, Borgnis-Desbordes had against him the artillery generals Virgile and Dard. Despite this, he was promoted to brigadier general on July 25, 1886. The letters evoke the numerous visits he made to friends, military men or connections in the capital, the search for possible support, and contain allusions to political life, mentioning Henri Rochefort, Louise Michel, Clemenceau, General Boulanger... Of the 59 letters, 47 are addressed to his sister Claire (wife of Henry Lethier, engineer of Ponts et Chaussées), 11 to his brother Ernest (1843-1925), Polytechnique graduate, artillery officer and future general, and 1 to his sister-in-law Emilie Lacœille, wife of Ernest. They are almost all written from Paris; some do not include a place and one letter is written from Auxerre (July 1, 1886). Extracts: 1886. "Je mène une vie absurde. Je suis en habit noir tous les soirs. J'ai dîné hier dans une maison où se trouvaient M. Jules Ferry, Jules Réache, etc. Il y avait aussi Mme Jules Ferry, fort jolie femme dans une toilette charmante. Ce soir je dîne au café de la Paix… Mardi je dîne à Vincennes, mercredi je déjeune encore en ville, etc." (I lead an absurd life. I am in black evening dress every night. I dined yesterday in a house where M. Jules Ferry, Jules Réache, etc. were present. There was also Mme Jules Ferry, a very pretty woman in a charming outfit. Tonight I dine at café de la Paix... Tuesday I dine in Vincennes, Wednesday I lunch again in town, etc.) (Paris, January 1886, to his sister). "J'ai vu mon ministre vendredi. Il m'a reçu en me disant : Eh bien ! mon cher colonel, vous voilà revenu de la comédie de St Malo. Puisque vous l'appelez ainsi avec raison, lui ai-je répondu, je n'ai plus rien à vous dire… " (I saw my minister Friday. He received me saying: Well! my dear colonel, here you are back from the comedy of St Malo. Since you call it that with reason, I replied, I have nothing more to say to you...) (Paris, February 14, to his sister). "Au Sénégal, tout commence à aller mal; mes prédictions se réalisent : le désordre va augmenter, la situation va devenir inextricable. On a envoyé tout dernièrement un gouverneur inintelligent et malhonnête; je crains qu'on ne pense à moi pour remettre en état les affaires militaires; je me cache, je fais le mort : je ne veux pas être sous les ordres de ce monsieur… Je ne sais pas ce qu'ils veulent faire à la Chambre; cela m'inquiète peu. Mon rapport me semble avoir fini d'occuper les gens. Tous depuis M. de Mun jusqu'à Clemenceau radotent; j'estime autant Baily et Camelinat que Baudry d'Asson ou Cassagnac. Tous ces gens-là sont stupides et méchants, ou ridicules et niais. Je me moque de ce qu'ils peuvent dire sur des affaires militaires dont ils ne sont pas susceptibles de parler…" (In Senegal, everything is beginning to go wrong; my predictions are coming true: disorder will increase, the situation will become inextricable. They recently sent an unintelligent and dishonest governor; I fear they might think of me to restore military affairs; I hide, I play dead: I do not want to be under the orders of this gentleman... I don't know what they want to do in the Chamber; that worries me little. My report seems to have finished occupying people. Everyone from M. de Mun to Clemenceau rambles; I esteem Baily and Camelinat as much as Baudry d'Asson or Cassagnac. All these people are stupid and wicked, or ridiculous and foolish. I mock what they can say about military affairs which they are not capable of discussing...) (s.l.n.d., to his sister). "Je reviens de chez le général Faidherbe auquel il a bien fallu me recommander. C'est un appui fragile que j'ai là; le pauvre général souffre beaucoup en ce moment. Quoiqu'il en soit, il m'a promis de faire pour moi ce qu'il pourrait. Ce sera peu de choses, l'influence des deux hommes, Général Faidherbe et Amiral Aube, l'un sur l'autre, étant aussi grande que celle d'un missionnaire sur un musulman. Je suis, paraît-il, très vivement battu en brèche. On me trouve trop jeune de grade… Le général Brière de l'Isle se remue pour moi, mais il passe, lui aussi, pour le serviteur damné de J. Ferry, et par suite son intervention ne pourra m'être utile, je le crains du moins beaucoup. J'ai vu Dislère ce matin [Paul Dislère (1840-1928), son ancien camarade de promotion à l'Ecole Polytechnique, à l'époque directeur des Colonies au ministère de la Marine]… Il ne peut non plus changer le vent qui est décidément contre moi. Il devient de plus en plus clair que la politique s'en mêle…" (I return from General Faidherbe's to whom I had to recommend myself. It's fragile support that I have there; the poor general suffers greatly at the moment. Whatever the case, he promised me to do what he could for me. It will be little, the influence of the two men, General Faidherbe and Admiral Aube, on each other, being as great as that of a missionary on a Muslim. I am, it appears, very vigorously attacked. They find me too young in rank... General Brière de l'Isle stirs himself for me, but he too passes for the damned servant of J. Ferry, and consequently his intervention cannot be useful to me, I fear it very much at least. I saw Dislère this morning [Paul Dislère (1840-1928), his former classmate at the Ecole Polytechnique, at the time director of Colonies at the Ministry of the Navy]... He also cannot change the wind which is decidedly against me. It becomes increasingly clear that politics is involved...) (Paris, May 22, to his sister). "M. Herbinger vient de faire une dernière plaisanterie en mourant en ce moment. Je vais être traité d'assassin, sans aucun doute. Et il y aura bien quelque médecin pour expliquer qu'il est décédé à la suite d'actes d'héroïsme qui ont miné sa constitution. Et que le colonel Desbordes a été assez aveugle et assez niais pour ne pas le voir… Bien que cette mort, au moment actuel, soit fâcheuse pour moi, je suis d'avis que M. Herbinger a fait un acte très sensé en décampant pour l'autre monde. C'est ce qu'il avait de mieux à faire. Que Dieu ait son âme !" (M. Herbinger has just played a final joke by dying at this moment. I will be treated as an assassin, without doubt. And there will surely be some doctor to explain that he died following acts of heroism that undermined his constitution. And that Colonel Desbordes was blind enough and foolish enough not to see it... Although this death, at the present moment, is unfortunate for me, I am of the opinion that M. Herbinger performed a very sensible act by decamping for the other world. It's the best thing he had to do. May God have his soul!) (Paris, May 27, to his sister). "Mon affaire continue à ne pas aller… Le général de Négrier a bien voulu faire une démarche pour moi auprès du chef du personnel, l'amiral Olry; il n'en a tiré aucune assurance. Le général Brière se remue tant qu'il peut, et d'autant plus qu'il considère ma nomination comme une sorte de compensation qui lui est due pour tous les ennuis et toutes les injures dont il est gratifié à cause de M. Herbinger. Mais il n'a pas, non plus, grand succès. Je sais que le général Faidherbe a plaidé ma cause auprès du ministre, mais également sans pouvoir obtenir une réponse… Ajoute à cela que les généraux d'artillerie Virgile et Dard travaillent contre moi, que Rochefort est un véritable spectre pour nos ministres, que Clemenceau ne peut pas être mon ami, que j'ai fait jouer toutes mes batteries, lesquelles sont représentées par mes généraux, mais que je n'ai pas de députés et de sénateurs dans mon sac…" (My affair continues not to go well... General de Négrier was kind enough to make an approach for me to the head of personnel, Admiral Olry; he drew no assurance from it. General Brière stirs himself as much as he can, and all the more so as he considers my nomination as a sort of compensation that is due to him for all the troubles and all the insults he is gratified with because of M. Herbinger. But he also has no great success. I know that General Faidherbe pleaded my cause to the minister, but equally without being able to obtain a response... Add to that that the artillery generals Virgile and Dard work against me, that Rochefort is a true spectre for our ministers, that Clemenceau cannot be my friend, that I have brought all my batteries into play, which are represented by my generals, but that I have no deputies and senators in my bag...) (Paris, June 1, to his sister). "J'ai enfin vu ma nomination à l'Officiel. Il paraît qu'elle était signée depuis plus de huit jours. On attendait le moment qui serait le moins pénible à Mr Rochefort, Mademoiselle Louise Michel, et aux journaux de droite et d'extrême gauche. Ils ont fait un mauvais calcul. L'expérience le prouvera. J'ai fait des visites aujourd'hui. Ça n'est pas amusant. J'ai vu l'amiral Peyron… Il m'a donné le conseil d'aller voir M. de Freycinet [président du Conseil et ministre des Affaires étrangères]… Il a été fort aimable avec moi… Je ne me suis payé qu'une petite malice. Il m'a parlé de la campagne du Tonkin, et il m'a félicité de ma bonne mine. Je lui ai répondu que la campagne du Tonkin était une expédition pour des jeunes filles. Il n'a pas insisté. Mais je suis certain qu'il a trouvé ce jugement un peu dur pour des gens qui ont fait de l'affaire du Tonkin un épouvantail…" (I finally saw my nomination in the Official Journal. It appears it had been signed for more than eight days. They were waiting for the moment that would be least painful for Mr Rochefort, Mademoiselle Louise Michel, and the right-wing and extreme left newspapers. They made a bad calculation. Experience will prove it. I made visits today. It's not amusing. I saw Admiral Peyron... He gave me the advice to go see M. de Freycinet [President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs]... He was very kind to me... I only allowed myself a small mischief. He spoke to me about the Tonkin campaign, and he congratulated me on my good appearance. I replied that the Tonkin campaign was an expedition for young girls. He didn't insist. But I am certain he found this judgment a bit harsh for people who made the Tonkin affair a bugbear...) (Paris, July 26, to his sister). 1887. "Je ne sais pas encore officiellement où je suis envoyé en Inspection, mais d'après ce que j'ai entendu dire ce matin, je vais avoir à visiter la Réunion, Madagascar, la Nouvelle-Calédonie. C'est un voyage de plus de six mois, et moi qui déteste ce genre d'exercice, ça me fait un plaisir que je vous laisse à penser…" (I don't yet know officially where I am sent on Inspection, but from what I heard said this morning, I will have to visit Réunion, Madagascar, New Caledonia. It's a journey of more than six months, and I who detest this kind of exercise, it gives me a pleasure that I leave you to imagine...) (Paris, May 7, to his sister-in-law Emilie).

First edition illustrated with a large folding map at the end of the volume (cf. Cordier, Indosinica, 1628 and 2533).

Half sheep binding in burgundy, flat spine decorated with two double gilt fillets, gilt title running lengthwise, marbled paper boards marginally faded with a loss at the foot of the upper cover, minor rubbing to the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, contemporary binding.

A restored loss in the blank margin of the title-page.

Our copy is complete with its large map drawn and lithographed by R. Hausermann, folded, together with 5 full-page figures.

Rare issue consisting of an extract from l'Exploration, revue géographique.

A label affixed at the foot of the title-page over the publication address conceals the name of the other publisher: Bureau de la Revue, Andriveau-Goujeon.

Rare first edition, no deluxe paper copies mentioned.

Bradel binding in cream half-cloth, smooth spine decorated with central gilt tooled flower, gilt date and twice ruled in gilt at foot, brown sheep title label with scuffs and a small loss of leather, boards covered in cat’s-eye patterned paper, some staining to the lower board, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.

A few small tears to margins, occasionally with very slight lacks of paper to the first few leaves; an inscription by the author on the half-title neatly erased.

Rare first edition (cf. Sabin 28075).

The CCFr records only 2 copies: Paris (BnF) and Saint-Geniez-d'Olt (Aveyron).

Spine discreetly restored, small corner losses to soiled boards, author's name crossed out in ink on the title page, some foxing.

This study, intended to reconcile the interests of France, the Black population, and the planters in the question of the emancipation of slaves, comprises the following sections: I. Usefulness of the colonies. – II. Opposing influences on the colonies. – III. Systems [of emancipation]. – IV. Compensation. – V. Religious means. – VI. Present moral state of the colonies. – VII. Free labor. – VIII. The mulattoes. – IX. Comparison between various forms of slavery.

Opposed to the immediate abolition of slavery, the author emphasizes the role of religion in achieving the emancipation of Black people. A journalist and polemicist writer, Gougenot des Mousseaux (Coulommiers, 1805 – ibid. 1876) is known for his works on magic, esotericism, and secret societies.

An ultramontane Catholic, antisemitic and legitimist, he opposed political and dynastic Orléanism.

Edition decorated with a portrait frontispiece, 24 plates, and a folding map at the end of the volume.

Publisher’s full blue cloth binding, blind-stamped, smooth spine gilt-tooled, blind-stamped illustrations on the front cover, gilt dentelle framing on the pastedowns, gilt edges. A handsome copy in its publisher’s binding.

First edition, illustrated with a large folding lithographed map of the Indochinese peninsula in color, cf. Cordier, Indosinica, p. 1000.

Contemporary half green goatskin, spine faded and decorated with triple gilt fillets, marbled paper boards with losses, a corner loss at the foot of the upper cover extending to the following pages without affecting the text, endpapers and pastedowns of combed paper, corners rubbed, binding of the period.

A marginal tear to the map.

Rare publication of the "Revue indo-chinoise," issues 82-87.

In 1898, Laos was incorporated into the Indochinese Union at the initiative of Paul Doumer, Governor-General of Indochina from 1897 to 1902.

Manuscript ex-libris on the title-page.

First edition consisting of a collection of editorials published in La Censura in 1849 and 1850, presented by Tomas Aznar Barbachano and Juan Carbó.

Cf. Sabin, 55255. Not in Leclerc.

Front cover and spine lacking, rear cover preserved but detached, soiling to the title-page.

Very rare (no copy in French public collections).

First edition, of which no copies were issued on deluxe paper.

Illustrated, complete with the two folding maps at the end of the volume.

Inscribed by René Grousset: "A monsieur Benoist-Méchin en témoignage de profonde reconnaissance" and additionally signed by Geneviève Grousset.

Accompanied by a one-page autograph letter signed by René Grousset to Jacques Benoist-Méchin, in which he thanks him for his interventions on behalf of his son-in-law and daughter, whom he saved.

First edition, illustrated throughout the text.

Some foxing, light rubbing without consequence to the spines, small losses of green paper on the endpapers.

Contemporary manuscript ex-donos on the endpapers as a gift.

Publisher’s full blue cloth, smooth spines decorated with black Greek key motifs, black Greek key borders on the boards, upper boards adorned with a marine illustration, publisher’s black monograms stamped on the lower boards, green paper endpapers and pastedowns, wrappers preserved.

Rare French first edition, translation by Butel-Dumont.

Full brown sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt and tooled compartments, modern red morocco lettering-piece, restored tear and wear to the spine, one joint split at foot, marbled endpapers, gilt fillets to board edges, rubbed corners, contemporary binding.

The Acadia map is missing from our copy. It is extremely rare and is only found in a few copies. Sabin 35958. Leclerc 732.

Bookplate of the Marquis de Bassano pasted on a pastedown.

First edition of this uncommon work, originally written in French.

Illustrated with two engraved frontispieces and two folding maps bound at the end of the first volume.

Bradel binding in bottle-green half cloth, flat spine gilt with a central floral tool and double gilt fillet at foot, marbled paper-covered boards, black morocco title label; modern binding signed Boichot.

Three of the four original wrappers preserved, occasional scattered foxing.

Prince Emmanuel Mikhailovich Galitzine or Golitsyn (1804–1853) was a member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Revue de Paris dated 15 February 1906.

Émile Boutmy was the founder of the École libre des sciences politiques, which would later become the Institut d'études politiques de Paris, now widely known as Sciences Po.

Wrappers slightly toned at the margins, inevitable minor edge tears and small losses consistent with the fragile nature of the pamphlet.

Inscribed and signed by Lucien Lévy-Bruhl: "A Emile Durkheim, affectueusement, L.L.B."

First edition, one of 265 numbered copies on alfa paper.

A handsome copy, notwithstanding a small marginal tear to the lower cover.

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.