French Revolution and Napoleonic era: revolutionary writings, Empire generals' memoirs and grognards' souvenirs, testimonies, Constitutional Monarchy, First Republic, National Convention, Directory, Consulate

First edition, first printing (with the table in X7 and without the errata leaf, which only appears in the second printing copies).

Cf. Blackmer 863. Atabey 607.

Manuscript ex-libris at the head of an endpaper, a few minor foxing spots.

Contemporary half tan calf binding, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets, brick-red morocco title label, marbled paper boards, lemon edges speckled with blue.

Spine slightly rubbed and stained, minor loss to the upper joint.

The work reflects the observations and notes from a journey undertaken in 1790–1791.

A few years later, the Comte de Salaberry (1766–1847) would become, contrary to the Philhellene...

Original watercolour for plate No. 9 of the Le Bon Genre series published by La Mésangère (issued in 1817, 1822 and 1827). Mounted on a mat. Manuscript date and signatures in ink: "30 septembre 1806", "Théodore Lecoeur le jeune".

An outstanding watercolour signed and dated by the illustrator Théodore Lecoeur le jeune, which appeared anonymously in Le Bon Genre, the celebrated series of prints depicting Parisian fashions and manners under the Empire. The collection presents elegant female figures rendered in a semi-caricatural and humorous style, and remains among the finest achievements of French social satire in the early...

Original watercolour for plate No. 20 of the series Le Bon Genre published by La Mésangère (issued in 1817, 1822, and 1827). A tiny loss at the upper right corner, not affecting the illustration; a marginal tear restored on the verso with a paper addition, without loss. Title, date, and signatures in manuscript ink: "Une Soirée de Coblentz", "Paris, juin 1806", "Dessiné par Garbizza".

An exceptional work, signed and dated by the illustrator Angelo Garbizza (1777-1813), anonymously printed in Le Bon Genre, the celebrated collection of engravings depicting the manners and fashions of Paris during the Napoleonic era and the...

First edition (see Brunet V, 1041. Quérard X, 472. Gay 299. Hoefer, XLVI, 498, who specifies that the last four volumes were written by Eyries).

Contemporary half red Russia morocco bindings with corners, spines with five raised bands, covers framed with blind fillets; marbled paper sides, endpapers and pastedowns; a few light scuffs to some covers; gilt top edges, others untrimmed; bindings of the period.

Some spines slightly faded; occasional foxing.

This work, originally intended to comprise 60 volumes, was never completed; only the section devoted to Africa was published.

It is illustrated with three folding maps at the end of volumes XVI, XVII and XVIII...

Rare first edition (the work was reissued at least once, in 1833) of this historical compendium arranged in detailed tabular form, increasingly precise in its treatment of contemporary events (Revolution, Empire, Restoration).

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers.

Minor tears with small losses to the spines, a dampstain to the final free endpaper, light foxing, staining to the lower cover.

First edition illustrated with a large folding map inserted out of text: "Carte de la navigation intérieure d'une grande partie de la Russie européenne et de l'ancienne Pologne… dressée par J.D. Barbié du Bocage".

Contemporary red Russian half morocco, spine with four raised bands ruled in gilt and decorated with double gilt fillets, gilt date at foot, bottle-green morocco lettering-piece, a few minor rubs to spine and boards, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, bookplate mounted on a pastedown.

Small scuffs to the lower edge of a pastedown.

The author, a merchant of Marseilles origin, conceived the plan of establishing an economic alliance between...

First edition, published anonymously by Delaporte,  secretary and prompter of the Comédie-Française.

Contemporary black cloth Bradel binding, smooth spine, red shagreen lettering-piece with some loss, marbled paper boards, upper corners slightly worn, 19th-century binding.

Copies recorded only at the BnF and in Rouen (CCFr).

Printed initials at the foot of the title page.

Rare summary, by the Comédie-Française secretary and prompter, of the grievances held by the Company against the actor Talma, focusing particularly on performances of Marie-Joseph Chénier’s play Charles IX.

The play, which achieved immense public success, drew criticism from...

First edition, with a single copy recorded in the CCF (Dijon).

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers and housed in a plain blue interim cover, with a mounted title label at the head of the spine.

Some foxing.

The sole edition of this compilation, conceived primarily for fiscal purposes: indirect taxes at the time were levied chiefly on beverages.

The bookseller Louis Rondonneau (1759–1834) is renowned as the author, compiler, or editor of numerous legal codes, manuals, collections, and repertories of legislation and jurisprudence.

First edition printed in two columns, one in French and the other in Italian.

Not recorded by Starace or Roland Bonaparte.

Contemporary limp vellum-style boards, smooth unlettered spine; covers soiled.

Some scattered foxing; one quire working loose.

First edition of the French translation and notes prepared by Billecocq (cf. Sabin, 41879; Leclerc, 943; Field, 947; Howes, 443; Staton-Trenlaine, Bibliogr. of Canadiana, 597 for the original edition).

Half mottled calf, smooth spine decorated with gilt tools, brown shagreen title-piece, marbled paper boards slightly darkened and faded at the edges, red edges; modern binding.

Stamp on the half-title, a light marginal dampstain affecting the outer margins of the final leaves.

Illustrated with a folding copper-engraved map by P. F. Tardieu, “Des pays situés à l'ouest du Canada”.

“The interest of the work lies in the detailed and relatively objective...

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...

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...

First edition (cf. Martin & Walter, 16 491; Monglond III, 630; not in Schefer, Blackmer or Atabey).

Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine with a vertically lettered fawn sheepskin label, red edges; a modern binding.

Some foxing; marginal staining to the upper edges of the final leaves.

Excellent abridgement of General Hénin de Cuvillers’ diplomatic mission to Constantinople (1793–1795).

Upon his return from Turkey, Hénin (born 1755) took part in the Italian campaign of 1796 and was wounded at Caldiero and Arcole.

Appointed in 1802 as assistant to the general staff in Saint-Domingue, he was entrusted by Rochambeau with the colony’s military...

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...

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...

Second edition of this monumental work of historiography.

The collation of the text volumes (74 steel-engraved plates) conforms to the list of plates given in volume XX (with the exception of the plate depicting the French before Moscow, which is lacking), but does not match the plate count of the first edition, as certain plates were not reissued. The atlas corresponds to that of the first edition and is complete with its 66 maps.

Some foxing, mainly affecting the edges.

Handsome bindings of red half morocco with corners, the spines with five raised bands and triple blind-ruled compartments, a few minor abrasions without consequence to three spines, marbled paper sides...

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

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

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

Some...

First edition of this study in political economy.

Three copies listed in OCLC, all in the United States. BMC records only the second edition (London, 1809).

"Sur quelle base reposent les gouvernements, les lois, les peuples, les autorités, les souverainetés, les partages, les propriétés, les distinctions, les inégalités : voilà le problème important dont on s'occupera dans cet ouvrage."

Some small losses of paper to the spines and corners, rear cover of the first volume soiled, a pleasant, clean interior.

Rare copy preserved in its original grey wrappers.

Very rare first edition, bilingual, quarto in format and printed on laid paper, of the Corsican cahier de doléances.

(Cf. Starace 4747. Not in Roland Bonaparte. Conlon, xxiv, 89:1617, who notes only the 32-page octavo edition. No copy located in CCF or Worldcat.)

Our copy is preserved in a plain grey paper wrapper, with minor internal flaws, a few discreet paper restorations to the lower right margin of the opening leaves, not affecting the text.

"Les cahiers des Tiers, en même temps que des mesures spécifiques, exigent les mêmes réformes que le reste du royaume. Cette imbrication du régional et du national est jalonnée d'événements illustrant la dynamique...

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...

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...

Rare first edition (cf. Martin & Walter 25 395).

Contemporary half-sheepskin bindings, the spines smooth and gilt-ruled in double fillets, boards covered in rose-papered pasteboard, red sheepskin lettering-pieces and green volume labels, yellow edges; corners rubbed, bindings of the period.

Some rubbing and faint staining to the spines and boards with small losses to the rose paper, a tiny hole at the head of the spine of the first volume, scattered foxing and a few marks to the edges, not affecting the text.

Bound at the end of volume II is another work by the same author: "Appel au tribunal de l'opinion publique. Du rapport de M. Chabroud, et du décret rendu par...

Very rare first edition (cf. Monglond VII 661).

Contemporary half brown sheep with corners, smooth spine gilt with floral tools and fillets, rubbing to spine and joints, marbled paper boards, grey endpapers and pastedowns, corners softened, yellow edges.

Pleasant, clean interior.

A shadowy figure who was by turns (and at times simultaneously) a secret agent, Tallien’s associate, a Revolutionary pamphleteer, and a double agent under the Directory and the Empire, Méhée de La Touche (1762–1827) left in 1784 on a covert diplomatic mission to Poland and Russia, from which he was expelled at the end of 1791. The correspondence he publishes here (running from 1788 to July 1791)...

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...

Second edition.

Half black sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with broad gilt fillets and dotted tooling, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, lightly rubbed corners, sprinkled edges, contemporary binding.

A few minor spots.

Scarce.

First edition, printed on thick wove paper.
Bound in contemporary half brown shagreen, smooth spines decorated with black typographic motifs, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern slipcase edged in brown morocco with matching marbled paper sides and olive-green felt lining. 
Some occasional foxing, the note "Henri Beyle" in black ink at the upper corner of the title page of the first volume, without the final catalogue leaf at the end of the second volume, small corner restorations to four leaves of the first volume.
"Very rare and extremely sought after. Usually quite simply bound at the time. Often foxed" (Clouzot). "This work is of great rarity in...

First edition, illustrated with four plates, including a folding world map (cf. Sinkankas 3466; Agassiz III, 370).

Full fawn calf, spine with five slender raised bands, gilt-tooled compartments with occasionally softened floral tools, rubbed gilt headcaps, brown morocco lettering-piece, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle framing the pastedowns, gilt fillets to board edges, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

Repairs to the spine, one joint split at head and foot, browning along the board margins with surface scratches, scattered foxing, a waterstain at the head of all leaves.

A noteworthy treatise devoted to yellow amber and above all to ambergris, the...

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...

First edition of this very rare legal memorandum, most likely printed for limited circulation. The former deputy and Bordeaux merchant Laffon de Ladébat (1746–1829), compelled to return to private life due to Napoleon’s enduring hostility, had been appointed to preside over the liquidation committee of the Banque Territoriale, established in July 1799, which faced insolvency in May 1803 following the Banque de France’s refusal to rediscount bills amounting to 255,000 francs.

No copies recorded in the CCF. Not listed in INED.

Our copy is preserved in its original temporary marbled-paper wrappers, modern but faithful to the period style.

Scattered foxing.

A collection of extremely rare prospectuses, prefaces, prolegomena, and appendices to a monumental work of political and economic philosophy by the Le Havre lawyer J.-B.-J. L'Aignel (1741-1806), former mayor of Le Havre.

The work was intended to be published in several volumes, but illness prevented the author from completing it.

Contemporary full marbled calf binding, spine with five raised bands ruled in gilt (partly faded) and decorated with double gilt compartments, black morocco title labels, gilt fillet borders on the edges (partly rubbed), red edges.

Worming in the lower margin of the final section, not affecting the text; small restorations to the boards.

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...

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...

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.

New edition with hitherto unpublished material, printed three years after the first edition.
Contemporary full brown sheepskin binding, smooth spine with 7 gilt compartments decorated with friezes and classical vases, leather lettering piece, inscription "Lycée impérial de Marseille, prix de l'an XIII (1805)" gilt-stamped on upper cover, gilt rolls on board edges, tooled spine-ends, white pastedowns and endpapers, price label with the "Lycée's" header affixed to front pastedown. Usual wear to joints with a small hole, lower spine-end missing and leather loss at foot of spine, wormhole affecting several letters of the word...

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

Half black shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt garlands, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edge, original wrappers preserved.

Scattered foxing, some reading marks in red and blue pencil in the margins of certain paragraphs, ink stamps of the Etienne Vion bookshop and stationery in Amiens on the title page, a library shelfmark at the head of the title page.

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

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

This copy contains 4 frontispieces engraved by Ad. Godefroy after drawings by Chasselat. The title pages of the four...

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...

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...

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.

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...

Complete set of 115 copper-engraved plates with an additional plate (116 plates), all printed on either laid or wove paper, all hand-colored with watercolor. Two entirely different plates 39 follow each other, in first issue: "Les Titus et les cache-folies" was published in the 1817 and 1822 sets, and the other "La Politicomanie" appeared in 1827. This is the most complete series, which also includes the 11 new plates published from 1818 to 1822, numbered 105 to 115.

According to Vicaire, the plates were probably all printed between 1801 and 1822, and only the text preceding the plates was reprinted in 1827.

3/4 long-grained cherry half-morocco...

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...

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...

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...

First edition on ordinary paper.

Work illustrated with wood engravings by Henri Jadoux.

A pleasing copy.

Autograph inscription signed by Sacha Guitry in pencil to Henry Sorensen.

Second edition of the French translation (Sabin 98442).

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

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

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

A handsome copy of this celebrated voyage of exploration through the...

Extremely rare printing by Fauvelle, official printer for the Tribunaux de la Seine, contemporary and textually identical to the octavo and quarto editions by the Imprimerie de la République. Only four copies with Fauvelle's imprint in OCLC (BnF, National Library of Spain, Royal Danish Library, Stadtbibliothek Worms).

Bradel-style binding in full marbled paper boards, flat spine with red roan label, light foxing to the first three leaves.

First version of the Napoleonic Code, presented by the four members of Bonaparte's commission appointed to draft the civil code. Also contains the important “Preliminary Address to the First Draft of the Civil Code,” outlining the...

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...

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...

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.

For the first three volumes, first edition, complete with all 84 parts published between February 1842 and October 1843 of this "admirable publication printed on thick vellum paper [...] one of the finest of the 19th century, justly esteemed and comparable to the beautifully illustrated books of the 18th century" (Carteret), (see Carteret III, 143–153; Vicaire II, 234–248).

The first three volumes are bound in full violet morocco, spines with five raised bands bordered with gilt pointillé tooling, compartments richly gilt with double gilt frames, gilt rolls on caps, covers framed with quintuple gilt fillets, gilt monogram MG at the corners, comb-marbled endpapers and...

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...

Complete manuscript of the unpublished French translation by J. Brunet of the monumental « Giurisprudenza marittima-commerciale antica e moderna » by the Milanese lawyer Luigi Piantanida, originally published in four volumes between 1806 and 1808.

Contemporary-style pastiche binding in marbled tan half calf with vellum tips, smooth spine lavishly gilt with decorative panels and gilt Greek key friezes, red morocco title label, marbled paper boards showing minor scuffs.

In the preface, the author traces the history of maritime regulation from its origins, then reviews the various maritime codes, the rights and duties of consuls, the admiralty, captains and crew members...

New edition. "American Imprints" 28030. See Lowndes II, 298 for the first edition: "Liveliness of description of scenery and manners, couched in an easy and elegant style…"

Contemporary half havana shagreen with corners, spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons, rubbed beige morocco label, a few minor scuffs along the spine. Gilt garland borders framing the marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of rose paper lightly soiled at margins, marbled edges. Late 19th-century binding.

Some occasional foxing.

A good copy.

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

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

Some restorations and water stains affecting a few leaves.

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

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

First edition, one of 50 copies on deluxe paper, the only copies printed on large paper.
Fine copy.

First edition, one of 35 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

A handsome copy, despite slight and marginal fading to the spine and covers.

First edition of considerable rarity, not recorded by Sabin (who mentions an octavo edition) nor by Monglond.

Title, 117 pp., 67 pp., 2 unnumbered leaves of tables, 84 pp. and one folding plate comprising the appendices. Pages 15 to 22 are taken up by an unpaginated "État des Réunions poursuivies à Saint Domingue, & sur lesquelles est intervenu Jugement pendant les années 1785, 1786, 1787 & 1788."

Contemporary quarter marbled calf over marbled paper boards, vellum-tipped corners, modern flat spine gilt with decorative tools and roll-tooled dentelle motifs, red shagreen label, marbled edges.

Count César Henri Guillaume de La Luzerne (1737–1799), governor of the island of...

First edition of this broad overview, largely compiled from more detailed monographs then available.

It was reissued as early as 1843.

Contemporary half black sheepskin bindings, flat spines decorated with quadruple gilt fillets and gilt romantic arabesques, gilt rolls at foot, some wear to the headcap of the first volume and to the tail of the second. Boards decorated in blind with romantic motifs, school insignia [Institution Hortus], corners slightly rubbed, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.

Some foxing, light rubbing to edges, endpapers and pastedowns slightly soiled at margins.

First edition, illustrated with 11 plates including a frontispiece. This copy has been enriched with a second frontispiece inserted before the half-title: the frontispiece from the Relation de la bataille de Marengo présentée à l'empereur par le Maréchal Berthier, published in 1808. This image, depicting Napoleon on horseback listening to Marshal Berthier outlining the battle plan held by a guard, has been mounted on red cloth. The booklet contains only a half-title, as the original cover—which has not been preserved—appears to have served as the title page: beneath a central imperial eagle, it simply bore the date and the mention “Paris, En vente chez tous les...

First edition, illustrated with 7 plates: a plan of Fort William and a large folding view of Calcutta in the first volume; 5 folding plates in the second volume (including 3 views of Mocha and its surroundings), see Gay 3317bis.

Contemporary full tree calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, floral tools and geometric patterns, now largely faded, red morocco title-pieces, green bottle-morocco volume labels, some wear to joints, marbled endpapers, red-speckled yellow edges.

Rubbing to the spines, split to one joint.

Rare sole edition of one of the author's two travel accounts. A naval officer and son of a slave trader from Saint-Malo, Louis Ohier de...

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

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

Modern bindings in black half morocco, flat spines ruled with...

First edition, one of 110 numbered copies on alfa paper, this one not justified, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

Bound in red half shagreen with corners, spine with four raised bands framed by black fillets, covers with gilt-patterned paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt.

A handsome copy in an attractive binding.

Illustrated with 16 phototype plates.

First edition, one of 50 copies on pur fil, ours being one of 4 hors commerce copies, the only deluxe papers after 5 hors commerce copies on Arches.

Bound in burgundy half morocco with corners, spine with five raised bands ruled in black, cat's-eye patterned paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, bookplate affixed to a pastedown, top edge gilt, untrimmed. A handsome unsigned binding, likely by Devauchelle.

First edition, one of 55 numbered copies on pure Arches wove paper, the deluxe issue.

A fine copy.

Very rare first edition of the French translation by J. Castéra, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author (cf. Sabin 43417. Leclerc 756).

Stamp marks scratched out on the half-title and at the end of the volume, dated 22 August 1878, occasional foxing.

Contemporary half havana sheep binding, flat spine decorated with gilt fillets, fleurons and rose tools, red morocco title label, spine restored, marbled paper boards with marginal fading, one upper corner slightly bumped.

Pages 261 to 274 contain a Vocabulary of the Algonquin Language and that of the Knisteneaux, and pages 304 to 310 a Vocabulary of the Chipiouyane Language [Chippeway].

Unpublished autograph letter signed by the Marquis de La Fayette to the Marquis Victor de La Tour-Maubourg, written from “Metz” and dated “the 4th” in Lafayette’s hand. Two and a quarter pages in ink on a bifolium. A minor perforation, not affecting the text; with a red “V. JACOB Metz” stamp on the blank verso of the bifolium. Two discreet paper reinforcements at the foot and head of the sheet’s fold.

La Fayette wrote this profoundly political letter in 1792 from Metz — the very city where, as a young officer, he had made the decision to set sail and...

Very rare first edition (cf Dunmore, p. 16. Ferguson, 225. Forbes, Hawaiian National Bibliography, 285. Gove, The Imaginary Voyage in Prose Fiction, pp. 397-8. Kroepelien, 283. McLaren, 269. Sabin, 38958. Missing from Negley, Utopian literature, and the Dictionary of literary utopias.)

Binding in full marbled calf, smooth spine adorned with compartments and floral gilt motifs, red morocco title label, gilt roulettes on the headbands (partially faded) and on the edges, binding of the period.

A tear with loss on the spine, small crack at the foot of one joint, rubbing on the joints, some foxing, a moisture stain on the first endpaper fading on the following pages, light halos at...

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

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

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

First edition, complete with the 15 etched portraits by Jeanron.
At the beginning of the volume, the index listing the engraved portraits has been discreetly marked in pencil in the left margin beside each name.
Scattered light foxing.

Contemporary red half shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands framed by double gilt fillets and broad black rules, some rubbing to the spine, marbled paper-covered boards faintly and very marginally faded, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, one split to an edge.

First edition, partly original, of the author's complete works.

Our copy retains the engraved frontispiece portrait of Madame de Staël by Müller, present in the first volume.

Some minor foxing, rare minor scratches on a few covers, holes at the bottom of the last marbled paper flyleaf in the ninth volume.

Full pinkish-red glazed calf bindings, smooth spines with richly...

New edition, with 58 illustrated full-page plates including a frontispiece, all after P. A. Varin.
Full green velvet binding with silver edges, elaborately decorated with gilt gauffered rocaille motifs, and some blind stamped, with abundant onlays of blue, purple, cream and red vel­vet ; upper board with silver engraved crowned A[ve] M[aria] initials at center, "RGP" silver engraved initials at center of second board, both initials inside a wide red velvet inlay bordered with gilt gauffered motifs displaying the sheep­skin of the Order of the Golden Fleece at bottom, spine elaborately decorated with gilt rocaille motifs, silver engraved title label, silver clasps with pierced leafy...

Autograph letter signed by painter Elis­abeth Vigée-Lebrun addressed to his­torical painter and portraitist Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot. Two pages in black ink on a bifolium. Autograph address of Mme Haudebourt, 19 rue Rochefou­cauld, on verso of second leaf. Usual horizontal folds, tear without damage to the text on the second leaf due to the wax seal. A bibliographer's note in blue pencil on the verso of the last leaf.

1825 edition, here lacking its title page, in which the celebrated lyricist claimed for the first time, explicitly and in writing, to be the sole composer of La Marseillaise, that is, the author of both the music and the words. He would make this claim on only one other occasion, in a letter of 5 January 1829 to M. Beuchot. In its early years, France's national anthem was the subject of a genuine controversy over its authorship, particularly regarding the musical composition, that would persist long after 1825, notwithstanding the declarations contained in this edition. Hector...

First edition of a play regarded as historically significant, performed for the first time nineteen days before the execution of Louis XVI, which set all of Paris and then France ablaze to the point of interrupting the King's trial, by a constitutional monarchist playwright.

Nineteenth-century Bradel binding in half brown percaline, smooth spine decorated with a gilt fleuron, red morocco lettering-piece, pebble-pattern marbled paper boards, edges lightly red-speckled.

Rare collection of pamphlets printed in Toulon or Marseille, notably during the Restoration period, several of which implicate senior military figures of the First Empire.

The first item is: "Ordonnance du Roi, Portant règlement sur les Franchises du Port de Marseille et Suite de l'Ordonnance..." printed in Toulon, by Alx (sic) Curet, (1815), 16 pages, comprising an extract from the Moniteur of 24 February 1815.

Bound in half ivory vellum with corners, smooth spine, manuscript inscription in black ink to spine, blue pasteboards with some surface abrasions, contemporary binding.

Some foxing. A few nicks to the edges.

Bound in continuation:

1)...

First edition illustrated at the end of the volume with 2 folding engraved plates by Gobille after drawings by Guillet, depicting an ancient theatre and a plan of Athens with its surroundings (cf. Blackmer 766. Weber 364. Brunet, Table, 22855.)

Contemporary full brown sheep binding, spine with four raised bands decorated with compartments tooled in gilt, now very rubbed, restorations to the spine and covers.

First historiographer of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, to which he was admitted in 1682, Guillet de Saint-George (Thiers, circa 1625 - Paris, 1705) became known through several writings, the principal ones relating to Greece and the Ottoman Empire.