Rare botany books: flora, herbaria, medicinal plants, horticulture, atlases and colored plates of natural history

First edition, illustrated with 4 plates (including the portrait of Gustave Eiffel as frontispiece), 103 text figures and, at the end, 7 plates, including a folding color map showing the points visible from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Publisher's cloth binding, flat spine slightly faded and decorated with compartments adorned with blind-stamped ornamental motifs, blind-ruled frame to covers, slight and inevitable rubbing to joints, blue paper endpapers and pastedowns marginally faded as often, speckled edges.

Exceptional presentation copy, inscribed by Gustave Eiffel to Gabriel Hanotaux on the half-title of his great work on the history of the tower from its origins...

Uncommon first edition.

Contemporary full almond-green cloth, spine faded and decorated with a gilt fleuron and double gilt fillet at foot, brick-red morocco lettering-piece, boards slightly faded at the edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved.

In this historical survey, Father Raphaël (1883-1961) traces the story of the cedar, emblem of Lebanon, from ancient Phoenicia to the French Mandate.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Annales de chimie et de physique, 3rd series, vol. VIII.

Our copy is preserved in its original stitched state under temporary blue paper wrappers.

A rare and attractive copy.

Only two copies recorded in the French Union Catalogue (CCFr), at the Sorbonne and the Institut de France.

Autograph presentation inscription from Benjamin Lewy to the physicist Edmond Becquerel (1820-1891) on the upper wrapper.

Rare first edition.

Publisher's brown half cloth over flexible green boards, endpapers and following leaves browned, title printed on the front board.

A second fascicle, devoted to the Dytiscidae and Gyrinidae, appeared in 1852. 

A pharmacist practising in Metz, Jean-Baptiste Géhin (1816-1889) was also an amateur entomologist. He was the first to describe several insect species from the Moselle region, including Temognatha cehvrolatii in 1855 and Sitodiplosis Mosellana in 1857.

Autograph presentation inscription by Jean-Baptiste Géhin at the head of the front board.

Provenance: from the library of the entomologist Henri Achard de...

First edition, taken from the Mémoires de la Société royale et centrale d'agriculture, for the year 1824.

Illustrated with a folding plate inserted out of text.

Our copy is preserved in its original state, sewn and issued in a plain blue provisional wrapper.

Scattered light foxing.

A grandson of the founder and first director of the Académie royale de marine, Pierre-Marie-Sébastien Bigot de Morogues (1776-1840) devoted himself principally to agricultural matters.

Very rare first edition illustrated with 14 plates, three of which are in colour, issued as a supplement to the "Guide pratique de la fabrication de la bière" and the "Guide raisonné de la fabrication de la bière" published in 1867 and 1868.

Not in Vicaire or Bitting. Oberlé, Fastes, 1125, does not record this supplement.

Spine restored with minor losses, small marginal defects to the boards, and a stain along the right margin of the upper cover.

The author was a hop dealer and purveyor of brewery equipment in Strasbourg and in Gray (Haute-Saône).

This volume reflects the advances achieved by the brewing industry, particularly in northern France and in...

Rare first edition.

Our copy is issued in its original state, unbound and preserved in wrappers.

Not recorded by Oberlé. Only two copies located in the CCFr (Cherbourg and Montpellier).

Alexandre Lesdos (1813-1865) was a member of the Société d'Agriculture and of the Société Académique de Cherbourg.

In this work, he devotes an entire chapter to the wines of Saint-Émilion, noted for their "bouquet as delicate as that of the violet." (our own translation)

First edition and the inaugural volumes of this significant scientific periodical, whose publication continued until 1954.

Volumes 43, 4, 5, and 6 are illustrated with respectively 332 in-text figures, 392 figures, 138 in-text figures, and 179 in-text figures.

Contemporary half-sheep bindings in brown, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and garlands, spines rubbed, red lettering and volume labels with a few minor losses on some volumes, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, some volumes slightly rubbed at the extremities, the upper corner of the fourth volume lacking, a few snags to the board edges; period bindings.

The first...

First edition of this pamphlet devoted to the largest marshland in Italy, the Fucecchio wetlands.

Illustrated with a double-page engraved plate.

Disbound copy.

From the library of the economist, agronomist, industrialist, and lithographer Charles-Philibert de Lasteyrie du Saillant (1759–1849), with his ownership stamp on the title-page.

First edition, illustrated with seven folding plates.

Preserved in its original state, sewn and issued in plain blue paper wrappers with an added inner lining.

This volume gathers eight short papers previously published in the annual reports of the Kew Observatory.

Francis Ronalds (1788–1873), a largely self-taught engineer, became in 1843 the director and superintendent of the Kew meteorological observatory.

His work included, among other tasks, the development of a system for recording meteorological data.

On the front flyleaf, autograph presentation from Francis Ronalds to a member of the Becquerel family, most likely Antoine-César (1788–1878)...

This work is in fact the reissue of the original edition, published under a new title: the 1772 edition was entitled "Dissertation sur les vins".

One hundred blank leaves have been bound at the end of the text.

The work saw an expanded edition in 1782, which was subsequently reprinted. (Cf. Simon BG: 510. Not recorded by Vicaire, Oberlé, or Bitting. Lacking from the Kilian Fritsch Collection.)

Contemporary half mottled tawny sheep with vellum-tipped corners, the spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments, marbled paper sides, red edges.

An important treatise on vinification by a former wine merchant’s employee who had worked in France...

Extremely scarce Toulon printing, illustrated with in-text figures and tables.

Only one copy recorded in the CCF (BnF).

Contemporary half brown sheep, the faded smooth spine gilt with fillets, garlands and floral tools, marbled paper boards slightly sunned at the head-margins, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges.

A tear without loss to the foot of the half-title.

A professor at Franeker and later at Amsterdam, Jan Hendrik van Swinden (1746–1823) was the most renowned Dutch physicist of the eighteenth century.

First edition of this paper on cassava and the cultivation of peanuts, read before the General Assembly of the Royal Aragonese Society on 22 August 1800.

Our copy is preserved in modern plain beige wrappers, with a few insignificant spots of foxing.

From the library of the comte de Lasteyrie du Saillant, the renowned agronomist, with his red printed stamp on the title-page.

Second edition, illustrated with 15 engraved plates hors texte, of this first part devoted to the cattle breeds of the Oderbruch, Oldenburg and Frisia-Anspach (cf. Kayser, Bücher-Lexicon, VI, 265). Thirteen plates were finely hand-coloured at the time, several of them showing the animals against handsome mountain landscapes; one of the two uncoloured plates depicts chalet utensils used in cheese-making. The French text is printed on the verso of the German text.

A very rare complete suite, preserved with its original upper wrapper, housed in a modern black box with smooth spine, red morocco lettering-piece to the spine and a large red morocco title-label to the...

First edition of this second fascicle, printed in Pondicherry by the Rattinamodeliar Press.

Losses to the cracked backstrip and along the board edges, with a few minor spots.

CCFr records copies only at the BnF (the sole institution to hold a complete run), the Collège de France, and Sainte-Geneviève.

The second of the five fascicles of this exceedingly rare botanical publication: they are devoted respectively to Lawsonia alba [or inermis = henna] and to Aristolochia Indica (Indian birthwort).

First edition of the inaugural instalment printed in Pondicherry at the Rattinamodeliar Press.

Losses to the spine and, more lightly, to the board corners; internally a clean and appealing copy.

Recorded in the CCF with copies only at the BnF (the sole institution holding a complete set), the Collège de France, and Sainte-Geneviève.

The first of five parts of this exceedingly scarce botanical publication, devoted entirely to Lawsonia alba [or inermis = henna].

Very rare first edition, illustrated in each volume with a copper-engraved frontispiece by Tardieu after Monnet.

Half black grained cloth bindings, smooth spines decorated with blind fillets, marbled paper boards with light rubbing, sprinkled edges, modest late 19th-century bindings.

Some foxing and a few pale waterstains at the end of the second volume.

This work is an essay whose concerns are strikingly close to our own, though expressed in a very different context.

A founder of French ecological thought, the civil engineer François-Antoine Rauch (1762–1837) demonstrated the direct relationship between deforestation and the increase in extreme weather, calling...

First edition, highly sought after in the 19th century, comprising 14 of the first 15 volumes, published between 1789 and 1792, of the first series of the celebrated French scientific periodical Annales de chimie. Volume 10 missing.

Contemporary full brown calf, spines smooth with gilt fillets, brown morocco lettering-piece and green morocco numbering-piece, blind-ruled border to covers, red speckled edges, bookplate of P. H. Chavoix to front pastedown of each volume. Volumes 1 and 11 numbered in Roman rather than Arabic...

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.

First edition (cf Caillet I, 1960. Waller II, 12861a.)

A lack at the foot of the spine of the first volume, covers uniformly browned, handsome interior condition. 

Rare first edition of the author's principal work, but with a most questionable method, since he classifies under the category of alienation all the unknown or misunderstood phenomena of the period (demonolatry, lycanthropy, mysticism, vampirism, witchcraft, etc.).

It has at least the advantage of attempting the first history of psychiatry, from the 15th to the 19th century.

Louis-Florentin Calmeil (1798-1895), intern in Philippe Pinel's service, practiced at Charenton from 1823 to 1873 and was able...

Second edition, largely original, as it is considerably expanded (cf. Caillet 2273).

This edition is not cited by Quérard. Not in Blake. NUC: 3 copies.

Rare copy preserved in its original pink wrappers with printed spine label, untrimmed; covers slightly worn with a few corner losses, spine splitting at foot.

The first edition, published anonymously and without publisher’s address, appeared in 1784 [i.e. 1785].

"C'est dans cet ouvrage que le marquis de Puységur fit connaître la découverte qu'il venait de faire (mai 1784) des phénomènes qu'il désigna sous le nom de somnambulisme artificiel. Plusieurs cures importantes minutieusement observées et dûment...

Uncommon first edition.

An early controversy over the skin color of the first known anthropoids, marked by sharply divided opinions rooted as much in common preconceptions as in anthropological analysis.

All participants in the debate were recognized authorities in their respective fields: Pierre-Toussaint Marcel de Serres de Mesplès (1780–1862) in geology; Pierre Lacour (1778–1859) in art history and techniques; and Charles Des Moulins (1798–1875) in botany.

Minor tears and slight losses at the corners of the wrappers, without affecting integrity.

Manuscript ex-libris “La Neufville” at the head of the front cover.

First edition illustrated with two etched plates under tissue guards.

Claude Bernard’s (1813–1878) laboratory notes on alcoholic fermentation (see pp. 3–33) record his experiments on the search for yeast germs on grape clusters, the formation of alcohol in grape juice without ferment, on sound and rotten grapes, on the search for a soluble alcoholic ferment and the influence of decay, and on the production of alcohol. All these experiments were conducted on his estate at Saint-Julien in October 1877, during the grape harvest.

This conception of a soluble ferment as the origin of yeast, a living organism, marked the starting point of the famous controversy between Pasteur and...

Fourth edition, partly original, revised and considerably enlarged from these lectures given at the Paris School of Pharmacy. The work is illustrated with 600 figures within the text. 

Slight losses or small corner tears to the spines and boards, minor scattered foxing.

A pleasant copy.

First edition of the first of Augustin Sageret’s (1763–1851) two memoirs on cucurbits. Sageret was a pioneer in plant hybridization, particularly through his experiments with melons.

Only two copies of this edition are recorded in the CCF (Muséum and Lyon). Extracted from the Mémoires de la Société royale et centrale d’agriculture, year 1825. Pritzel 7969. Oberlé, Fastes, 708.

Half green long-grain morocco binding, spine faded and slightly darkened, decorated with gilt and black double fillets and blind-stamped floral tools, gilt rolls at head and tail, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, marbled edges, modern binding.

Some foxing...

First edition illustrated with a folding map at the end of the volume (cf. Nipponalia, I, 2061; Innocencio, IX, 208; lacking from Cordier Japonica, Hill and Palau).

Only two copies recorded in the CCFr (Sorbonne and BULAC).

Rare edition of this account of one of the earliest European voyages undertaken to establish commercial relations with Japan, following the success of the American Commodore Perry in 1853.

Spine cracked with loss at foot, traces of adhesive paper at the head and tail of the endpapers, modern bookplate pasted on the verso of the front cover.

First edition of the first of Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire’s essays on “Philosophie anatomique.”

Illustrated with 10 folding plates drawn by Huet and engraved by Plée père, containing 116 figures (cf. Agassiz III, p. 29, no. 51; British Museum (Natural History) II, p. 656; Engelmann I, p. 263; Quérard III, 320; DSB V, 355-358; Cahn (Th.), La vie et l’œuvre d’Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, pp. 81-112).

Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine with black morocco title label, modern binding signed by Thomas Boichot.

Some foxing to the plates.

Based on a meticulous examination of the various anatomical structures of the respiratory organs...

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

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

Endpapers soiled, a few small spots of foxing.

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

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

First edition of the thesis presented by Paul Bert to the Faculty of Sciences in Paris in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Natural Sciences.

Illustrated with two lithographed plates at the end of the volume.

Some occasional foxing.

Contemporary half red morocco-grained shagreen binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt floral tools, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved (rear cover restored with an adhesive patch), modern binding.

Rare biological thesis by Paul Bert (1833–1886), who was a physician, physiologist, educator, and above all a committed republican politician.

Inscribed...

First edition illustrated with in-text figures.

Spine split, small losses to the spine and boards, otherwise a clean and pleasant copy internally.

One of Pasteur’s principal collaborators, Charles Chamberland (1851–1908) served as deputy director of Pasteur’s laboratory on rue d’Ulm from 1879 to 1888.

First edition illustrated with a copper-engraved plate (showing some dampstains) from the second part of this brief communication, which served as an invitation to the public meeting of the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow.

According to the CCF, only the Natural History Museum holds all three parts, published respectively in 1809, 1810, and 1811.

Very rare copy preserved in its original stitched wrappers with the printed pink cover.

Covers slightly discoloured and foxed at the margins, two dampstains affecting the lower edge throughout. Manuscript notes at the head of the front wrapper identifying the author and title.

The Saxon naturalist Fischer von...

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

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

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

“One of the most remarkable works on natural history of this century. The author devotes an entire chapter to the history of the females; he describes their loves, the way in which new colonies are established and old ones preserved. Passing...

Rare first edition (cf. Carrère 667).

Modern binding in half mottled calf with small sand-colored corners, spine with four raised bands decorated with double gilt fillets, brown morocco title label, marbled paper boards, yellow endpapers and pastedowns, red edges.

One of the earliest impressions from Remiremont; cited by Deschamps, col. 1102.

Very rare first French edition of this translation, illustrated with a folding plate.

Full mottled tan calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fleurons and typographic motifs, red morocco title label, gilt rolls at the head and tail, gilt fillet along the edges, lightly rubbed corners, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

A pleasant copy.

The only French translation of the Libellus, quo demonstratur : Colchici autumnalis radicem non solum tuto posse exhiberi hominibus, sed et ejus usu interno curari quandoque morbos difficillimos, qui aliis remediis non cedunt (Vienna, Trattner, 1763), which was also issued in an English version.

An...

First edition.

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, under a provisional violet paper cover.

A vertical crease runs through the entirety of the booklet.

Inscribed and signed by Lambert-Adolphe Quetelet to Edmond Becquerel at the head of the title page.

A naturalist, mathematician, and astronomer, Lambert-Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874) was the founder of the Brussels Observatory.

Head of the collection of this technical periodical, which appeared for only three years (1839, 1840, and 1841); this set comprises all the issues published from January 1839 to December 1840.

Half lavallière calf bindings with corners, smooth spines lightened and decorated with gilt and blind fillets, red calf title labels, green volume labels, some rubbing to the spines, marbled paper boards, marbled edges, contemporary bindings.

Some occasional foxing.

The first volume is illustrated with in-text figures and 3 plates out of text; the second contains in-text figures.

The articles abound in practical details on the state of science and technology during the July...

Rare first edition of three scientific reports from the zoological exploration mission of Guy-René Babault (1883-1963), corresponding member of the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, carried out in present-day Kenya and Uganda in 1913. 

The set comprises: Volume 1: Insectes coléoptères. Cicindelidae, by Guy Babault. – Volume 2: Insectes coléoptères. Fam. Carabidae. Subf. Anthiinae, by G. Bénard. – Volume 3: Étude d'une collection d'oiseaux de l'Afrique orientale anglaise et de l'Ouganda, by A. Menegaux, with field notes by Guy Babault. 

The first volume includes illustrations in the text and one hand-colored entomological plate with tissue guard and facing leaf of...

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 in book form; the rare original edition was issued in parts between 1845 and 1856 (Brunet, I, 1707. Garrison and Morton reference three works by Cazenave on skin diseases).

Illustrated with 60 large and striking hand-colored plates.

Contemporary half red shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands adorned with double gilt and black fillets, sides covered in marbled “cat’s eye” paper, some rubbing to the upper portion of the front board, endpapers and pastedowns in combed marbled paper, corners a bit worn; later binding.

Minor foxing, a pleasing copy overall.

Head of collection of this important medical periodical, whose significance needs no further demonstration. It was published until 1914 (volume XLII) and included most of the essential contributions to the advancement of medical science in the 19th century.

The set is illustrated with 61 plates hors-texte, some lithographed and/or folding.

Half cherry calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, romantic arabesques and blind-stamped fleurons, a few small rubs to some headcaps or joints, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some corners slightly bumped, marbled edges, period bindings.

Beautiful set in a contemporary romantic binding...

Extremely rare first edition of the French translation prepared by Désiré Mouren.

There appears to have been no Portuguese edition of this pioneering work in the field of oceanography.

Losses to the spine, upper cover starting to detach, small marginal losses to the boards.

Francisco Calheiros da Graça (1849-1906), a Brazilian naval lieutenant, took part in the operations against Paraguay and conducted several scientific studies and hydrographic surveys.

Extremely rare.

Manuscript ex-libris on the upper cover.

First edition, with a frontispiece photograph depicting Gustave Eiffel in his laboratory, and 28 plates outside the text, some folding (an additional copy of plate 26 is included).

Publisher’s binding in white cloth-backed boards with corners, flat spine showing some soiling and small tears at head and foot, printed paper label mounted on spine, printed title on upper board, corners slightly rubbed.

Pleasant internal condition.

A light water stain in the left margin of the frontispiece and at the foot of the lower cover, some soiling to the bottom of the upper cover, and a few pencil annotations in the margins.

The author presents the results of experiments...

Very rare first edition of this pamphlet, absent from all bibliographies consulted on the subject (Borba de Moraes, Rodrigues, Maggs, Bibliotheca brasiliensis, Robert Bosch), as well as from the national libraries of Brazil and Portugal.

Tears and losses at the corners of the covers, spine reinforced with a brown adhesive strip, a few small spots of foxing.

First and only Castilian edition of these navigation tables, which were nonetheless translated into English as early as 1801.

No copy recorded in the CCF.

Contemporary half vellum with corners, smooth spine tooled in blind with Greek key rolls, rubbed cherry shagreen label with losses, marbled paper boards with scratches and losses, sprinkled edges, period binding.

José de Mendoza y Ríos (1761-1816) was a mathematician and astronomer; he specialised in the field of nautical astronomy.

First edition.

Bradel binding in half beige cloth, smooth spine, black oasis morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved, slightly soiled at the margins and reinforced, modern binding signed Laurenchet.

Some minor foxing.

Rare first edition.

Contemporary full black cloth, spine gilt-stamped with a floral tool, double gilt fillet at foot of spine, red shagreen lettering-piece, blue paper endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, slightly frayed corners, contemporary binding.

A pleasing copy.

Very rare signed and inscribed copy by Georges Gilles de la Tourette: “À mon cher confrère et ami le Dr Diamantberger. Gilles de La Tourette.”

First edition, one of the rare copies printed on deluxe paper.

Full cherry-red shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and triple gilt panels, some rubbing to headcaps and bands, gilt rolls at the headcaps, gilt fillet, dotted and garland borders on the covers, scratches and stains to the lower portion of the front cover, white moiré silk endpapers and pastedowns, gilt garland borders on the pastedowns, all edges gilt, gilt dots on the edges, contemporary binding.

One wormhole at the foot of the final leaves not affecting the text, some foxing, particularly on the white endpapers, library shelf labels pasted on a pastedown.

Important...

Rare first edition.

Small tears and corner losses to the spine and boards.

Signed autograph inscription from Joseph Louis Trouessart to Sainte-Beuve on the half-title.

First edition of the French translation (cf. Sabin, 33726 (original edition). Humboldt Library, 4696.)

Complete text, without the Atlas, which was published many years later (1867) and is frequently lacking.

Tears and small marginal losses to some leaves, spine of the second volume split, slight splitting at head and tail of the other volumes, foot of the spine of the first volume restored, some minor foxing.

First complete French edition, translated by H. Faye, of this seminal work by one of the greatest scholars and explorers of the nineteenth century; a masterful synthesis through which Alexander von Humboldt founded physical geography (P. Rousseau, Hist. de la...

First edition, printed in a very small number of copies of this offprint from the Journal de l'agriculture et des pays chauds, 1865-1866; cf. Berger & Rey, p. 232. Not cited by Pritzel.

Bradel binding in full green boards, smooth spine, black shagreen lettering piece, modern binding.

Dr. Victor Pérez was a physician in Laguna (Tenerife) and Dr. Sagot (1821-1888) was a former surgeon in the Imperial Navy.

Pleasant and rare copy.

First edition illustrated with 62 figures in the text or full-page, included in the pagination.

Half green oasis morocco, spine with five raised bands, marbled paper sides, endpapers and pastedowns of marbled paper, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, modern binding signed Laurenchet.

A few small spots of foxing, manuscript ex-dono at the head of the front wrapper.

A pleasing copy.

First edition, printed in very small numbers, of this offprint from the Bulletins de l'Académie royale de Belgique, 3rd series, vol. IV, no. 12.

No copy in the CCF. A single copy in Worldcat.

Traces of a label and of a distribution stamp in the left margin of the upper cover, a few small spots of foxing.

The physicist Charles Montigny (1819-1890) was director of the science section of the Académie royale des Sciences et Belles-Lettres de Bruxelles, of which he had been a member since 1867.

Inscribed by Charles Montigny to Admiral Ernest Mouchez (1821-1892), a specialist in hydrological and astronomical observations, director of the Paris...

First edition, illustrated with 67 full-page color plates, as well as 2 maps and a full-page sketch.

A rare and significant work.

Small loss to the foot of the spine on the first volume, spines lightly marked and cracked in places; otherwise a pleasing complete set in 4 volumes.

First and only edition, with a tumultuous publishing history: the first volume had been printed as early as 1835 by Paulin, but the entire edition was destroyed in the fire on rue du Pot-au-Fer. The author subsequently revised his work and published a new version in 1838, simultaneously with the second volume.

Minor marginal defects to spines and covers; the second volume is bound in a temporary plain wrapper (lacking the printed covers); scattered foxing.

First edition, illustrated in the text and with 7 plates out of text, including two heliogravure views, one black-and-white map, and 4 folding maps in colour.

Contemporary half green morocco binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fleurons, marbled paper boards ("cat's eye" pattern), marbled endpapers and pastedowns, speckled edges. A fine period binding.

A few minor spots, mostly on the endpapers; a handsome copy.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Annales des sciences physiques et naturelles, d'agriculture et d'industrie de Lyon, I, 1838, illustrated with 3 lithographed plates including one folding. (cf. Stafleu, II, 2645. Not in Pritzel.)

Upper right corner of the front wrapper restored.

An appealing copy, bearing a presentation inscription from the author on the front wrapper: "Hommage à M. Lemaire. Offert par l'auteur". This may refer to the botanist Charles Lemaire (1800–1871), author of the Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe and a specialist in cacti—plants that are almost exclusively native to the...

First edition of this major work, illustrated with 12 engraved plates and 85 figures in the text (cf. Garrison-Morton 2485. Osler 1550. Duveen 461. Cushing P/139. Waller 10966. Norman 1658).

In studying the process of fermentation, Pasteur demonstrated that the spoilage of beer was caused by airborne microorganisms, and not by spontaneous generation as previously believed.

His research contributed significantly to the treatment and preservation of perishable beverages such as beer, wine, and milk.

A very attractive copy, preserved in its original wrappers.

First edition of each volume.

No copy of this series listed in the CCF.

Contemporary bindings in quarter bottle-green or black sheep, flat spines decorated with double gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of combed or tub-marbled paper; the first volume bound at the time of publication.

Some rubbing to the headcaps of the first two volumes.

 I. Minutes of the twenty-sixth [- thirty-ninth] meeting, 18 January 1932 [26 October 1932]: 6 pp., 7 pp., 9 pp., 11 pp., 5 pp., 3 pp., 3 pp., 4 pp., 2 pp., 6 pp., 9 pp., 4 pp., 3 pp., 4 pp. II. Minutes of the fortieth [forty-eighth] meeting, 7 February 1933 [21 December 1933]: 8 pp., 4 pp., 4 pp., 6...

First edition, printed in a very small number of copies, of this extremely rare offprint (cf. Tardy 338 for the complete edition. Not listed by Polak.)

Some minor foxing, a handwritten letter "R" in ink at the upper right corner of the front wrapper.

A pleasant copy.

First french translation of the article originally published in the New York Sun in August 1825 under the title Great astronomical discoveries lately made by Sir John Herschel, along with the content of the five subsequent installments.

Bradel binding in full marbled paper-covered boards, flat spine, vertical title label with a small chip, modern binding.

First edition (cf. Polak 2791).

Contemporary half purple calf binding, smooth spine darkened and decorated with gilt fillets, garlands and fleurons, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges. Corners rubbed. Period binding.

Small restored loss to the title page, two scuffs to the foot of the upper board.

The author, a former graduate of the École Polytechnique, was a professor of navigation.

First edition, illustrated with four plates bound at the end of the volume, as well as figures and tables within the text.

Bound in contemporary half bottle-green shagreen, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt fillets, gilt library stamp at foot of spine, some rubbing to spine, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, upper corners slightly bumped.

Charles Edouard Guillaume [1861–1938], Swiss physicist, was the inventor of “invar”, a metal notable for its negligible thermal expansion; developed with Benoit and Carpentier.

A very good copy.

Album of 50 full-page plates signed by Lange, each with captioned tissue guards (cf. Polak 6415).

Publisher's binding in red half shagreen, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt dotted rolls and black fillets, gilt naval anchors, gilt title and naval anchor on the upper cover in red cloth, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

Some minor foxing, a few faded spots along the edges of the covers, a well-preserved copy overall.

A fine visual survey of the French navy at the end of the 19th century, featuring 44 warships and 6 merchant vessels (from the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, Messageries Maritimes, Chargeurs Réunis, Albert Méniér, and...

First edition, illustrated with drawings by the author.

Minor foxing to the upper cover, slight creasing to the upper outer corners of the final leaves.

A survey of various aerial navigation devices, their construction, the history of aviation, microlights, gliders, flying bicycles, and toy airplanes.

A rare work by Henry de Graffigny, who inspired the character of Roger-Marin Courtial des Pereires—an eccentric genius inventor—in *Mort à Crédit* by Louis-Ferdinand Céline.

First edition, with no deluxe copies printed.

Publisher's full blue cloth binding, smooth spine, copy complete with its photographic dust jacket, showing minor tears at the head and tail of the spine without loss.

Text by Françoise Dolto, photographs by Alecio de Andrade.

Inscribed and signed by Françoise Dolto and Alecio de Andrade on the front free endpaper.

First edition, illustrated with a folding map bound at the end (cf. Quérard I 529).

Copy preserved in its original plain green wrappers,

uncut, some foxing to the map.

"Tableau des stations géodésiques et astronomiques choisies pour déterminer la mesure de l'arc du parallèle terrestre compris entre les tours de Cordouan et de Fiume, et qui doit s'étendre jusqu'à Orsowa en Transilvanie".

Inscribed and signed by Joseph-François Nicollet on the title-page, addressed to a Monsieur Pouillet.

Very rare original edition illustrated with 2 folding maps out of text.

Two small losses at the head and foot of the spine, otherwise an agreeable interior condition.

The work was composed with the collaboration of Dr. Mougeot.

Very rare first edition of this short treatise advocating the cultivation of jute in Indochina, at a time when British India held an almost total monopoly over its production.

Single copy recorded in the CCF (ASOM).

Upper cover detached, with minor marginal tears and soiling.

First edition of the bilingual Greek-Latin text of Iamblichus' Life of Pythagoras by Ludolf Küster from the manuscript held at the Laurentian Library. The facing Latin translation is the work of Frédéric Ulrich Obrecht and Konrad Rittershausen. Bound at the end is Porphyry’s Life of Pythagoras.

Illustrated with a large frontispiece portrait of Pythagoras, based on a coin from the collection of Fulvio Orsini.

Contemporary Dutch gilt-panelled vellum boards, spine with 5 raised bands and gilt ornaments with the arms of the city of Amsterdam, large gilt arms of the city of Amsterdam...

Rare first edition of this essential supplement to the Flore forestière (1881–1897) by Jean-Baptiste-Louis Pierre (1833–1905), director of the Saigon Botanical Garden.

OCLC locates copies only at the BnF and the Natural History Museum.

Publisher's binding in brown cloth-backed boards, plain flat spine, paper-covered boards slightly sunned and soiled, title printed on upper board, bumped corners, minor wear to edges.

Text in two columns.

Clean and fresh interior.

First edition. (See Perret 2404. Not listed in Sabin.)

A handsome copy.

Contemporary midnight blue half shagreen bindings, spines with four raised bands adorned with gilt dotted rules and triple gilt panels with decorative tools, minor rubbing to the tail of the spine of the first volume, blind-stamped borders on the boards covered in midnight blue paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, two corners slightly bumped, the others very lightly worn, all edges gilt.

The first volume includes 28 plates out of text (2 in colour), 1 leaf of legend, 4 double-page coloured maps; the second volume contains 14 plates out of text (1 in colour) and 4 double-page coloured maps.

First edition of José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage's Ornithologie d'Angola, published in Lisbon by the Imprimerie Nationale under the auspices of the Ministry of Marine and Colonies, in two successive parts, in 1877 and 1881. The title-page to the first part has been retained in this copy and bound before the second title-page, dated 1881 and bearing the final date of publication.

Illustrated with ten coloured plates by John Gerrard Keulemans, lithographed, hand-coloured and finished with gum arabic, and printed in London by Mintern Bros. "Pas dans Gay. Nissen, Illustrierten Vogelbücher, 74. Anker, Bird books...

Rare first edition of this highly practical manual intended for sanitary inspection, each of the 90 plates featuring detailed explanatory text alongside corresponding illustrations.

The foreword is missing from our copy.

Publisher's binding in grey cloth-backed boards, plain spine showing some rubbing, illustrated upper cover, light dampstain to lower right corner of the upper board, minor rubbing to the lower cover.

Eugène Aureggio (1844–1924), a military veterinarian trained at Alfort, was then in charge of inspecting butcher’s meat.

First collected edition of the author's works (see Quérard, V, 642; DSB, IX, 186–189; Poggendorff I, 85).

Printed in Dresden by George Conrad Walther ["Printed in Leipsic by Jean Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf"]

Full mottled fawn calf, spine with five raised bands richly gilt in compartments with floral tools, red morocco label, joints restored, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges; contemporary binding.

Some occasional foxing; restorations to the joints, edges and corners of the boards.

First edition of the "Works" of Maupertuis. Pages 95 to 142 contain the "Mesure de la terre au Cercle Polaire"; pages 311 to 326 feature the "Relation d'un Voyage fait dans la...

First edition, illustrated with numerous in-text tables.

Spine split with small losses, a restored tear at the foot of the upper cover, minor losses to the lower cover, internally well preserved.

Antoine-Paulin Pihan (1810–1879), who was proficient in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian, held the modest post of compositor in the Oriental Typography department at the Imprimerie Impériale. Yet the volume of his linguistic work reveals an orientalist of far greater depth than his official title suggests. This work documents a remarkable variety of numeral systems (see the alphabetical index at the end of the volume), ranging from Albania to Japan, and from Ethiopia to Mongolia.

First edition. A few head-piece vignettes, ornamental bandeaux, decorated initials, and tailpieces.

Contemporary full mottled sheep, spine with five raised bands, gilt panels and fleurons between the bands, gilt-lettered tan leather label, doublures of French curl paper, red edges. Upper corners lightly bumped, a few rubbed patches and small losses, a dampstain to the first leaves, a few minor paper losses to some leaves.

Published several decades before the results of Edward Jenner's research on vaccination, this collection brings together the principal texts on inoculation, the procedure that constitutes its direct forerunner.

First edition, illustrated with twenty plates, including one folding plate. Three vignettes and several ornamental initials.

Full basane binding, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, spine with six raised bands decorated with gilt compartments, fleurons and rolls, green morocco title-piece, gilt fillet on the board edges, gilt inner dentelle, stone paper boards. Binding rubbed and scuffed, with abrasions and losses, upper joint split and lower joint partially split at the foot, old traces of mould staining in the margins of several leaves at the beginning of the volume.

Manuscript inscription "Sansac" on the title page.

First edition.

Marbled paper wrappers, marbled edges. Wrappers slightly creased, a few ink spots, a dampstain to the upper part of the title page that fades progressively on the following pages.

Rare first collected edition, and the only edition produced for this title, illustrated by George Roux with 30 full-page plates, some printed in chromolithography.

Publisher's binding known as the "À l'éventail à un éléphant" design, with the title set within the fan, lighthouse spine slightly faded as usual, Engel type i rear cover with the JH monogram in upright letters at the centre of the rosette, all edges gilt. 
Spine ends slightly sagged, as often, a few minor spots of foxing.
A science-fiction novel whose protagonist, Storitz, acquires the power of invisibility by drinking a potion. The work appears to have been first written in the same year as the publication of H...

First edition.

Rare copy of this esoteric work by Lazare Meyssonnier, physician and "professor of the science of spirit", on demonology and diabolic possession, the theology of the names of God and Hebrew Kabbalah, the various types of magic, operative alchemy, anatomy, angelology..

Full calf, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons, faded gilt-lettered title, new endpapers added, speckled edges. Joints split, a few scuffs to the leather, gilt partly faded, first three leaves browned, a few tears, dampstaining to a majority of the leaves, and wormholes without loss to the...