First edition, one of 1,045 and one of 1,246 numbered copies on deluxe paper, the only large-paper issues after the 118 and 120 reimposed copies.
A pleasing set.
First edition, illustrated with three folding in-text tables (Cf. Brunet, III, 330. Vivien de Saint-Martin, Voyages faits en Asie Mineure depuis le XIIIe siècle, no. 148. Atabey, The Ottoman World, 1126. Weber, II, 595. Not in Blackmer, but see nos. 1530 & 1531.)
Half calf binding with corners, spine gilt-tooled with lyres and decorative friezes, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of decorative patterned paper.
Restorations with small losses to head and tail of spine, staining to the boards and to the upper and lower margins of the leaves.
This account follows that of the Voyage de Constantinople à Bassora. The journey was undertaken while Sestini was in the service of Robert Ainslie, the British ambassador to the Porte.
He travelled across Asia Minor and returned via Baghdad, Aleppo, Alexandria, and Cyprus.
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 of the French translation (cf. Sabin, 43416; Smith, Pacific Northwest Americana, 6381; Pilling, Bibl. of the Algonquian Languages, 327; Hoefer, XXXII, 566-567).
Illustrated with a portrait of the author after Sir Thomas Lawrence as frontispiece to the first volume and, at the end of each volume, three engraved maps showing the route from Fort Chipewyan to the Arctic Sea in 1789 and to the Pacific Ocean in 1793, together with the portion of North America lying between the 40th and 70th degrees north latitude and the 45th and 180th degrees west longitude.
Handsome half red shagreen bindings, flat spines ruled in gilt with quintuple fillets, traces of former labels at the head of each spine, minor rubbing to joints, red boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns; mid-19th-century bindings.
Repair to the half-title of volume I.
A pleasing copy of this major exploration narrative.
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.
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 French edition, translated from the third English edition (Sabin, 30036.).
Each volume features a steel-engraved frontispiece.
Covers soiled, front boards detached, minor losses and tears to board margins, some foxing, cracked spines with losses; our copy in wrappers is housed in a modern brown full-cloth slipcase.
The second volume also includes a section on "Passage to Montreal and Quebec" (pp. 317-342) and "The Character of the Canadians" (pp. 331-332, 339-342).
Manuscript ex-libris signed Delecey de Mécourt on the front covers.
Rare first edition of this uncommon atlas, featuring 9 maps printed in colour, either on single sheets, double-page, or folding.
Bound in modern half dark blue calf, smooth spine with gilt rules at head and tail, title in long, boards of handmade paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.
Minor foxing to the versos of some maps, three discreet repairs using small adhesive pieces to the margins of three maps and the title page.
Printed note on the verso of the title page: "Institut national de géographie, Bruxelles".
The maps depict: General View of the East Indies, Java and Madura (detached from the volume), Sumatra and the Riouw Archipelago, Banka and Billiton, Borneo, the Celebes, the Minhassa Islands, the Sunda Islands, and the Moluccas.
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.
Exceptional collection of 49 original watercolours depicting daily life in Tonkin, most illustrating rural scenes.
These unsigned watercolours, each measuring approximately 20 x 15 cm (excluding margins), are finely executed in Indian ink and watercolour, with touches of gouache, on paper sheets—some bearing the watermark "Latune et Cie Blacons."
Contemporary half red cloth binding, smooth spine covered in red shagreen, some rubbing to the spine, boards of marbled paper, blue endpapers and pastedowns.
Minor foxing to the margins of some watercolours.
The scenes depict a variety of subjects: a military post guarded by four soldiers, one standing sentry at the entrance; a guard in white uniform holding a rifle with a long bayonet, his head covered by a salacco (the traditional headgear of Indochinese riflemen); an elderly man seated at a table, smoking a pipe while being fanned by a servant; a peasant ploughing with two oxen; a woman praying at a grave; another peasant tilling the soil; two villagers meeting near a small bridge; four people working in a paddy field; a man in formal dress before a temple; three peasants harvesting rice; a cockfight, and more.
Also depicted are villagers carrying goods or fishing, wrestlers performing before a dignitary, a child guiding a blind man, two labourers transporting stones in a wheelbarrow, a procession led by a mounted dignitary carrying a wild boar in a cage, a prisoner being flogged, another about to be beheaded, a hunting scene, musicians, a woman at a loom, villagers at play, and so on.
Western presence is alluded to only once: an Indochinese sailing vessel flies three tri-colour flags while a steamship, probably French, makes its way in the background…
Accompanied by a piece of light brown calfskin (4 x 32 cm) blind-stamped with the inscription "Souvenir du Tonkin 1885-90".
A rare and precious visual record of Tonkin at the beginning of the French protectorate.
Very scarce first edition of the Armenian translation, illustrated with a lithographed frontispiece and title-frontispiece printed on tinted heavy stock by Weger (Leipzig), together with several in-text figures reproducing seals.
The CCFr records only copies of the French edition (indeed, the same year 1871 saw the publication of a first French translation; a second French edition was issued in Paris in 1888, at which time a German version was also printed at the Leipzig address).
Bradel binding in half brown percaline, smooth spine gilt-ruled and tooled with a gilt frieze, marbled paper boards, endpapers soiled, corners rubbed, edges sprinkled in blue.
Some minor foxing, chiefly at the beginning.
Apart from the frontispiece and title-frontispiece, the entire text is printed in Armenian. Fumagalli, Biblioteca Etiopica, 304.
Father Dimotheos Vartabet Sapritchian, an Armenian priest from Constantinople, travelled to Ethiopia in 1867 with one of his compatriots, Archbishop Isaac.
The travellers, who carried to King Theodore of Abyssinia a message from the Armenian patriarch, entered the country via Wahni in the west and crossed the regions of Bagemder and Tegré before embarking at Massawa.
The first part contains the narrative proper; the second offers observations on the country’s history, manners, and customs.
It also includes reflections on the Ethiopian Church, the clergy, baptism, confession, penance, marriage, funerary rites, festivals, and more.
A rare Jerusalem imprint: printing in the city is thought to date back to 1823.
First edition of this important work on former French Indochina, comprising:
On the half-title page of Volume VI, signed autograph inscription by Auguste Pavie: "A l'ami Vitoux, hommage affectueux. A. Pavie."
Accompanying this set is: "Carte de l'Indo-Chine dressée par MM. les Capitaines Cupet, Friquegnon et de Malglaive membres de la Mission Pavie."
Printed in Paris by Augustin Challamel in 1893 (broadsheet, folded and linen-backed, with some foxing).
The map is housed in a modern half green cloth portfolio with tips, red oasis title label, red board covers, and a red full-cloth slipcase, designed to match the text volumes.
"A pioneer of new routes in Cambodia and Laos, and a key figure in French expansion in Indochina, Auguste Pavie (1847–1925) holds a privileged place among the explorers of this region. Born in Dinan, he joined the army at seventeen, served in Cochinchina with the Marine Infantry (1868), and was sent to Cambodia in 1875 (…). In 1876, he was commissioned by the Governor of Indochina to create a new map of Cambodia, taking advantage of the construction of a telegraph line between Phnom Penh and Bangkok (…). In 1885, Le Myre de Vilers, recognizing his abilities, appointed him to the delicate post of French Consul in Luang Prabang, where he was to defend the rights France had inherited from Annam over Laos (…). From Luang Prabang, Pavie undertook a series of journeys across Laos from 1887 to 1889, regions that Mouhot and F. Garnier had only briefly explored. His investigations focused on three main directions: east (Tran-Ninh, Plain of Jars); northeast (Hua-Panh); and north (Sip-Song-Chau). It was in this last area that Pavie concentrated his efforts, seeking safe routes to Tonkin in order to open up Laos and firmly link it to France's other Indochinese possessions (…). From 1888, Pavie was no longer alone. He surrounded himself with military collaborators—Cogniard, Cupet, Malglaive, Pennequin…—and civilians such as the young diplomat Lefèvre-Pontalis and the brilliant biologist Le Dantec. Within a few years, the Pavie Mission, a veritable geographical service, would number some forty members, not counting the many indigenous auxiliaries. Dispersed in small groups along different routes, the mission members multiplied the leader's efforts, covering considerable ground. Thus, in 1890–1891, surrounded by a large team of geographers, naturalists, doctors, ethnographers, and economists, Pavie successfully completed a vast territorial survey intended to establish the future borders between French Indochina, China, Siam, and Burma (…). The scientific results of this collective enterprise, unparalleled in the French Empire, were impressive. Extending far beyond Laos, the investigations covered Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia, and southern China. In total, some 600,000 km²—an area larger than France—were surveyed and partially mapped, and 70,000 km of land and river routes were recorded (…). Truly multidisciplinary, the Pavie Mission encompassed all fields of knowledge, neglecting neither history, nor literature, nor folklore…" (Cf. Numa Broc, Dictionnaire illustré des explorateurs français du XIXe siècle, Asie, pp. 366–368).
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 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 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).
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 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.
First edition of each volume.
The first work lacks its map, while the second retains it.
Full marbled blond calf binding, smooth spines decorated with gilt floral and scroll motifs, red calf title labels, gilt fillet borders on the covers, gilt roll tooling along the edges, cat’s-eye endpapers and pastedowns, green edges, contemporary binding.
Restorations to the spines, joints fragile, repairs to the title leaves, handwritten notes at the head of the first page of text in each volume.
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.
First edition, illustrated with 39 double-page colour maps.
Publisher’s binding of brown textured cloth backed with matching corners, smooth spine without lettering, showing rubbing with some fraying to the cloth; title stamped to the upper board; marbled endpapers; corners worn. Publisher’s binding.
Scattered, insignificant foxing; the table of contents leaf is creased; a dampstain with discoloration and paper loss to the foot of the rear board.
This is the last of the major general atlases of the French colonies to appear before the upheavals of the Second World War. Through both text and cartography, it offers an exceptionally comprehensive survey of France’s overseas possessions, each geographical area being treated in a separate section (North Africa, French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarenes, Indochina, Oceania, the Antilles, the French Mandate in the Levant), concluding with a substantial index.
The son of the explorer Maurice Grandidier, Guillaume Grandidier (1873–1957) was above all a geographer, and — like his father — a specialist on Madagascar.
Laid in: Study map of the principal transport routes of Central-West Africa (southern Sahara), a large folding map (with significant paper loss along one fold).
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.
First edition of this rare album illustrated with 18 lithographed plates, including the title-frontispiece (see Inventaire du Fonds Français, VII, 243, no. 21).
This unbound suite is housed in a grey cloth chemise and matching modern slipcase, spine unlettered with two tears at head and tail, plain boards, light soiling to the lower board.
Some scattered foxing.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
An exceptional and hitherto unpublished manuscript, complete in 775 pages, chronicling the journey of the Vicomte Edmond de Poncins through India (cited in Numa Broc, Asie, pp. 376–377, and Afrique, p. 263 (for his explorations of the Pamirs and Ethiopia), and in Thiébaud, pp. 755–756, (for his works on hunting).
This record extends from 12 September 1891, with embarkation at Marseille, through to 12 June 1892, the date of departure from Karachi bound for Marseille.
Contemporary 3/4 green morocco binding, spine in five compartments numerously framed in black with fleurons-gilt tooling, boards framed in black along the leather edges, marbled endpapers; author’s bookplate pasted to the upper pastedown; red top edge.
775 pp. (misnumbered ch. 1–567, 567–774), 1 unnumbered page, 2 unnumbered leaves of table, and a few remaining blank leaves.
Important, unpublished manuscript recounting the travels of the Vicomte Edmond de Poncins across India covering the period from 12 September 1891 (embarkation at Marseille) to 12 June 1892 (departure from Karachi for Marseille).June 1892 (departure from Karachi for Marseille).
Presented in the form of a journal, it is written in brown ink, in a cursive yet legible hand.
The text includes all of the author’s observations on the regions traversed, the routes taken and modes of transport, hunting expeditions, notable acquaintances, and his relations with servants, etc.; it also records that he took photographs during his excursions.
Departing from Marseille on 12 September 1891, Edmond de Poncins took passage on the Peï-Ho, a steamer belonging to the Messageries Maritimes. He travelled in the company of the Governor of Obock, on his way to assume office, and a British general who served as Inspector of Cavalry in India.
The route led via Port Said, Suez, Obock, and Aden. During the passage through the Red Sea, Poncins visited the engine room and conversed in Arabic with one of the stokers. On 23 September, at Aden, he transferred to the Seyne, a vessel of the same company, bound to cross the Indian Ocean. He arrived at Karachi on 29 September. The traveller left the steamer to board a sailing vessel bound for Bombay, where he arrived on 2 October. He remained there until the 8th, when he departed for Poona. On the 16th, he made an excursion to the Carlee Caves, a group of ancient Buddhist temples hewn into the rock. Back in Bombay the following day, he journeyed on to Pachora, whence he explored the Ajanta Caves, famed for their ancient Buddhist sanctuaries carved into the rock. He returned to Bombay on the 21st, proceeded to Mehmadabad the next day, and reached Kaira on the 24th. In the surrounding area, he hunted crocodiles and subsequently quail. On the 27th, he was in Ahmedabad, roughly 450 km north of Bombay, and two days later he arrived at Morvi, lying some 200 km to the east, continuing his travels across the region. Returning to Ahmedabad on 5 November, he went back to hunt in the environs of Kaira. On the 10th, he arrived at Abu Road, where he visited the temples of Mount Abu, before making his way back to Ahmedabad. He then began his journey across India towards Delhi and Calcutta, visiting Ajmere on 21 November, Chitor on the 23rd, and Udaipur on the 25th. On 3 December, he went bear hunting in the surrounding area. On the 7th, he reached Jaipur, and the following day he visited Amber Fort, which overlooks the city. On the 10th, he arrived at Alwar, and on the 12th proceeded to Delhi. Three days later, he visited Agra, before journeying into the Ganges Valley, reaching Cawnpore (Kanpur) on the 17th, Lucknoor (Lucknow) on the 18th, and Benares on 19 December. He arrived in Calcutta on 22 December 1891. He remained there until 4 January 1892, when he departed for an extended hunting expedition in the Sunderbans, a marshy region in the Ganges delta. On 10 February, he returned to Calcutta to prepare for his next expedition. He set out for Assam on 19 February 1892, a region in north-eastern India, lying in the Brahmaputra Valley at the frontier of Bhutan. The following day, he reached Goalundo (present-day Bangladesh), and on the 22nd, Jatrapur (Bangladesh), before embarking on a new hunt through the jungle atop a domesticated elephant. He arrived at Raimana (Assam, India) on 4 March. Over the ensuing days, he hunted large game - including buffalo, elephants, rhinoceroses, and tigers. On the 17th he killed a tiger cat, followed the next day by a doe and a stag, but the larger animals remained elusive. On 19 March, he suffered from heatstroke, yet continued hunting. On the 24th he reached Paglobat, continuing the next day to Dhubri in Assam, where a violent fever struck him down. Once recovered, he made a few more excursions and, on 8 April, left the region, reaching Calcutta on the 10th. On the 14th, he fell ill once more and was robbed by his servant, who was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Poncins then left Calcutta to cross the Ganges plain: on 29 April he reached Cawnpore (Kanpur), which he had already visited on his outward journey, and on the 30th he stayed at Kalka. On 1 May he arrived at Simla, situated about 250 kilometres north of Delhi, on the foothills of the Himalayas. After an excursion to Amondah, he was again seized by fever and was forced to return to Kalka, from where he took the train, reaching Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan) on the 16th. From there, he made several excursions into the hills (Murree, Gulmay), but an outbreak of cholera forced him to leave the region. On 5 June he departed Rawalpindi by train and arrived at Lahore the next day. On 8 June he reached Karachi and prepared his belongings to embark on a vessel bound for Marseilles. The journal concludes on 12 June 1892, the date of his departure from Karachi.
Translated extracts: [16 October 1891, between Bombay and Poona, Maharashtra]: “Departure for the Caves of Carlee. Left at 6 a.m. with a tonga [a cart drawn by two ponies] which took me along the road opposite the path leading to the caves. Hired two coolies for my photographic equipment and my gun. We crossed a long plain of rice fields […]. The caves lie one-third up a mountain of 800 feet rising at the end of the plain […]. One passes through a small temple of Siva and stands before the great temple, whose entrance is most impressive […]. To the right and left, large sculpted elephants emerge from the rock up to mid-body; bas-reliefs depict gods with exaggerated forms, larger than life […]. The great hall is a marvel, both in its ensemble and in its details…” (pp. 53–55).
[25 October 1891, near Kaira, south of Ahmedabad, Gujarat]: “Left at 6 a.m. on camelback to hunt crocodiles. Covered 14 miles and reached a village below which the river makes a large, very deep bend. It is the Sabarmati. Shot a large crocodile at 150 metres on the sand. The bullet went straight; it struggled for a moment, then dived and was lost. About ten others in sight dived at the same time. Went down the river and fired at a small crocodile, 60 metres away, basking on a sand islet. It made a great leap and dived into a deep pool, which was red with blood within a few minutes. A native accompanying me did not dare to fetch it. Fired at two or three other swimming crocodiles, without apparent result. At 2 o’clock I returned to my starting point […]. Altogether I must have fired at fifteen and seen fifty in four or five hours…” (pp. 76-77).
[25 November 1891, Udaipur, Rajasthan]: “In the soft haze of the rising sun, the white city appeared, dominated by high walls and the splendid silhouette of the Maharana’s palace […]. Further on, a vast circle of rugged mountains with oddly shaped peaks, here and there marked by forts and stretches of defensive walls. Truly a land of savage feudalism. The Prime Minister’s son, to whom we had announced our arrival, came to fetch us by carriage at one o’clock, placing himself at our disposal. He is a young man of twenty to twenty-two, intelligent in appearance, speaks English well and is courteous. The Maharana is not in Udaipur, residing instead in a bungalow a few miles away on a hunting expedition […]. We shall, moreover, have the honour of being invited to one of H.R.H.’s hunts; in the meantime, we shall visit what there is to see in Udaipur…” (pp. 171–172).
[4 January 1892, West Bengal]: “Set out this morning from Calcutta for Mutlah or Canning. Arrived at 10 a.m. Found my boats. Crossing a country of rice fields, marshes, palms and coconut trees. The train stops at the end of the track, right on the riverbank. The tide is low and, to reach our boats, I have to be carried by my men, who sink up to their knees in a black, sticky, abominable mud […]. Here and there, some native boats. Few birds. By noon the two chimneys of the station disappear from view; ahead there is only the immense marsh. My men, who are Muslim, raised the anchor with a prayer […]. At 4 p.m. we stop at a cluster of huts unmarked on the map, called Fokai Hâttee. I send two men ashore to look for milk or meat. There is none. Meanwhile I photograph my boats, and a group of natives watching a juggler and a bear…” (pp. 291–292).
[1 March 1892, Brahmaputra Valley, Assam]: “In the afternoon my bullock cart [ox-drawn cart] arrived, along with an additional elephant sent by Mr Gordon. My party now consists definitively of three elephants, one bullock cart, seven men for the elephants, one for the oxen, and two for myself…”
[2 March]: “Departed at six in the morning on the second elephant, which I had yet to ride. We took the road to Kaïmana, then turned left into a jungle of tall burnt grasses, as high as the elephants […]. A very large animal was heard a few hundred paces ahead, crushing the grass. Halt. At the sound my mahout [driver] insisted it was a wild elephant, though the noise was identical to that of ours. The rhino passing below was less noisy. What should be done? The government forbids, under severe penalties, the killing of elephants […]. The undergrowth is so thick one could not see two metres; I cannot even see the head of my own. Moreover, wild elephants attack domestic elephants with fury…” (pp. 540–545).
A hunter and explorer, the Viscount Edmond de Montaigne de Poncins (1866–1937) undertook several journeys in Africa and Asia. After his stay in India (1891–1892), he travelled through Central Asia in 1893: departing from Samarkand (Uzbekistan), he crossed the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains to reach Srinagar (Kashmir); for this journey he was awarded the silver medal of the Geographical Society in 1895. In 1897, he travelled with Prince Henri d’Orléans between Djibouti and Addis Ababa; in 1912, he explored East Africa, from Nairobi to Mount Kenya.
“Poncins is no scholar, but an intrepid traveller and a keen observer […]. Few French explorers have attained such heights in Central Asia…” (Numa Broc, Asie).
He is the author of Chasses et explorations dans la région des Pamirs (1897) and Notes sur le gros gibier de nos colonies (1913).
A precious manuscript, with a fine contemporary binding.
Provenance: Viscount de Poncins, with his engraved bookplate depicting a tent beside a baobab.
Edition published one year after the original, illustrated with four fine copper-engraved plates by Charles Eisen depicting Nordic types (Icelandic women, a bear hunt, Samoyeds, a Laplander in a sleigh) engraved by Le Mire, one folding map by Bellin, thirteen maps, plans, or views (eight of them folding) engraved by Croissey, as well as a charming engraved title vignette and a headpiece by Le Gouaz.
See Sabin, 37616; Chadenat, 1633; Boucher de la Richarderie, I, 380.
Full mottled calf binding, smooth spine richly gilt in compartments decorated with gilt fleurons and geometric motifs, sometimes slightly rubbed, red morocco label, restorations to spine and joints, gilt roll tooling on the caps, red-speckled citron edges, gilt fillets on the board edges; late eighteenth-century binding.
A tall, wide-margined copy.
Provenance: copy from the Château de Menneval, with an engraved bookplate mounted on the pastedown.
First edition of the French translation prepared by A. J. B. Defauconpret (see Brunet III, 555; Quérard IV, 230; not in Field).
The work is illustrated with 20 charming aquatint plates, 6 of them hand-coloured, and a folding plan. The English first edition contained only 13 aquatints.
Contemporary Bradel bindings in full sand-coloured paper boards, red morocco spine labels for title and volume numbers (partly faded), flat spines gilt with a central floral tool, light rubbing to spines, upper caps slightly worn, two corners bumped, entirely uncut. Period bindings.
Pleasant, clean internal condition.
Johnson was a British officer in India who chose to return to England by land. His narrative offers numerous observations on the social life, customs, religion, and dress of the peoples he encountered along the way.
First edition of the French translation prepared by Joseph Lavallée.
The atlas volume is illustrated with 16 plates (portrait, views, birds, insects), 12 engraved music plates (printed on 6 leaves), and a large folding map on thick paper (cf. Quérard, I, 6; British Museum (Natural History), I, 8 for the atlas only; Pritzel, 6 for the original English edition).
Bound in contemporary half calf, smooth spines gilt-tooled with floral ornaments, rolls and motifs, sometimes slightly faded, orange calf title and volume labels, marbled paper boards, a few rubs and minor defects along the joints, sprinkled red edges; the atlas volume in contemporary half brown calf, smooth gilt-tooled spine with a few small losses at foot, some rubbing to joints and boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.
Our copy is complete with the Finnish bath plate, often lacking.
First edition illustrated with 11 plates, 10 of which are folding.
Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine, vertical paper title label.
"Ce sont les tables des hauteurs du soleil à toutes les heures" [Lalande]. A rare and appealing copy.
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 Monarchy.
All manner of precise papers address an extraordinary variety of topics: beer (domestic and economical), autopsies, glanders in horses, rabid dogs, details on the daguerreotype and Daguerre’s process (vol. I, pp. 434–439 and 529–537, and vol. II, three articles), potatoes (starch, use, bread-making, price, vol. I), lithography, mummification, vine-growing (in Russia, vol. I), methods for bleaching and cleaning engravings and removing stains from books (vol. I, pp. 276–278), vaccination (vol. I, pp. 567–574), steam baths (Duval’s apparatus, vol. II), steamships, the budget of the city of Paris for the year 1840 (vol. II, pp. 278–282), coffee, the opium trade in India and China (vol. II, pp. 102–106), paper, etc.
The editor, Jean-Baptiste-Alphonse Chevallier (1793–1879), taught at the Paris School of Pharmacy and played a key role in two fields: urban public hygiene (disinfection of sewers, sanitation of the Canal Saint-Martin, etc.) and industrial toxicology related to occupational diseases.
First edition of the French translation (cf. Gay 368).
Rare copy preserved in its original wrappers, complete with the accompanying atlas volume containing 7 maps, including 2 large folding ones.
Some light foxing, a few marginal tears to the wrappers of the atlas volume.
The English geographer Hugh Murray [1779-1846] devoted many years to enlarging and completing this work begun by the English orientalist John Leyden [1775-1811].
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Magellan and four maps and plans depicting the Strait of Magellan (cf. Sabin, 16765; Leclerc, 1971; Chadenat, 552).
Our copy does not include the appendix published in 1793. "A work difficult to find with the second part" (cf. Chadenat).
Full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt fillets and decorated gilt compartments, gilt rolls on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges, gilt fillets along the edges, modern binding in period style.
An engaging account of this region of South America, containing the following illustrations: Carta Esferica de la parte sur de la America Meridional, año 1788. – Carta reducida des estrecho de Magallanes, año 1788. – Primer plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786. – Segundo plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786.
Fine copy formerly belonging to naval captain Gaston de Rocquemaurel (1804–1878), second-in-command to Dumont d’Urville during the South Pole and Oceania expedition from 1837 to 1840, with his signature on the title page.
Handsome example of a binding executed in imitation of the eighteenth century.
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 legends; the second volume contains one hand-colored entomological plate with tissue guard and facing legends; the third and final volume features six hand-colored ornithological plates with tissue guards, together with a large folding colored map bound at the end.
Spine and boards marginally faded or sunned, internally well preserved.
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.
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 "Marseille" on front cover, corners bumped, gilt tooling on board edges and spine-ends slightly faded, hole to half-title leaf not affecting text, and leaves throughout cockled.
Ink annotation on title page: "1ère Edition 1796".
Four further editions will follow the first two: 1808, 1813, 1824, and 1835 (the latter published posthumously).
Autograph postcard signed by Albert Einstein to Ludwig Hopf. 18 lines written verso and recto, address also in Einstein's handwriting. Postmarked June 21, 1910.
Published in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 5: The Swiss Years: Correspondence, 1902-1914, Princeton University Press, 1993, n°218, p. 242.
An exceptional and highly aesthetic card from Albert Einstein to "the friend of the greatest geniuses of his time" - according to Schrödinger - mathematician and physicist Ludwig Hopf, who introduced Einstein to another 20th-century genius: Carl Jung.
The master invites his pupil Hopf to a dinner party, whose guests include scientist Max Abraham, future great rival during Einstein's Zurich years and a fervent opponent of his theory of relativity.
The recipient Ludwig Hopf joined Einstein in 1910 as an assistant and student at his physics and kinetic theory seminars at the University of Zürich. They signed two fundamental papers on the statistical aspects of radiation and gave their names to the "Einstein-Hopf" velocity-dependent drag force. Their letter exchanges retrace the complex path of Einstein's work on relativity and gravitation, bearing witness to their great complicity and Hopf's invaluable contribution to the Master's research. A few months after writing the postcard, Hopf even found an error in Einstein's calculations of the derivatives of certain velocity components which Einstein corrected in a paper the following year. They also formed a musical duo – Hopf accompanied on the piano the Master's violin, performing pieces by great musical geniuses like Bach and Mozart.
With this card, Einstein invited his pupil and friend Hopf to dinner with Max Abraham, at the dawn of a major scientific controversy that would pit them against each other from 1911 onwards. Abraham's theory of special relativity failed to convince Einstein, who criticized its lack of observational verification and its failure to predict the gravitational curvature of light. In 1912, their dispute became public through scientific articles. Abraham never acknowledged the validity of Einstein's theory.
During their brilliant artistic and intellectual exchanges, Hopf undoubtedly succeeded where Freud had failed, as he declared to him in a letter: "I shall break with you if you boast of having converted Einstein to psychoanalysis. A long conversation I had with him a few years ago showed me that analysis was as hermetic to him as the theory of relativity can be to me" (Vienna, September 27, 1931). As a fervent supporter of psychoanalysis, Hopf is known to have introduced the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung to Einstein. Hopf and his teacher both left for Prague's Karl-Ferdinand University in 1911, where they met writer Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod in Madame Fanta's salon.
With the rise of the Nazi regime, the fates of the two theoreticians were plagued by persecution and exile. Einstein first took refuge in Belgium, Hopf in Great Britain after his dismissal in 1934 from the University of Aachen because of his Jewish origins. They continued their prolific correspondence in the midst of the turmoil, Einstein suggesting to Hopf the opening of a university abroad for exiled German students. Hopf died shortly after his appointment as chair of Mathematics studies at Trinity College Dublin in July 1939.
A precious invitation from the great physicist to one of the final dinner gatherings of the "old school" of science embodied by Max Abraham, on the eve of the publication of the theory of general relativity which would overturn classical conceptions of space and time and propel Science into the 20th century.
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.
Illustrated edition with a frontispiece and 60 in-text engravings.
No copy listed in the CCF.
Publisher's brown cloth binding, flat spine, spine and covers decorated with gilt African-inspired motifs, blind-stamped border on covers, marbled edges, minor bumping to lower corners.
A pleasing copy.
This work is a popular biography of David Livingstone, focused solely on his African expeditions, intended for a German-speaking readership.
First edition.
Each booklet is richly illustrated with in-text and full-page figures or photographs.
Expeditions in the Mediterranean (1952–1964), including the study of the islet of Grand Congloué, campaigns in the northeastern Mediterranean, along the coast of Provence, and in the Gulf of Genoa.
Campaigns in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean (1951–1954), and in the tropical Atlantic (1956–1962), including missions in the Gulf of Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands, and off the Atlantic coasts of South America. General index for volumes I to XI.
Back cover of the first volume soiled; small tear at the top of the front cover of the third booklet.
A rare and appealing complete set in 11 volumes.
First edition comprising 3 pages of ideograms, figures in the text, and 12 full-page illustrations.
Spine lacking, stains and losses to the boards, black stains to the edges and at the foot of the final leaves.
Rare illustrated Calendar of Annam... monastic period (1869).
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.
New edition bringing together, in addition to Cortés's own correspondence, a collection of documents relating to the conquest of Peru, including letters addressed to the conquistador by his principal lieutenants (cf. Palau 63 205. Leclerc 2575.)
A pupil of Silvestre de Sacy in Arabic, Pascual de Gayangos y Arce (1809-1897) was one of the foremost Spanish orientalists of the nineteenth century; his research was chiefly devoted to Muslim history.
Spine cracked with small losses, a tear at the upper left corner of the front cover, some foxing, tears and marginal losses to the rear cover.
First edition of this important and early collection of 50 superb lithographs of Algiers printed on china paper mounted on heavy wove, executed by the two painters Emile-Aubert Lessore (1805–1876), a pupil of Ingres, and William Wyld (1806–1889), a friend of Vernet. The work was originally issued in five parts: buildings, landscapes, figures, scenes, etc.
See: Bibliothèque algérienne de Gérard Sangnier, no. 207. Not in Blackmer. Playfair, 517. Tailliart, 896. Gay, 919. Brunet III, 1018.
Contemporary binding in half green shagreen, flat spine with triple gilt fillets and blind-stamped fleurons, gilt decorative bands at head and foot of spine, the upper band partially faded; marbled paper-covered boards with some marginal discoloration. Contemporary binding.
Spine restored, occasional scattered foxing.
First edition, illustrated with 11 double-page folio plates, including 2 plans printed on tracing paper. (Not listed in Hage Chahine.)
The text fascicle is in wrappers and the suite of plates is loose, both housed in the publisher’s original black cloth-backed portfolio with corners, flat spine without lettering, title label centered on the upper board, sand-colored boards showing some stains and scuff marks, with flaps and ties.
On the inside flap of the publisher’s portfolio, autograph inscription signed by Henri Chevrier to Pierre Glénat: "... dans l'espoir de faire un jour sa connaissance sous le soleil der Thèbes..."
First edition of each of the fascicles.
Half brown sheep binding, spine slightly faded with four raised bands framed by blind fillets and decorated with gilt floral tools, some rubbing to the spine and along the edges of the boards, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners rubbed, contemporary binding.
This collection of pamphlets includes: 1) Voyage à Tahiti. n.d., 12 pp. 2) Voyage en Cochinchine. Algiers, Impr. Algérienne, 1923, 20 pp. 3) Dans les mers du sud. Australie, Nouvelle-Calédonie. n.d., 20 pp. 4) L'île Bourbon ou une perle de la mer des Indes. Algiers, Impr. Algérienne, 1923, 16 pp. 5) L'exotisme dans la littérature française. n.d., 16 pp. 6) La prise d'Alger. n.d., 8 pp. 7) L'Emir Abd-el-Kader. n.d., 20 pp. 8) L'Afrique du Nord et le Parlement. n.d., 7 pp. 9) La Piraterie Algérienne dans la Littérature Classique. Algiers, Impr. Algérienne, 1922, 19 pp. 10) D'Hippone à Port-Royal des Champs. n.d., 19 pp. 11) L'Algérie poétique. Algiers, Impr. Algérienne, 1924, 12 pp. 12) Le Léman Littéraire et Mme de Stael. n.d., 19 pp. 13) L'Arrivisme après l'Epopée. Stendhal, Le Rouge et le Noir. n.d., 11 pp. 14) Pierre de Ronsard. n.d., 23 pp.
A rare and appealing collection.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a portrait frontispiece and a folding map of Beloutchistan and Sindhy, together with parts of Kotch, Sedjistan, Khorasan, and Persia (cf. Quérard VII, 300).
Traces of removed bookplates on the pastedowns.
Half blond sheepskin bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and garlands, title and volume labels in fawn sheep, upper cap of the second volume lacking, small loss to the upper cap of the first volume, traces of rubbing to the spines, corners in green vellum, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges, contemporary bindings.
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 science, p. 362).
The author himself regarded this as the work of his life.
Thanks to his scientific training and his various expeditions, in particular the exploration of South America with Aimé Bonpland, Humboldt was able to gather in a single work all the material, the sum of knowledge on celestial phenomena and life on Earth, from nebulae to the mosses clinging to granite rocks.
This work truly marks a milestone in the intellectual development of humanity.
Rare first edition of Euler's first work devoted to astronomy (cf. Houzeau and Lancaster I, 11948. Poggendorff I, 689. La Lande 422. DSB IV, 467-484.)
Illustrated with a frontispiece (printed on f. A4) and 4 engraved plates at the end of the volume.
Some minor foxing, mostly towards the end of the volume.
Modern half vellum binding, smooth unlettered spine, comb-marbled paper boards, red edges.
This work dates from the very beginning of Euler's stay in Berlin (where he had been invited by Frederick II of Prussia), a period of intense activity across several fields of science.
The work is described as a "fundamental work on calculation of orbits" in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
Jérôme De La Lande already noted in his Bibliographie astronomique (Paris, 1803): «Ce livre est le premier où l'on ait traité analytiquement les orbites des planètes et des comètes».
One of the principal works of dynamical astronomy, Euler’s equations being of capital importance.
First edition of the most significant 19th-century scientific expedition to Iceland and Greenland.
A few light spots of foxing, otherwise a very good copy.
The 8 volumes of text include:
- History of the voyage, by Joseph-Paul Gaimard and Eugène Robert: 2 volumes with a portrait.
- History of Iceland, by Xavier Marmier: 1 volume.
- Icelandic Literature, by Xavier Marmier: 1 volume.
- Travel journal, by E. Mecquet: 1 volume.
- Zoology and medicine, by Eugène Robert: 1 volume, with folding table.
- Physics, by V. Lottin: 1 volume.
The 4 atlas volumes comprise:
- Mineralogy and geology, by Eugène Robert: 1 volume. Atlas:
- Mineralogy and geology: 1 volume with 36 black plates, some printed on China paper and mounted.
- Historical: 2 volumes with 150 lithographed plates and views in black, printed on China paper and mounted.
- Zoological, medical, and geographical: 1 volume with 51 plates, 35 of which are finely hand-colored (one plate present in both states: black and colored).
Bound in modern half blond calf, flat spines richly gilt with garlands and gilt and blind-stamped fillets, gilt decorative bands at foot of spines, red and dark green morocco spine labels, marbled paper boards, bindings signed by Laurenchet.
A very rare and attractive uniformly bound complete set.
Rare first edition of the French translation established by P.-F. Henry. (Gay 2683.)
Some occasional light foxing.
The work also includes an oblong quarto atlas, in which map no. 6 has been bound upside down, containing 33 engraved plates and maps (1 to 32 plus 1bis) based on the author's original drawings.
The illustrations comprise 8 maps or plans and 25 plates depicting a variety of subjects: views, portraits, inscriptions, buildings, hunting scenes, animals, etc.
As is frequently the case, our copy lacks the out-of-text plate in volume 2 showing ancient inscriptions.
In 1809, Henry Salt was sent on a diplomatic mission to Abyssinia to establish trade relations with England. During this, his second journey to the region, he traveled along the eastern coast of Africa, visited Portuguese colonies, and collected extensive data on the hydrography of the coastal areas. In addition to the travel narrative, the work includes several vocabularies of African tribes ranging from Mozambique to Egypt: Makua, Monjour, Somali, Hurrur, Galla, Darfur, Amharic, Tigrinya, etc.; it also contains notes on Abyssinian birdlife and rare plants.
A handsome copy preserved in its original publisher’s wrappers, with plain covers and title labels pasted at the heads of the spines (minor marginal flaws to the plain covers, without significance).
First and only edition of this beautiful album, illustrated with a double-page map and 12 mounted plates after drawings by the author, including 11 aquatints offering spectacular views of the island.
The half-title page bears the following title: Voyage pittoresque aux îles Hébrides.
Some occasional spotting, otherwise a pleasing copy of this album.
Contemporary full purple shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands, compartments decorated with blind-ruled panels, minor rubbing to spine, covers framed with double blind fillets and scrollwork, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle border on pastedowns, gilt dots along the edges, all edges gilt. Half-title: Voyage pittoresque aux îles Hébrides, title, 32 pp., a double-page map and 12 mounted plates after drawings by the author, including 11 aquatints depicting striking island views.
Publisher Charles-Louis-Fleury Panckoucke (1780–1844), son of the renowned Charles-Joseph, recounts a journey to the islands of Skye, Iona, and Staffa from Glasgow, with particular emphasis on the latter. Staffa is famed for its basalt cave, known as "Fingal's Cave" in homage to Ossian and his pseudo-Gaelic creations, which in the 19th century drew numerous writers and artists enchanted by the wild majesty of its interior.
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 Pacific and along the west coast of America.
First edition, illustrated with 265 engravings (including 70 heliogravure plates on thick paper with captioned tissue guards), after the author's own photographs, and including a folding color map at the end of the volume.
Contemporary binding in half tawny morocco with marbled boards, spine with five raised bands framed by black fillets, red morocco title label, some rubbing to spine and headcap, gilt double fillet and garland borders on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, top edge gilt.
Scattered light foxing, mostly at the beginning of the volume.
First edition, 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 and first issue of the illustrations, without the table of plates which was later printed at the bottom of page XLIII and the beginning of page XLIV of the text volume (cf. Louandre et Bourquelot, I, p. 46. Blackmer, 33, mentions a large folding map bound in the atlas which, in fact, does not belong to the work).
The atlas volume contains the complete set of 10 plates, including 4 lithographs engraved by Faure after drawings by Préaux and lithographed by Langlumé.
Text volume bound in contemporary full tree calf, flat spine gilt with double fillets and naval anchors, red morocco label, gilt roll tooling to head- and tailpieces, gilt rolls framing the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges, gilt fillets on board edges.
Atlas volume bound in contemporary half marbled calf, flat spine with gilt double fillets, red morocco label, marbled paper-covered boards.
Some minor foxing to the atlas, small restoration to the title-page of the text volume.
A rare and appealing set.
First edition of both parts; the second includes a folding map at the end.
No copies of either text recorded in the CCF (Catalogue collectif de France).
Pale green cloth Bradel binding, flat spine with vertical green morocco label, original wrappers preserved for both volumes, green paper endleaves and pastedowns; modern binding.
These are the very first reports on the Central Asian expedition (Ladakh, Xinjiang) undertaken in 1913–1914 by Dr. Filippo De Filippi (1869–1938).
A rare and attractive set.
Rare first edition, printed in five-column format and illustrated with 27 color maps.
According to the CCF, only the BnF holds copies of this edition.
Some light foxing.
Publisher’s binding in green half cloth, plain flat spine in canvas, soft vellum frame on the upper cover, lower cover in full soft vellum, gilt title on upper board; damage to the lower right corner of the upper cover, restored binding.
Candido Mendes de Almeida (1818–1881), lawyer and politician, took a particular interest in matters of education.
First edition of this rare album illustrated with 15 line-engraved plates, each protected by a tissue guard and accompanied by a caption leaf, including a reproduction of the author's portrait drawn by Ingres in Rome in 1818.
Publisher's original full grey boards, flat spine without lettering, some rubbing, blind-ruled borders on covers, a scratch to the foot of the upper cover, central title, corners rubbed.
Some foxing.
Inscribed by Antoine-Marie Chenavard to his friend Antonin L., with the author's signed presentation note.
First edition of this uncommon work (cf. Atabey 138. Blackmer 178.)
Return journey via the Black Sea, Rumelia, Bulgaria, Russian Bessarabia, the Danubian Principalities, Hungary, Austria and Prussia, in May, June, July and August 1853. Paris, Treuttel et Würtz, Dumoulin, Derache, Victor Didron, 1855, 2 vols. 12mo,
Contemporary half cherry calf bindings, flat spines decorated with gilt fillets, dotted lines, and garlands, gilt rolls at foot, black marks and discoloration to spines and boards, red paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.
Occasional light spotting, a fresh and well-preserved copy.
First edition of this magnificent work, one of Gustave Le Bon’s (1841–1931) contributions to anthropology, in which he applied his pioneering theories to the Arab world. One of the few copies printed on japon paper, unrecorded in bibliographies.
Illustrated with 10 chromolithographs, 4 maps, and 366 engravings, including 70 large plates, after the author’s photographs or the most reliable documentary sources. Cf. Vicaire V, 134.
Contemporary half cherry-red shagreen, spine with five raised bands adorned with gilt fillets and double gilt compartments, double gilt fillet frame on marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, top edge gilt.
Minor superficial rubbing to spine ends.
A rare and attractive copy on japon paper, handsomely bound in contemporary period style.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a folding map in the first volume (see Cordier, Sinica, 2094; Quérard I, 260; not in Schwab or Atabey. Blackmer (111) owned only the English edition: Travels from St. Petersburg in Russia, to diverse parts of Asia, Glasgow, 1763).
Contemporary full marbled calf bindings, spines with five raised bands richly gilt in double panels, brown or green morocco title-pieces (in the second volume), red morocco volume labels, gilt rolls on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets to edges, marbled edges, some corners a bit rubbed.
Minor wormholes on the upper board of the first volume, light scuffing to boards.
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, one of 35 copies printed on Japan paper, the deluxe issue, complete with the four states of the etchings (pure etching with remarque, with remarque, before letters, final state), see Vicaire, VII, 534.
(Vicaire mentions a blank leaf and a dedication leaf which appear to be missing here, although the copy is otherwise perfectly complete.)
Contemporary binding in half Empire green morocco, spine with five raised bands framed by black fillets, minor rubbing to the spine, spine and boards slightly faded, black fillet border on marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt on witnesses, binding signed by Pétrus Ruban.
Excellent internal condition.
First edition in book form, illustrated with 5 color plans of Kyoto, Osaka, Yedo, Asaksa, Imato, and Yokohama, a map of Japan, two plates depicting examples of Japanese syllabaries (Katakana and Hiragana), and 476 wood-engraved illustrations within the text (see Cordier, Japonica, 670; Wenckstern I, 5; Nipponalia I, 2036).
Contemporary red half shagreen bindings, spines with five raised bands decorated with blind-ruled fillets and gilt compartments; joints slightly split then discreetly restored at head and tail; boards covered in grained cloth with blind-stamped borders; endpapers and pastedowns of white moiré silk with minor, marginal spotting; all edges gilt.
A handsome copy of one of the first major travel accounts of Japan published in French.
First edition, illustrated with 27 engraved plates (13 in the first volume and 14 in the second – plates 1–7 mistakenly bound after plates 8–14), cf. Ryckebusch 4989. Toussaint et Adolphe D 903. Gay 3239. Robertson 129.
Full mottled fawn calf bindings, flat spines gilt with triple fillets and floral tools (gilding partly faded), gilt roll tooling to headcaps, cherry morocco title and volume labels, plain endpapers with some usual marginal soiling, marbled edges. 19th-century bindings presented in two modern custom slipcases.
Joints restored, internally clean and well-preserved.
The astronomer Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean-Baptiste Le Gentil de La Galaisière (1725–1792), a student of Jean-Dominique Cassini, spent nearly ten years in India and travelling through the Indian Ocean region.
"His work contains valuable information on currents, tides, monsoons, etc. He introduced knowledge of the Hindu zodiac and Brahmanic astronomy, and noted its concordance with Chaldean science" (Hoefer).
The second volume is entirely devoted to the Philippines (pp. 1–366, plates 1–5), Madagascar (pp. 367–628, plates 6–10), and the islands of France and Bourbon (pp. 629–844, plates 11–14).
First edition of this significant travel account, which retraces a major circumnavigation with key stopovers including Île Bourbon, Pondicherry, Singapore, Manila, Macao, Tourane, the Anambas Islands, Java, Surabaya, Port Jackson, Santiago, Valparaíso, and Rio de Janeiro.
The atlas volume contains 56 plates and maps, 13 of which are hand-colored (cf. Sabin 6875; Borba de Moraes I, 115; Ferguson 2236; Nissen ZBI, 483; British Museum (Natural History) II, 605).
The text volumes are bound in contemporary navy blue half calf, flat spines faded and decorated with gilt and blind-ruled fillets, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailpieces, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some rubbing to joints, edges and corners. Contemporary bindings.
The atlas volume is bound in contemporary violet half calf over marbled boards, flat spine with gilt and blind fillets, joints split at head and foot, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailpieces, marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Contemporary binding.
Some foxing, mainly affecting the text volumes; corners of the atlas worn; small tear without loss on p. 81 of vol. I.
First edition of the French translation by Father F. Le Comte (cf. Cordier, Bibl. Indosinica, 1046. Streit BM, V 1719. Sommervogel V, 583).
Contemporary full mottled brown calf, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt garlands and double gilt panels adorned with gilt floral tools, speckled edges.
Spine expertly restored; pages 181–184 repeated; pagination jumps from 284 to 289 without loss.
The first part (pp. 1–327) contains the “Relation du Royaume de Tunquin,” and the second, the “Relation du Royaume de Lao” (pp. 329–436). The Italian Jesuit G. F. de'Marini (born in Taggia [Genoa] in 1608 – died in Macao in 1682) set sail for the Indies in 1638, preached the Gospel in Tonkin for fourteen years, and later served as rector of the college in Macao.
From 1674 onwards, he governed the Japanese mission as Provincial. His account offers a wealth of fascinating and detailed information about Tonkin and Laos in the first half of the 17th century.
Contemporary manuscript ex-libris of the Jesuit Professed House in Paris on the title page.
Very rare.
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 of this exceedingly rare pamphlet, written by a certain Le Mée from Haiphong, primarily describing the economic resources of Tonkin.
Work illustrated with a large folding map.
No copies recorded in the CCF.
Head and foot of spine chipped, a few minor spots of foxing.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a frontispiece engraved by Lechard after Gibert [Constantine], and a folding map bound at the end (cf. Tailliart 58. Palau 328 502).
A few minor spots of foxing.
Publisher’s binding in full red cloth, spine with black and gilt oriental-inspired decorations, blind-stamped frames on covers, red endpapers slightly faded at the margins, all edges gilt.
Only French edition, highly regarded, of this epistolary account of a journey undertaken in 1878 by the Russian geologist and naturalist Tchihatcheff (1808–1890), whose main interest lay in the natural sciences but who also addressed economic matters, a field dear to his correspondent.
The work is also of particular importance for the traveller’s thoughtful and well-informed observations on the details of French colonial administration in the region.
First edition of the French translation of this celebrated travel account.
Our copy is complete with the accompanying atlas volume, which includes 19 plates and maps.
The three text volumes are bound in bottle-green half shagreen, smooth spines with gilt fillets and broad black rules, gilt ornamental rolls at head and foot of spines, minor rubbing to the spine of the first volume, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, original wrappers preserved, edges untrimmed.
The atlas volume, also preserving its original wrappers, is bound in a modern pastiche binding in the style of the text volumes.
Some foxing; joints of the first volume are split at head and tail of upper board.
The plates depict indigenous peoples, landscapes, weapons, utensils, and more.
First edition, illustrated with three wood-engraved astronomical diagrams in the text (cf. Houzeau & Lancaster 10737; Lalande, Biblio. astronomique, 419-420; Polak 6542 for the second edition).
Full marbled blond calf binding, smooth spine gilt-tooled with floral motifs (some faded), gilt title in long, some rubbing to spine and boards, triple gilt fillet framing the covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt roll border on pastedowns, gilt fillet on board edges, bumped corners, all edges gilt, contemporary binding.
"This work contains analytical formulas for determining latitude, declination, the time of day, sunrise and sunset, the equation of altitudes, refractions... etc." (cf. Lalande).
Some light foxing, collector’s inkstamp on a blank endleaf, and a full page of pencil annotations facing the title page.
Very rare first edition illustrated with 3 lithographed plates (including a frontispiece), (cf. Polak 4516).
Only two copies listed in the CCF (BnF and Caen). Other copies are reported in Bayeux and Granville.
Copy preserved in its original wrappers, with blue paper covers showing minor losses to the corners; dampstains affecting the lower margin of the second half of the volume, without any loss of text.
Bookseller's label pasted on the inside of the upper cover, printed stamp of the same bookseller on the title page, blindstamp of a bibliophile on the half-title and the verso of the frontispiece.
Rare account of the shipwreck off the coast of Newfoundland on 29 May 1826, of a vessel from Granville engaged in cod fishing. The author served as second-in-command on board. Other pamphlets circulated on the subject, most of them based on this present account.
Rare first edition (cf. Polak 2250).
Copy preserved in its original wrappers and in a plain grey waiting cover.
Some marginal staining affecting a few leaves; at the end of the volume, marginal repairs to three leaves, not affecting the printed text.
This double shipwreck occurred off the Algerian coast.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a folding copper-engraved frontispiece by Bénard: "Mort du Capitaine Cook à Owhy-hée, Fevrier 1779," and a folding map titled "Carte montrant la route suivie par M. Cook… dans son troisième et dernier Voyage."
See O'Reilly and Reitman, 419. See also Hill, p. 253, for the first English edition. Forbes, Hawaiian National Biography, 45.
Contemporary binding in half marbled calf with vellum-tipped corners, spine decorated with gilt floral compartments, red morocco title label, marbled paper boards, red edges.
Restored loss to the title page. The half-title is lacking in our copy; the boards are modern.
"An apocryphal account of the third voyage, published surreptitiously more than two years before the official edition. Hocken […] attributed it to Ledyard, who also wrote a narrative of the expedition. But F. W. Howay […] demonstrated that the true author was John Rickman, lieutenant aboard the Discovery. Includes some unpublished details and episodes." Cf. O'Reilly (no. 415). "All the journals kept on board were claimed by the Admiralty, thus the author remained strictly anonymous. The text, especially as regards details of Cook’s death, differs considerably from other accounts." Cf. Hill.
This work also contains one of the earliest high-quality accounts of the Hawaiian Islands: see Forbes, p. 23.
First edition of this work, primarily focused on Dieppe sailors and trade, which includes particularly compelling passages on the discovery of the Canary Islands, the exploration of the West African coasts, and expeditions to Sumatra (see Frère I, 436).
Contemporary-style binding in half tan shagreen, smooth spine gilt-tooled with double fillets, decorative rolls and black fillets, pebble-grain paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding.
Some foxing, mostly at the beginning and end of the volume.
Born in Eu, Louis Estancelin (1777–1858) served as deputy for the Somme from 1830 to 1846.
Very rare first edition of the principal work by archaeologist and anthropologist Ernest Chantre (1843–1924), specialist of the Caucasus.
Spine of the first volume restored and replaced; a vertical scratch to the upper cover of volume one; some lacks to several spine-ends; some foxing; occasional lacks to the boards; a tear with some leather lacking to the rear endpaper of vol. 4.
This foundational work is composed of four parts in five volumes:
I. Prehistoric period, with in-text illustrations, a colour map, two tissue-guarded portrait plates, and six lithographs with facing captions. –
II–III. Protohistoric period, illustrated with 78 lithographs numbered I–LXVII (including 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 19, 20, 22, 30 and 36 bis), each with facing captions. –
IV. Historic period, with 29 lithographs on a tinted background, each with a facing caption (except plates XXVII and XXVIII). –
V. Contemporary populations, with 31 plates and a large folding colour map.
First edition illustrated with 10 plates, including 9 folding ones.
Spine cracked and with losses despite some adhesive repairs; corner losses to the covers.
Section solely devoted to Cochinchina (the second volume, focused on Annam and Tonkin, was published in Hanoi). This series, issued since 1889, replaced the Annuaire de la Cochinchine (1865–1888). It was not until 1899 that the two separate parts of this colonial directory were merged into the Annuaire général de l'Indo-Chine française (1899–1925), later renamed Annuaire administratif de l'Indochine (1926–1943).
Scarce, though in a worn condition.
First edition, illustrated with 10 large folding plates hors texte.
First part: Cochinchina; section covering exclusively Cochinchina (the second part, devoted to Annam and Tonkin, bears the Hanoi imprint), published since 1889 as a continuation of the Annuaire de la Cochinchine (1865–1888).
It was only in 1899 that the two separate parts of this colonial directory were merged to form the Annuaire général de l'Indo-chine française (1899–1925), which later became the Annuaire administratif de l'Indochine (1926–1943).
Spine ends repaired with adhesive reinforcements; a scratch to the upper cover with minor marginal tears.
Rare.
Very rare original edition printed in a very limited number of copies of this excerpt from the Annales des Sciences naturelles of April 1825 (cf. Ronsil, Bibliogr. ornithologique française, 2476.)
Missing at the Bn.
Copy presented under a plain blue waiting cover.
A stain on several leaves, a word corrected in ink on page 7.
Quoy and Gaimard were naturalists of the expedition of discoveries around the world commanded by Captain Freycinet.
