Rare and antique medicine books, anatomy plates & antique surgery treatises, rare medical textbooks, medical discoveries, antique medicine

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 Belgium.

"Ce livre alsacien est un des meilleurs traités sur la fabrication de la bière"(Oberlé).

The plates depict the malt kiln of the Arlen brewery, the Carpentier germ-removing machine, the boilers of the Brasserie de l'Eléphant in Strasbourg, a mixer, a vat with its wave-breaker, the cooling trough of the Brasserie du Pêcheur, and more.

Rare.

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 three years include Claude Bernard’s experimental pathology lectures—on toxic and medicinal substances, bodily fluids, the nervous system, and related subjects—as well as contributions by Louis Pasteur, Étienne-Jules Marey, Gustave Flourens, Alfred Vulpian, Marcellin Berthelot, Virchow, and others.

First edition (cf. Not in Quérard or Musset-Pathay. Oberlé 101-02.).

Including, with the appended pieces (cf. infra), the account of the thirteen experiments conducted by Maupin between 1772 and 1777 on the handling of wines.

Bound at the end:

• 1. Suite de la cinquième expérience, contenant la seconde lettre de M. de la Galaisière & celle que M. Bertin m'a fait l'honneur de m'écrire à son occasion. S.l.n.d., 2 ll. unnumbered.
• 2. Suite des expériences de la nouvelle manipulation des vins. Seconde partie. S.l.n.d. [Paris, April 1781], 30 pp., with an unnumbered leaf of receipt.

Bradel-style binding in half bottle-green long-grain morocco, smooth spine tooled with gilt fillets, date gilt at foot, cat's-eye patterned paper boards, bookplate mounted at the head of one pastedown; modern binding.

Spine and lower cover marginally faded and sunning, light upper-marginal dampstaining.

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) rather than his son.

First edition of this concise treatise on rural economy, attributed to the Duke of Sully, the famed minister of Henri IV, born at Rosny and who bore the name of that estate.

His well-known commitment to the development of agriculture has passed into national lore. However, it cannot be excluded that another author, sharing the same territorial designation, may be responsible for the text.

Contemporary full mottled fawn sheep, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and gilt tools, gilt fillets, Havana morocco lettering-piece, gilt rolls to the headcaps, gilt fillets to board edges, red sprinkled edges.

Some repairs to the binding. Manuscript ex-libris inscriptions “Cousturier, Prieur de Champsanglard [Creuse]” and “Denesmond, prêtre” on the title-page of the first volume.

The booklet is followed, as very often with this title, by two short agronomic treatises, which vary from one copy to another.

In this copy:

• 1. A new edition of the Instruction pour le jardin potager (1678), attributed to an Aristote “jardinier de Puteaux”—obviously not his real name—who authored several small works on fruit trees and flowers (Musset-Pathay, 806).
• 2. A summary of the Nouvelle instruction pour connoistre les bons fruits (1670), attributed sometimes to Jean Merlet, sometimes to Claude Saint-Etienne. At the end is an interesting Catalogue des poires selon les mois de les manger (from July to September). Cf. Musset-Pathay 1390. Manuscript ex-libris inscriptions “Cousturier, Prieur de Champsanglard [Creuse]” and “Denesmond, prêtre”.

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, England, and Holland.

The volume details the methods then used to preserve and improve wines, as well as to treat those that had spoiled. One chapter is devoted to the manner of making wines in Champagne (pp. 135–179). It is also, however, a veritable compendium of “fraudulent recipes”…

An open invitation to fraud, so much so that the censor responsible for granting approval was visibly unsettled: this dissertation "contient les formules suivant lesquelles on sophistique les vins, cependant on peut le laisser imprimer, parce qu'elle n'apprend aux frelateurs de vins que ce qu'ils savent bien faire et qu'elle fait connaître au public qui et prévenu, que les vins frelatés sont dangereux et les moyens qu'on emploie pour le tromper". [D. Denis, Histoire socio-économique de la vigne et du vin.]

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 illustrated edition, comprising 15 engraved plates outside the text. (cf. Kayser, Bücher-Lexicon VI, 265.)

Thirteen plates have been delicately hand-coloured at the time, several set against scenic alpine backgrounds; one of the two uncoloured plates depicts traditional alpine cheesemaking tools.

The French text is printed on the verso of the German text.

Very rare suite presented with its original upper wrapper, housed in a modern black box with flat spine, red morocco title-piece, and a large matching morocco label on the upper cover; light and inconsequential surface wear to the boards.

Some text leaves are toned and trimmed short in the margins; one marginal tear to the uncoloured plate; minor foxing in places.

Despite what the title might suggest (as the author explains in his preface), the work is dedicated to Swiss cattle breeds.

A rare and strikingly complete suite.

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 for the preservation of nature in the interest of humankind. He denounced the large-scale clearing of forests undertaken across continents and advocated the restoration and protection of woodland areas.

In the same spirit, he defended wetlands and marshes, to be made healthy without being drained. The first volume is almost entirely devoted to the dangers and imbalances caused by deforestation; the second focuses on the regeneration of rivers and streams, as well as the drainage of marshes, the whole promoting a return to the “primordial harmony.”

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 certifiées, sont relatées dans ces Mémoires indispensables à consulter. L'arbre magnétisé qui fit tant de bruit a sa page historique. L'auteur, l'un des hommes les plus honorables et les plus bienfaisants de son temps, a sans doute émis sur certaines parties de la science en général des idées que celle-ci ne peut accepter aujourd'hui ; mais on ne peut lui refuser une connaissance réelle de ce que l'on savait alors de l'électricité, et personne n'a su mieux tirer parti des ressources offertes par le somnambulisme artificiel" [Caillet].

A good, uncut copy in its original wrappers.

First edition.

Half calf binding with small vellum corners, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and dentelle rolls, an old red morocco title label, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges; a modern binding.

A few passages unfortunately underlined in red ballpoint pen on several leaves (around ten in total), a light marginal dampstain on the first two leaves, modern bookplate pasted on a pastedown.

Only edition, uncommon, of this unexpected work: the Dauphinois Claude-Pierre de Delay d'Agier (1750–1827) was above all a political figure of the Revolution and the Empire, mayor of Romans in 1789, fully committed to the new ideas. Yet he had attended in Lunéville from 1774 the course in hippiatry given by Lafosse, who became his friend and whom he greatly admired; hence this atypical publication in the author's career.

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 Berthelot.

Rare and appealing copy, largely uncut.

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 mainly affecting the last work, partial shadowing on the title pages of the last two parts, trace of a label at the head of the rear pastedown.

Bound at the end, also in first editions and by the same author:

• I. Deuxième mémoire sur les cucurbitacées, principalement sur le melon, contenant la culture en pleine terre de celui-ci, etc., et les perfectionnemens dont elle serait susceptible. Printed in Paris, Imprimerie de Madame Huzard (née Vallat-la-Chapelle), 1827, 118 pp. Extracted from the Mémoires de la Société royale et centrale d’agriculture, year 1827.
• II. Notice sur le melon de la Chine, fait singulier observé sur un de ces melons, et considérations physiologiques sur la fécondation et sur l’hybridité relatives de ce fait. [Paris], Imprimerie de Madame Huzard (née Vallat-la-Chapelle), n.d. [1828], 16 pp. Extracted from the Annales de la Société d’horticulture de Paris, March 1828. Very rare. Only one copy in the CCF (Muséum).
• Handsome set finely bound by Lobstein-Laurenchet.

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

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

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

A noteworthy treatise devoted to yellow amber and above all to ambergris, the fragrant substance derived from the intestinal concretions of sperm whales which, once expelled, float on the surface of the sea and yield a highly prized perfume.

The plates depict a frog and a lizard embedded in amber, a world map (Africa, Europe, Asia and part of the Southern Lands), figures collecting bird droppings, and various animals.

"This book commonly appears in bibliographies on amber when in fact it is about ambergris, but Klobius examines both substances and notes their differences on p. 26-9. One of the plates shows a frog and a lizard imbedded in amber, both of which are fakes" [Sinkankas].

On the title-page, a distinguished manuscript ex-libris in black ink

First edition of this offprint of great rarity.

Not listed in Musset-Pathay. Only two copies recorded in the Catalogue Collectif de France (Institut and Orléans).

Our copy is presented in a modern temporary wrapper made to resemble old paper.

Wine and cherry brandy, homemade kirschen-vasser, gin, juniper wine, poor man’s wine, currant wine, raisin and other dried fruit wines, etc.

Second illustrated edition, with five plates, including one hand-coloured, one partly coloured, and one aquatint (cf. Sinkankas 4286; Borba de Moraes 542; not in Sabin).

Half beige sheep binding, smooth spine with some rubbing, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns; modern binding signed Houdart.

Some light foxing; numerical notes in the upper right corner of the half-title.

An interesting work, largely devoted to the diamonds of Brazil.

First published in 1813 and reprinted in 1815, this edition—despite the statement on the title page—would thus be the third rather than the second (cf. Borba de Moraes). “Largely concerns Brazilian diamonds and their comparison with stones found elsewhere” (Maggs).

The plates depict: “Colored Stones” (hand-coloured frontispiece), “Peculiar Diamonds” (partly coloured), various types of diamonds (black plates nos. I and II), and “Diamond cutter [and] Diamond polisher” (two aquatint vignettes).

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 in vertebrate animals, the author formulates several principles concerning their organization, the most important being that of the Unity of Composition. According to this principle, all vertebrate species share the same structural elements in equal number. Despite Cuvier’s criticisms, this theory gained traction and was later refined through embryology and paleontology. The work is divided as follows: 1. On the gill cover in fish, hitherto known as the operculum […] and on the four corresponding bones of the auditory canal in air-breathing animals, called the stapes, incus, lenticular and malleus. – 2. On the bones forming the external framework employed in the mechanics of respiration, or the bones of the sternum. – 3. On the anterior bones of the chest, or the hyoid. – 4. On the inner bones of the chest […] including, in air-breathing animals, the elements of the larynx, trachea and bronchi, and in fish, those of the branchial arches, gill teeth and cartilaginous lamellae of the gills. – 5. On the bones of the shoulder, with respect to their determination and their role in the phenomena of respiration. “Geoffroy revitalized comparative anatomy in France and created scientific teratology, experimental embryology, and the concept of paleontological evolution […]. He and his friend Lamarck lived too early to be completely understood” (DSB, V, p. 358).

Two further essays were later published: “Des monstruosités humaines” (1822) and “Fragmens sur la structure et les usages des glandes mammaires des cétacés” (1834).

A precious copy printed on deluxe paper (the two other essays were issued only on regular paper). The text is identical to the octavo edition published the same year, except for the errata, which here contains 12 lines (versus 20 in the regular edition).

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 French translation, illustrated with 34 plates, including one in colour.

See Garrison & Morton, 2465 (for the original German edition).

Contemporary full marbled cream paper boards, smooth spine with some rubbing and small losses, decorative motif of three acorns stamped in the centre of the covers, modern bookplate pasted on the verso of the front board.

Some light foxing.

First French translation of Abhandlung über die Saamen- und Infusionsthierchen, und über die Erzeugung, nebst mikroskopischen Beobachtungen des Saamens der Thiere in verschiedenen Infusionen (1778).

The biologist Wilhelm Friedich von Gleichen-Russwurm (1717–1783) was the first to develop the staining of bacteria (with carmine and indigo) to facilitate their microscopic observation.

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 and signed by Paul Bert at the head of the title page, addressed to Dr. Comol.

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 Waldheim (1771–1853) was, in 1805, the founder of the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow, whose aim was to promote the study of natural history in Russia—a society still active today under a different name.

He worked across all fields of natural history, carrying out extensive research on the classification of invertebrates, and published Entomographia Imperii Rossici, issued between 1820 and 1851.

He also studied fossils in the region of Moscow, as well as molluscs and other marine organisms.

Copy from the library of the French naturalist André-Constant Duméril (1774–1860), with his handwritten ex-libris at the lower right corner of the front cover.

Second edition.

Full forest-green morocco binding, spine with five raised bands framed with gilt dotted lines and decorated with double gilt panels, gilt rolls at head and tail, triple gilt fillets bordering the covers, marbled paper endpapers and doublures, gilt dentelle frame on the inside covers, all edges gilt, double gilt fillets along the edges, an elegant binding signed by Krafft.

Bound following it are:

- Nicolas Papin’s “De pulvere sympathico dissertatio”, printed in Paris by Siméon Piget in 1650 (8 unnumbered leaves, the last blank, and 40 pp.).

- By the same author, “La poudre de sympathie, deffendue contre les objections de Mr. Cattier, médecin du Roy”, printed in Paris by Siméon Piget in 1651 (4 unnumbered leaves and 56 pp.).

- Isaac Cattier’s “Response à Monsieur Papin Docteur en Medecine, touchant la poudre de sympathie”, printed in Paris by Edme Martin in 1651 (87 pp.).

A fine copy, beautifully preserved in a splendid binding signed by Krafft.

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 from the relations between the workers and the winged individuals to those between the workers themselves, he follows them in their migrations, their travels, their particular conduct; he observes the battles fought between ants of different species, etc.”

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 Austrian physician, Anton von Störck (1731–1803) is best known for his research into the therapeutic potential of plants regarded as poisonous.

His studies are considered pioneering in the field of experimental pharmacology, in which he developed a three-stage procedure for testing the effects and dosage of substances.

The second part bears its own title: Observations de Monsieur Locher sur les maladies vénériennes, l'épilepsie, la folie; & sur l'usage interne & externe de la ciguë.

It also includes observations by M. de Haen, and by Mrs. Razoux & Videmar.

First edition of this first part illustrated with three copperplate engravings.

Contemporary flexible boards covered with marbled paper, smooth brown percaline spine with a small snag at foot, red morocco title label on the front cover, rubbed corners.

Rare.

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 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.

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.

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. 

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 signed by Bunetier.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece, in-text illustrations and maps, and a double-page map at the end.

Literary collaboration by Joseph Sachot.

Drawings, cover design and maps by André Millot.

Contemporary binding in green half shagreen with corners, smooth spine without title, marbled paper boards, illustrated wrappers bound in on tabs and preserved.

A compelling account of the life and conditions of Inuit populations: Father Roger Buliard (1909–1978), an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, served for fifteen years as a missionary in the Arctic before joining the Canadian military chaplaincy.

The book was a great success upon publication and inspired many future explorers.

Our copy includes an autograph note signed by Roger Buliard to a friend nicknamed Titi, written on thin paper and dated March 19, 1950.

Also included:

I. Two handwritten postcards addressed to the recipient of the note, along with newspaper clippings.

II. A small oblong 12mo green cloth album with eyelets and ties, containing 29 original silver print photographs, small in format (from 12 x 7 cm to 4 x 4 cm), mounted on heavy paper, depicting the author and various moments from his 1947 expedition.

A delightful ensemble.

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, 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 official directory, listing the names and positions of staff of the Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce, the Grandes Écoles, engineers of Bridges and Roads, Mining engineers, Railways, etc.

A copy handsomely preserved in a contemporary binding.

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.

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 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 of this highly important work, presenting the full text of all decrees and ordinances relating to trade with the Americas, primarily the West Indies (cf. Sabin 11812. Leclerc 113. Barbier I, 649 c. Ined 1038, 1783 edition).

Illustrated with two engraved frontispiece titles and ten maps (nine folding), depicting South America, North America (repeated in vol. 2), Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Domingue (2), Cayenne and its surroundings, Louisiana, the Guinea coast, as well as twelve engraved plates showing botanical specimens (sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, cocoa), genre scenes (a Black king dispensing justice, a slave market, turtle fishing), various tools and objects (ventilator, suction pump), industrial activities (plantation layout, sugar mill, indigo workshop), etc.

Bound in modern pastiche bindings: half mottled tan sheep over marbled boards, spine with five raised bands adorned with gilt garlands, double gilt panels, red edges.

Minor black ink stains to the edges of volume one, a pleasant copy overall.

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 edition of this significant publication issued by the Commission of Inquiry tasked with collecting all available data and documentation on the cultivation, production, and sale of tobacco.

Illustrated with numerous folding tables and a folding map of France, printed in lithography by A. Cabassol and bound out of text.

Apparently not recorded in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Contemporary half calf binding, flat spine rebacked and decorated with gilt fillets, morocco labels in light brown, some rubbing to the spine, marbled paper boards with minor marginal flaws, marbled endpapers, sprinkled edges.

Some spotting to top edge; an embossed ownership stamp appears on the first leaf, with the initials CA in a medallion (possibly Caroline Augusta of the Two Sicilies, Duchess of Aumale?).

Comprehensive alphabetical index at the end of the volume.

First edition, 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 Americas.

Minor tears and marginal losses to the wrappers; some foxing.

Rare.

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 pp., 11 pp., 4 pp., 3 pp., 4 pp., 4 pp. III. Minutes of the forty-ninth [eighty-sixth] meeting, 18 January 1934 [23 December 1935]: 4 pp., 6 pp., 8 pp., 4 pp., 4 pp., 5 pp., 6 pp., 11 pp., 6 pp., 2 pp., 5 pp., 4 pp., 7 pp., 8 pp., 3 pp., 4 pp., 7 pp., 2 pp., 6 pp., 5 pp., 27 pp., 12 pp., 5 pp., 7 pp., 8 pp., 11 pp., 6 pp., 6 pp., 5 pp., 9 pp., 8 pp., 6 pp., 8 pp., 2 pp., 2 pp., 4 pp., 3 pp., 8 pp. IV. Minutes of the eighty-seventh [one hundred fourteenth] meeting, 7 January 1936 [29 December 1936]: 4 pp., 4 pp., 3 pp., 7 pp., 5 pp., 4 pp., 4 pp., 3 pp., 10 pp., 6 pp., 3 pp., 2 pp., 6 pp., 5 pp., 2 pp., 2 pp., 3 pp., 5 pp., 5 pp., 5 pp., 2 pp., 4 pp., 4 pp., 2 pp., 4 pp., 4 pp., 3 pp., 2 pp.

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, 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, without volumes III to V, which were published posthumously in 1957.

Volume I: Energy (points, meridians, circulation), illustrated with 100 plates, including 44 in two colors.

Volume II: The use of energy, with 17 illustrations.

The diplomat and sinologist George Soulié de Morant (1878–1955) introduced the practical application of acupuncture to France in 1929, overcoming considerable resistance from the academic establishment.

Endpapers slightly and marginally soiled; two repaired tears to the head and foot of the spine of the second volume; otherwise, a pleasing set.

Copy from the library of Maurice Peyrache, with his ink stamps on the endpapers.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece engraved by De Launay after Marillier (cf. Conlon, 83:1107; Quérard, III, 174; Barbier, I, 276; Brunet, 5636. Not listed by Thiébaud).

Contemporary full speckled calf, smooth spine gilt in compartments with decorative tooling, green morocco title label, gilt rolls on the caps, gilt fillets along the edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, joints lightly restored, some repairs to the spine, yellow edges.

Joints tender, endpapers slightly soiled at the margins, a few spots to the edges, handwritten ownership note on the half-title.

The author, a traveller and naturalist born in Montargis in 1734 and who died near Château-Thierry in 1802, set sail for the East Indies around 1753.

From Smyrna, he travelled overland to Aleppo and reached Baghdad after a series of tumultuous adventures. From there, he descended the Tigris and the Shatt al-Arab, sailed across the Persian Gulf, and reached the eastern coast of India. "Cet ouvrage fut publié à la sollicitude de Buffon. L’auteur y traite de particularités inconnues jusque alors ; il nomme et décrit les animaux dont les divers peuples orientaux font leur nourriture. Il donne de curieux renseignements sur les crocodiles, les caméléons, les serpents, les sauterelles, etc. ; il raconte les nombreuses manières de chasser les animaux féroces ; explique les causes de la vénération des Indous pour certaines bêtes, etc." Cf. Hoefer.

Foucher d’Obsonville also authored a Supplément au voyage de Sonnerat (1785), a Lettre (...) sur la guerre des Turcs (1788), and a translation of a work from the Vedic corpus (1788).

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.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece, 6 folding maps, 24 plates out of text, and 95 in-text reproductions.

Bradel binding in full blue cloth, cherry shagreen title label, original wrappers and spine preserved.

The botanist and biologist Auguste Chevalier (1873–1956) undertook numerous expeditions to Africa, Asia, and South America after earning his doctorate in 1901.

A handsome copy.

Inscribed and signed by Auguste-Jean-Baptiste Chevalier to Madame P. Lemoine at the head of the title page.

Second edition of the French translation, expanded with a few remarks and illustrated with a map of the North Atlantic and 9 folding plates outside the text (natural history, views, Inuit types, etc.), cf. Sabin 22312n. "European Americana" 750/110. See Leclerc 717 for the first French edition published a year earlier.

The plates are captioned in both French and Dutch; the original English edition was published in London in 1748; the first French edition appeared in Paris in 1749.

The work opens with a historical account of earlier attempts to discover a route to the East Indies via the Northwest Passage.

Contemporary binding in full marbled calf, spine with gilt compartments decorated with floral tools, some fading to the gilt, modern havana morocco label, gilt roll tooling on the caps, gilt dentelle frame inside the boards, marbled edges, gilt fillets along the board edges.

The text begins with a chronicle of the various efforts made up to 1746 to discover the Northwest Passage.

Henry Ellis, the English traveller, was born in 1721 and died in Naples on January 21, 1806. As hydrographer and mineralogist, he took part in the 1746 expedition aimed at finding a northern route to the Indies and published this account, which includes valuable observations on Inuit customs. He was later appointed governor of Georgia and Nova Scotia.

Ink ownership inscription at the foot of the title-page.

A handsome copy.

Rare first edition, illustrated with a folding map bound at the end of the volume (cf. Backer & Sommervogel VIII, 827).

Only one copy recorded in the CCF (BnF).

Contemporary full black shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands adorned with blind-ruled fillets, minor rubbing to spine, covers framed with double and single blind fillets with corner volutes, some rubbing to covers, bumped corners, sprinkled edges.

Father Benito Viñes [Poboleda (Tarragona) 1837 – Havana 1893] arrived in Havana in 1870, where he was appointed director of the magnetic and meteorological observatory, a position he held until his death. His studies on Caribbean hurricanes remain authoritative works in the field.

First edition of the French translation, revised under the author's supervision, by Joseph Lavallée, of this highly regarded travel account.

The atlas includes 16 plates depicting views and natural history subjects, 12 pages of engraved music, and 1 folding map (cf. Monglond VI 729–730).

Contemporary bindings in half blond calf over green vellum-tipped boards, smooth spines decorated with gilt tooling, yellow edges, for the three text volumes.

Contemporary binding for the atlas in half green sheep with vellum tips, smooth spine decorated with triple gilt fillets, soft green paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

Wormholes on title pages, scuffed boards, joints starting, some foxing to the text volumes; minor abrasions and some foxing to the atlas boards.

Giuseppe Acerbi was the first Italian traveller to reach Lapland and the North Cape in 1799. He compiled an excellent general overview of Sweden and its northernmost regions, but above all, provided a thorough account of Finland, which had been little visited or documented by earlier travellers. Acerbi was accompanied by the Swedish colonel and skilled landscape artist Skioldebrand, whose drawings are reproduced in the atlas.

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with two folding plates hors texte.

This is an abridged translation (unusually, this is stated) of the major work Reise durch Sibirien, published in Göttingen in 1751–1752 in four quarto volumes richly illustrated. It recounts a major scientific expedition to Siberia that took place from July 1733 to February 1743. Johann Georg Gmelin (1709–1755) held the chair of chemistry and natural history at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Despite the erratic pagination of the second volume, the set is complete.

Contemporary full marbled tan calf, flat spines decorated with gilt compartments, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt rolls at head and tail, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, marbled edges, corners somewhat rubbed.

Some light foxing.

Armorial bookplates from the 18th century, with the handwritten note “Longeville.”

First edition, very rare, of this album illustrated with 12 lithographic plates by Émile Verdier after drawings by the author (1 frontispiece and 11 plates, including one large folding plate depicting Pointe-à-Pitre) (cf. Sabin 8949).

Text and illustrations by Armand Budan.

Contemporary binding in brown quarter cloth with corners, smooth spine with long chocolate shagreen title-piece, boards covered with marbled paper framed by blind fillets, blue endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, early 20th-century binding.

The plates depict: Palmiste River. Heights of Petit-Bourg; Forest interior. Road to the Soufrière; View of the Soufrière from Versailles; The Yellow Baths near the Soufrière; Basse-Terre. View from the Empress’s Battery; Vauchelet Waterfall. Near Camp-Jacob; The Saut de Constantin. Near Basse-Terre; View of the port and the town of Le Moule; The village of Anse Bertrand. Grande-Terre; The Cow Hole (Anse-Bertrand); General view of the Port and the town of Pointe-à-Pitre taken from Morne-à-Caille.

The painter Armand Budan was born in Guadeloupe in 1827 and died in 1874. He painted the frescoes in the chapel of Saint-Pierre & Saint-Paul in Pointe-à-Pitre, rebuilt after the 1843 earthquake, as well as the decorative paintings of the municipal theatre.

Regarded as one of the first photographers in the Antilles, Budan launched a subscription for the publication of La Guadeloupe pittoresque in November 1862.

A few minor foxing spots, not affecting the overall condition.

A handsome and very rare copy.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this excerpt from the Magasin de zoologie, d'anatomie comparée et de paléontologie, published by M. Guérin-Méneville in October 1845.

Contemporary bottle green full shagreen binding, flat spine with gilt fillets and no lettering, single gilt fillet frame on covers, title gilt-stamped in the center of the upper cover.

Illustrated with 3 hand-colored plates numbered 59–61 at the end of the volume.

This is the last text published during the lifetime of the great naturalist Jean-Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent (who died on 22 December 1846); L'Exploration scientifique de l'Algérie appeared largely posthumously.

Some occasional light foxing.

First edition, illustrated with 5 lithographed plates outside the text, each featuring multiple figures (Not listed in Sabin).

Bound in modern half beige calf, smooth spine decorated with gilt and black fillets, black morocco title label, marbled paper boards, restored and preserved original printed wrappers bound in. Binding signed by the Laurenchet workshop.

Some occasional spotting.

All published: the renowned anthropologist had planned a work in two or perhaps three volumes gathering his observations made during travels in Alaska.

The plates depict fossils, bones of sea otters and American brockets, mollusks, and more. Contributions include studies and commentary by Jannetaz ("Catalogue des échantillons et observations géognostiques"), J.-L. de Cessac ("Étude microscopique et analyse chimique de quelques roches de l'Alaska"), A. Gaudry ("Sur une dent d'Elephas primigenius"), and P. Fischer ("Sur quelques fossiles de l'Alaska" and, with E. Perrier and P. Gervais: "Invertébrés marins des îles Aléoutiennes. Mollusques et cirrhipèdes"), among others.

A very scarce publication.

Rare first edition, complete with its 17 plates, including 2 maps, 2 colored facsimiles of Japanese view and plan (view of Yedo, plan of Nagasaki), and 13 colored facsimiles of natural history drawings. (See Cordier, Japonica, 549 and Sinica, 2128. Numa Broc, Asie, 89-90.)

Some minor foxing, a faint dampstain on the final leaves, small restorations to the verso of the facsimiles.

Contemporary half green shagreen, spine slightly faded, with raised bands framed by gilt fillets, double gilt compartments with decorative tools, boards framed with a blind-stamped fillet, marbled paper boards slightly soiled, combed endpapers and pastedowns, painted edges.

A career diplomat, Charles de Chassiron (1818–1871) was part of Baron Gros’s diplomatic mission to Japan in 1858. He boarded the corvette *Laplace* with the other members of the mission in Shanghai on September 6, 1858, arrived at Shimoda on the 14th at 10 a.m., left during the night of September 19, landed in Edo (Tokyo) on the 26th, stayed until October 12, and departed the country from Nagasaki on October 22.

Chassiron’s *Notes* are a nearly verbatim transcription of the journal he kept during his stay; the appendix contains the text of the Franco-Japanese treaty signed on October 9. His travel journal thus represents an important milestone in the history of Franco-Japanese relations. His entries concerning Edo are particularly valuable for their care, precision, and integrity. Throughout Chassiron’s text runs a tension between the anxious caution of a disoriented diplomat and the observations of a traveler fascinated by Japan’s social order and industrial arts. The French, more perplexed than the British before Japanese reality, nonetheless allowed themselves to be charmed by it, bringing back the image of a feudal Japan rooted in espionage, and that of an artistic Japan. (Cf. Numa Broc.)

Rare first edition illustrated with 10 splendid full-page colour plates by John Gerrard Keulemans, lithographed, hand-coloured and gum-finished (cf. Not in Gay. Nissen, Illustrierten Vogelbücher, 74. Anker, Bird Books, p. 69. Unrecorded by Ronsil, Bibliographie ornithologique française. Zimmer, p. 39).

Contemporary half brown morocco over marbled boards, spine with five raised bands, slightly faded, gilt lettering with date and place at foot, corners in morocco, orange endpapers and pastedowns. Minor rubbing to spine.

"Portugal too, has contibuted to the knowledge of african avifauna, for instance in the work 'Ornithologie d'Angola' […] an important monograph on the birds inhabiting the Portuguese possessions of Central and West Africa" (Anker, p. 69).

José Vincente Barboza du Bocage (1823–1907), Portuguese politician and zoologist, served as director of the National Museum of Zoology in Lisbon. He was unrelated to the French geographers of the Barbier du Bocage family.

John Gerrard Keulemans (1842–1912) was "one of the greatest foreign wildlife artists, illustrator of many of the finest English works" (Ronsil, L'Art français dans le livre d'oiseaux).

The title page of the first instalment (1877) has been preserved and bound in before the final title page (1881).

Autograph dedication by José Vincente Barboza du Bocage on the title page: "British Ornithologists' Union hommage de l'auteur". Old pencil annotations to the list of plates. A handsome copy.

French edition translated from the English by Charles Athanase Walcknaer, illustrated with 8 folding maps inserted out of text: 5 in the first volume, 3 in the second (see Gay 2996).

Contemporary half purple sheep bindings, flat spines faded and decorated with gilt garlands, joints with some repairs, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, printed stamps to endpapers, occasional light foxing.

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

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

Modern bindings in black half morocco, flat spines ruled with double gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers.

Some light foxing, a few restorations to corners (upper or lower) of the second volume.

This remarkable typographical edition features several plates and tables printed in Arabic or Bengali characters, the latter being the first use of this language type in France. Among the essays are: vol. 1: Dissertation on the Spelling of Oriental Words – Account of a Meeting with the Tichou Lama – Report on a Journey to Tibet – Observations on the Sykhs – On Hindu Literature – Conversation about the City of Gondar and the Sources of the Nile – On Ordeal among the Hindus; vol. 2: Discourse on the Arabs, Tartars, and Persians – On the Hebrew Origin of the Afghans – On Hindu Chronology – On the Indian Game of Chess – Introduction of Arabic Words into the Persian Language – On Hindu Astronomical Calculations – Description of the Kingdom of Nepal, etc.

A nephew of the historian and theologian Henri Griffet, Antoine Gilbert Griffet de La Baume (Moulins, 1756 – Paris, 1805) settled in Paris in 1776, where he was briefly employed at the Ministry of the Interior. He went on to translate numerous works from English and German, and contributed to various periodicals including the Bulletin de Littérature, La Décade, Journal Encyclopédique, Mercure de France, and Censeur universel anglais (cf. Hoefer).

Very rare edition comprising the independent pre-publication of the first part of the major geological expedition to the Antilles and the islands of Tenerife and Fogo, a seven-volume quarto work also covering Guadeloupe, Martinique, and others.

Illustrated with 9 lithographed plates, including a folding map of the Cape Verde Islands and 6 tinted views.

Not recorded by Sabin in his entry on the Voyage.

Bound after, by the same author: Recherches sur les principaux phénomènes de météorologie et de physique générale aux Antilles, printed in Paris by Gide and J. Baudry in 1849.

Bradel binding in full black textured cloth, smooth spine decorated with blind fillets, small losses to spine ends, hinges rubbed, double blind-ruled frame on boards, yellow endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, corners slightly rubbed; contemporary binding.

Charles Deville (1814–1876), known as Sainte-Claire Deville, was a geologist born in the Antilles on the island of Saint Thomas, a member of the Académie des Sciences and professor at the Collège de France.

Some occasional foxing, remains of a removed ex-libris on the pastedown.

His body of work remains little known, likely due to the extreme rarity of his publications.

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a portrait of the author and 29 engraved plates depicting objects, ornaments, coins, plants, and animals (cf. Cordier, Bibl. Japonica, 447. Gay, 3151. Brunet, V, 850).

Contemporary full marbled calf bindings, flat spines richly decorated with gilt typographic tools, gilt roll tooling at head and tail, brown morocco title-pieces, dark green morocco volume labels, gilt roll-tooled borders on boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, yellow edges.

A Swedish botanist and naturalist, Carl Peter Thunberg (1743–1828) studied medicine and natural history at Uppsala and became one of Linnaeus’s most brilliant pupils.

In 1771, he sailed as a surgeon aboard a ship of the Dutch East India Company. Upon arrival at the Cape, he remained in the colony for three years, exploring regions inhabited by the Hottentots and the Kaffirs while collecting specimens of plants and animals. In 1775, he traveled to Java, stayed in Batavia, and eventually reached Japan. He settled on the island of Deshima, in Nagasaki Bay, where the Dutch trading post of the Company was located. There he worked as a physician and obtained permission to botanize in the nearby mountains, where he collected a large number of rare and previously unknown plants, along with many natural history specimens. In 1776, he accompanied the Dutch Company’s director on a visit to the shogun in Edo (Tokyo), allowing him to explore further and gather more botanical samples. He returned to Sweden in 1779. The first volume recounts the voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, his stays at the Cape, and his first journey inland; the second volume describes his second trip along the Kaffir coast, return to the Cape, journey to Java, and arrival in Nagasaki; the third is entirely devoted to Japan: trade with the Dutch and Chinese, government, administration, religion, language, character and portrait of the Japanese, zoological observations, minerals, etc. The final volume continues with Japan: food, festivals, weaponry, agriculture, calendar, etc., followed by the account of the return voyage via Ceylon. It also includes Lamarck’s explanations of the eight natural history plates.

A rare copy of this important travel account.

Provenance: From the library of the Château de Menneval, with armorial bookplates on the pastedowns of each volume.

Rare first edition (cf. Borba de Moraes II, 753: "famous book of navigational bearings". Rodrigues 2144.)

Minor marginal foxing on the endpapers, otherwise a clean and appealing copy.

Contemporary-style binding in quarter tree calf with corners, smooth spine, blind-ruled panels on marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Modern binding.

Baron Roussin (1781–1854) explored the coasts of Brazil in 1819–1820, during which he charted and described the Abrolhos archipelago—later made famous by Darwin’s observations aboard HMS Beagle (1832).

Manuscript ownership inscription: Guillotin.

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

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

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

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

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with 12 folding plates and maps outside the text, and 11 folding tables included in the pagination (cf. Sabin 62574).

Contemporary full mottled calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with double gilt panels, floral tools and gilt medallions, red morocco title label with some loss and partially lifting, gilt garland frame on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, all edges yellow.

Some minor foxing, one joint fragile.

Famous account of this "unfortunate expedition which served to demonstrate the impossibility of crossing the Polar ice" [Hoefer]. Pages 187 to 208 are devoted to natural history, with 2 plates [XI and XII] depicting crustaceans and mollusks.

First edition, one of 125 numbered deluxe copies, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.
Handsome copy, preserved as issued, loose in gatherings and housed in a double chemise and full cream cloth slipcase.

First edition, published by order of the Imperial Government of Brazil and illustrated with a folding color map at the end of the volume (cf. Garraux 169. Borba de Moraes I, 478).

Some light foxing, minor rubbing to the spine, a pleasing and scarce copy.

Contemporary binding in red half morocco-grained shagreen, smooth spine ruled in gilt with quadruple fillets, gilt coat of arms at foot of spine, small losses to head and tailcaps, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, period binding.

Emmanuel Liais, then Director of the Imperial Observatory of Rio de Janeiro, had been entrusted by Emperor Pedro II with various expeditions throughout the Brazilian territory.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece, a portrait of the author, and 14 copper-engraved vignettes within the text, mostly depicting inhabitants of the North (cf Sabin, 38711.)

Restored binding in full grained morocco, spine with five false raised bands adorned with gilt fillets and double compartments, gilded roulettes on the partially faded caps, small repairs to the joints, gilt fillets on the edges, slightly worn corners, binding of the period.

Ink annotations on the white endpaper and at the top of the false-title page.

Born in Rouen in 1634, La Martinière embarked around 1670 as a surgeon on a ship of the Northern Company bound for Norway, and visited Lapland, New Zemble, the Siberian coasts, and Iceland.

His account contains numerous details on the lifestyle, customs, and superstitions of the peoples of these regions, as well as natural history (reindeer, bears, penguins, etc.). There are also passages on hunting and fishing. Author of several medical works, notably on blood transfusion, La Martinière also published 'The Happy Slave', Paris, 1674, in which he recounts his captivity by the Barbary corsairs a few years before his voyage to Norway. A fine copy of this rare book.

Provenance: from the library of the Menneval château with its engraved bookplate pasted on the inside cover.

First edition, illustrated with four plates including a map of the Sudan.

The plates depict human types and a map of Sudan, drawn "according to the Negro slaves in Bahia".

Modern Bradel binding in black half shagreen, smooth spine decorated with two gilt floral tools, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved (small hole on rear board).

A naturalist and explorer, Francis de Castelnau undertook, between 1843 and 1847, a major expedition across South America, notably visiting Peru and Brazil.

In 1848, he was appointed French consul in Bahia. Upon his arrival, he observed that several African-born slaves could read and write Arabic and Libyco-Berber. Through interviews, some of them spoke to him about the Niams-Niams, or tailed men, said to live in a region referred to here as "Sudan", corresponding to present-day Nigeria. In this work, Castelnau presents the information he gathered on the subject. He describes several tribes from the Sudan region represented among the Bahia slaves: Nagos, Gèges or Dahomeys, Gallinhas, Minas, Borgos or Bargous, Tapas, Angols or Congos, Hausas, Fulanis or Foullatahs. He then recounts the interrogations of Bahia slaves who claimed to have seen or heard of the Niams-Niams, thereby collecting a wealth of ethnographic and geographic information on that part of Africa. The volume ends with a vocabulary section in several Sudanese languages (Hausa, Fulani, Courami, Java).

A handsome and scarce copy.

First edition, illustrated with 39 full-page plates and numerous in-text vignettes (cf. Lorenz IX, 494).

Bradel binding in full brown buckram, smooth spine gilt-stamped with a floral tool, gilt double fillet at foot, green morocco label, modern binding signed by Lobstein-Laurenchet.

Some foxing, mostly to the first and last leaves.

A pleasant copy.