Techniques & Crafts

First edition printed in a small number of copies.
Tears, not serious, to foot of spine and to edges of covers, a few small spots.
Rare.

First edition.
A rare and good copy.

First edition of this advertising booklet published on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Kléber company in Colombes and produced after the design by Jean Garcia.
Text by Jean Giono.
Each double page is illustrated in full-page color and opens with 2 pages of black and white photographs by Roger Catherineau and Michel Desmarteau.
Spine and boards lightly and marginally yellowed, handsome interior condition.

First edition.
Ex-dono.
A rare and good copy.

New edition revised by Georges Duplessis, one of the rare copies on China paper.
Half chocolate brown shagreen binding with corners, spine with five raised bands set with gilt dots decorated with richly ornamented double gilt compartments, place and date gilt at foot, gilt fillets framing the marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, top edge gilt.
Bookplate pasted at head of one pastedown.
Some minor foxing of no consequence.

First edition.
Publisher's Bradel binding in full boards, smooth spine with a tear at foot, boards soiled, corners slightly bumped.
Our atlas volume, which we offer for sale alone, is illustrated with 31 lithographed plates outside the text, sometimes double-page and some mounted, and heightened with watercolor.
Angular dampstain at head of endpaper and title pages, some minor interior foxing.
Rare but incomplete without the text.

First edition, illustrated with 17 woodcut plates (roasting, planting, watering, plant, harvest, drying...) and several tables. 1 advertising engraving for the porte chinoise in Paris at the end.
Publisher's blue cloth boards. Smooth spine with gilt title. Gilt block on upper board and blind ruling frame, depicting La porte chinoise in Paris, with figures and boat. Lack at tail. Slight lack at head. 3 corners with small lacks of cloth. Scattered browning, more marked on the first leaves then fading. 2 engravings with traces of dampstains and pale stains. Missing the lemon endpaper before the half-title. A label replaces the old address, now rue Vivienne (the author had indeed moved in the meantime).
Reference work on tea. Interesting bibliography at the end of the work. The author was proprietor of La porte chinoise in Paris, a tea shop.

First edition.
Half burgundy morocco binding, spine with five raised bands, light scratches to joints, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, contemporary binding.
Work illustrated with 9 plates of bindings.
Light foxing affecting mainly the endpapers.
Rare and handsome copy complete in two volumes.

Third edition.
Marbled sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt friezes, brown shagreen title-label, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners slightly bumped, speckled edges.
Work illustrated with 13 plates hors-texte.
Some minor foxing of no consequence.
Pen gift inscription on one endpaper, printed stamp of a Madrid bookshop on the title page.
Rare.

Third edition, revised and expanded with general considerations on the improvement of breeds and a treatise on pigs by H. Magne.
Half brown sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with black and gilt fillets, a tear on the brown sheep title-label, headcaps rubbed and worn, some rubbing on the spine, one cracked joint, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some tears on the leading edges, contemporary binding.
Work illustrated with 2 plates outside the text decorated with figures.
Printed bibliophile stamps and pen gift inscriptions on one endpaper and the half-title page.

First edition.
Half red shagreen over marbled paper boards, spine in six compartments with black fillets to bands, foot of spine scratched (the initials of a former owner which have been scratched out), brown shagreen title label, covers preserved (a little rubbing to edges).
Retaining its seven folding plates.
Occasional spotting, principally affecting the plates of the second volume.
Rare.

First edition.
Spine and covers slightly and marginally sunned, internally good.

First edition, one of 100 numbered copies on vélin Montgolfier, the only deluxe copies.
Precious autograph inscription signed by Marcel-Etienne Grancher to Henri Béraud who is not named specifically: "A vous, maître, avec tout le respectueux dévouement... (Pour Prix Gringoire 1933)" ["To you, master, with all respectful devotion... (For Prix Gringoire 1933)"].
Illustrated cover.
Two small tears reglued on spine, some light foxing on the slightly soiled back cover.
Provenance: from Henri Béraud's library in Ré.

New edition.
Precious autograph signed by Commander Pierre Weiss to Henri Béraud.
Preface by the Countess de Noailles.
Very slight freckles without gravity on the second flat and the back.
Provenance: Henri Béraud's library.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Signed autograph inscription from Maurice Bouvier-Ajam to Madame Bastiel.
Handsome copy complete with publisher's slip.

First edition printed on coated paper.
Publisher's cream cardboard binding, smooth spine slightly sunned and showing a pale dampstain at foot, minute marginal spotting to first cover.
Work illustrated with gouaches by Yves Delfo as well as kodachromes by d'Anger and Chevalier.
Iconography.
Handsome copy well complete, at beginning of volume, with its facsimile of the privilege letter granted by the King of France and the wax that served to seal this missive.

Illustrated edition with plates.
Publisher's half red shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands decorated with triple gilt compartments, minor scratches to joints and spine, frame of blind fillets on red paper boards, white moiré silk endpapers and pastedowns, corners slightly bumped, all edges gilt.
Some foxing.

Second edition statement, with some parts in first edition, published the same year as the first by the same publisher.
Contemporary full speckled blonde calf binding. Smooth spine decorated. Beige morocco title-label and volume label. Minor lack to the title-label of volume I. Surface abrasion along volume I. A brown stain on the lower cover of volume I, and one on the upper cover of volume II. Handsome copy, fresh.
The author's first work of importance, based on articles previously published in L'Encyclopédie on commerce that Diderot had commissioned from him. The work gives a definition of commerce and all its parts (exchange, agriculture, colonies, industries...) with great concern for didacticism and endowed with perfect clarity. The author places himself under the banner of liberalism, but an egalitarian liberalism, and while he was a precursor of the physiocrats, he would distance himself from Quesnay's doctrines. He is the first to emphasize the fundamental connection between industry and agriculture and advocate a fiscal system taxing consumption. Even if his vision of the state remains mercantile, and relatively classical, he brings many new ideas and his writings are filled with contemporary economic facts of primary importance.

First edition.
Romantic publisher's black percaline binding, smooth spine richly decorated with gilt and polychrome ornament, double blind fillet frames on boards, front board decorated with gilt and polychrome ornament, rear board stamped with gilt and polychrome tool, edges gilt.
Seven plates with tissue guards.
Front board slightly faded, some minimal foxing, otherwise a handsome copy.

The finest edition of this work, augmented and enriched by the author, whose original appeared in 1706. The author explains the interest of this new revised edition in a foreword. One frontispiece, 3 fine title vignettes by Cochin and 13 folding plates (the 1741 edition contained only 8). Explanations of the plates and vignettes after the table of contents.

Full marbled and glazed blonde calf binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Head worn, tail torn and largely missing from the last compartment. Paper of fine freshness, free from foxing. Despite the binding defects, fairly good copy.

First edition.
Half black cloth binding with corners, smooth spine decorated with gilt fleurons and black fillets, double gilt fillets framing the marbled paper boards, price label pasted on front pastedown, contemporary binding.
Work illustrated with engravings in the text.

First edition in French.
Work illustrated with photographic plates and complete with its 2 folding maps.
Gift inscription in ink at the head of the first endpaper.
Rare and handsome copy.

The first edition published in a small number of copies and dedicated to the author's wine-growing friends.
One trace of a printed stamp on the first cover.
Rare and handsome booklet illustrated with two plates in and hors-texte.

First edition.
Ouvrage illustrated with 15 planches hors texte.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Iconography.
Covers slightly and uniformly sunned, not serious, a good copy.

First edition.
Half sand cloth binding, smooth spine, red shagreen title-label with small scratches, marbled paper boards.
Work illustrated with two photographic facsimiles.
Some light foxing to endpapers, handsome interior condition.

First edition of each volume.
Rich iconography.
Spine and covers slightly and marginally sunned without gravity, a small tear at head of spine of the supplement, handsome interior condition.
Copy well complete with its supplement devoted to Limoges porcelain.

First edition.
Half brown sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt fleurons, friezes and fillets, hazelnut sheep title-label, fragile joints, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, contemporary binding.
Complete with its 7 folding plates at rear.
Some light foxing, a small ink stain at head of one of the plates.
Rare.

First edition.
Publisher's full sienna cloth Bradel binding, smooth spine slightly faded.
Work illustrated with 507 photographic illustrations in text and full-page.
Handsome copy.

First edition.
Illustrated with photographs to text and hors texte.
A good and rare copy.

First edition.
Publisher's green paper boards greene.
A very good copy.

First edition in French.
Richly illustrated.
A rare and good copy.

First edition of the French translation established by J.E. Leymarie.
Bradel binding in full orange cloth, smooth spine.
Iconography.
Bookplate pasted on an endpaper.
Handsome copy.

New edition of the French translation based on the sixth German edition.
Publisher's full sienna cloth binding.
Work illustrated with 179 figures and 196 tables in the text as well as one plate.
Gift inscription from a previous owner at head of an endpaper, handsome copy.

Author's copy.
Pamphlets in first editions: Concours agricole d'arrondissement du dimanche 17 septembre à Lamotte-Beuvron (1876), Concours spécial espèce ovine (1879), Concours spécial espèce bovine (1880), Concours spécial espèce chevaline (1881), Concours spécial de beurres, fromages et volailles grasses (1882), Exposition & concours de volailles-mortes et de produits de laiterie (1884), Compte rendu session de mai 1885, Concours agricole d'arrondissement 16 septembre 1888, Section de la Société départementale d'agriculture de Loir-et-Cher (1890), Session de mai 1891 compte rendu, Compte rendu du concours spécial du 27 septembre 1891, Le Reboisement de la Sologne (1886).Contemporary half red shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt dots, original wrappers preserved.Several letters and corrections on pages mounted on tabs; various pasted-in articles.
A photograph of a sculpture depicting the author pasted onto one of the endpapers.
Ernest Gaugiran was secretary general of the central agricultural committee of Sologne.

Author's copy. First edition of each of the pamphlets: Le Troupeau (1886), Le Reboisement de la Sologne (1888), Choix de vaches laitières (1894).
Contemporary binding in half red sheep, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt dotted lines, original wrappers preserved.
Ernest Gaugiran was secretary general of the central agricultural committee of Sologne.

Author's copy. First edition for each of the pamphlets: Abdication du roi fainéant (1895), Le Sangsurieux (1895), Le Guignon (1896), Les Pilules du Comité central ou la Sologne métamorphosée (1897), Le Retour du fils Futaine (1899), La Grève des petits vachers (1899), Comité de Lamotte-Beuvron, session de mai 1891, Enquête sur les conditions des ouvriers agricoles (1894), Rapport du concours des livrets de caisse d'épargne (1897), Le Chasteau de Lamotte-Beuvron (1898).
Bound in half cherry red shagreen, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt dots, marginal rubbing to boards, original wrappers preserved.
A photograph of the author pasted to one of the endpapers.
Ernest Gaugiran was secretary general of the central agricultural committee of Sologne.

Author's copy.
First edition for each of the pamphlets: Le Troupeau (1886), Annexes du Comité central agricole de Sologne - Le Reboisement de la Sologne (1888) Choix de vaches laitières - La laiterie (1894).
Half cherry red shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt dotwork, marginal abrasions to boards, original wrappers preserved. A photograph of the author mounted on one of the endpapers.
Various letters addressed to the author, notes and articles mounted or loosely inserted.
Ernest Gaugiran was general secretary of the central agricultural committee of Sologne.

New edition.
Publisher's binding over purple paper boards.
A good copy.

New edition.
Work illustrated with numerous figures in and outside the text.
Spine broken and restored at head with an adhesive piece, handsome interior condition.

The sought-after first edition, quite rare.

Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Brown morocco title and volume labels. Head of volume II worn. A stain on one cover. 6 corners slightly bumped. Right corner of endpaper of volume II torn and missing. The first leaf of the catalogue is absent. Good copy overall.

First edition illustrated with 27 folding engraved plates and four charts.

Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Spine with five raised bands. All edges red. Head slightly worn, corners bumped, upper joint cracked at head for 3cm.

First edition.
Half tan sheep bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fleurons and friezes, red morocco title-label, green morocco volume labels, traces of rubbing on joints, blue paper boards with some surface wear, corners slightly bumped, speckled edges, contemporary bindings.
Illustrated periodical with figures in text and hors-texte as well as hors-texte plates.
Foxing, two pale dampstains affecting beginning and end of volumes.
Rare complete run.

First edition.
Slight foxing to the covers.

Rare first edition.
Work illustrated with 21 lithographed plates hors-texte.
One joint cracked at foot, marginal foxing to boards, some light foxing, a clear angular dampstain affecting the foot of the entire text block, two pale dampstains to first endpaper.
Rare.

First edition.
Illustrated with figures in texte.

First edition, rare.
Extracted from the Revue des deux mondes.
In sheets, under chemise.

First edition.
Extract from the Revue des deux mondes.
In sheets, under chemise.

First edition.
Extracted from the Revue des deux mondes.
In sheets, under chemise.

First edition.
Extract from the Revue des deux mondes.
In sheets, under chemise.

First edition.
From the Revue des deux mondes.
In sheets, in chemise.

First edition.
Extract from the Revue des deux mondes.
In sheets, under chemise.

First edition.
Bradel binding in half burgundy cloth with corners, smooth spine decorated with a central gilt floral motif, double gilt fillet at tail, black shagreen title-label with some small tears, marbled paper boards, contemporary binding.
Work illustrated with 50 unpublished drawings by the author.
Handsome copy.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Created between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on laid paper watermarked "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light fold mark in upper right corner, otherwise excellent freshness and condition.



Volume MODERN STATE, II:
The genius of the scholars of the Institute is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Modern Egypt. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water management, music, and craftsmanship are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopedia remains underlying in the approach of the draftsmen of the Description of Egypt, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amidst aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

THE DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
The Description of Egypt is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt during Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquities are devoted to the splendors of Pharaonic Egypt. Natural History is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Geographical and topographical maps while the 3 volumes : Modern State present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Army of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description of Egypt the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description of Egypt was created in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Middle-Egypt" and "Grand-Egypt" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "ancient and modern Egypt" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of Napoleon's Louvre museum who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time brought together in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then carried out, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever performed on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description of Egypt, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in previously unused formats (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine intended to lighten the burden of engravers, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Image d'Épinal, colour lithograph, large format, printed on heavy paper.
Very light traces of creasing in the corners, otherwise very fine condition, colours very well preserved.
These plates are cardboard constructions or models, onto which a pattern was printed.
This pattern must be cut out and then assembled to construct various objects or life scenes. The Épinal imagery published several series of cut-out models including the "Grandes Constructions" in 39 x 49 cm format, the "Moyennes Constructions" and the "Petites Constructions". From 1880 to 1908, constructions were published featuring architecture, costumes, boats and various vehicles. During this same period, paper theatres or "théâtre chez soi" also enjoyed great success. This toy model developed and endured until the Second World War.
Once sold by peddlers, the images d'Épinal owe their name to Jean-Charles Pellerin, who was the first printer to publish this type of image in series, and who lived in the town of Épinal (Vosges). The subjects are very varied but generally revolve around religion, history (French Revolution, battles, military uniforms), or drawn from successful novels. Épinal imagery has its origins in imagery, a popular art form born in the 15th century intended mainly for the illiterate rural public.
Originally, the image is engraved on a wooden plate and printing is carried out using a hand press. It is then coloured using stencils. In the 19th century, lead castings are made from the engraved wood blocks: stereotypes, which allow production to be increased. In 1820, lithography was adopted, which induced a radical change in style, with finer drawings. In 1900, colouring was still done by stencil, using a machine that could colour 300 images per hour, the Aquatype.

Image d'Épinal, colour lithograph, large format, printed on heavy paper.
Tear to left margin with very slight damage to the print, light tear to lower margin, colours very well preserved.
These plates are cardboard constructions or models, onto which a pattern was printed.
This pattern must be cut out and then assembled to construct various objects or life scenes. The Épinal imagery published several series of cut-out models including the "Grandes Constructions" in 39 x 49 cm format, the "Moyennes Constructions" and the "Petites Constructions". From 1880 to 1908, constructions were published featuring architecture, costumes, boats and various vehicles. During this same period, paper theatres or "théâtre chez soi" also enjoyed great success. This toy model developed and endured until the Second World War.
Once sold by peddlers, the images d'Épinal owe their name to Jean-Charles Pellerin, who was the first printer to publish this type of image in series, and who lived in the town of Épinal (Vosges). The subjects are very varied but generally revolve around religion, history (French Revolution, battles, military uniforms), or drawn from successful novels. Épinal imagery has its origins in imagery, a popular art form born in the 15th century intended mainly for the illiterate rural public.
Originally, the image is engraved on a wooden plate and printing is carried out using a hand press. It is then coloured using stencils. In the 19th century, lead castings are made from the engraved wood blocks: stereotypes, which allow production to be increased. In 1820, lithography was adopted, which induced a radical change in style, with finer drawings. In 1900, colouring was still done by stencil, using a machine that could colour 300 images per hour, the Aquatype.

Épinal print, color lithograph, medium format, printed on heavy paper.
Very fine condition, colors very well preserved.
These sheets are constructions or cardboard models, on which a pattern was printed.
This pattern must be cut out and then assembled to construct various objects or life scenes. The Épinal imagery published several series of cut-out models including the "Grandes Constructions" in 39 x 49 cm format, the "Moyennes Constructions" and the "Petites Constructions". From 1880 to 1908, constructions were published featuring architecture, costumes, boats and various vehicles. During this same period, paper theaters or "théâtre chez soi" also enjoyed great success. This toy model developed and lasted until the Second World War.
Once sold by peddlers, Épinal prints owe their name to Jean-Charles Pellerin, who was the first printer to publish this type of image in series, and who lived in the town of Épinal (Vosges). The subjects are very varied but generally revolve around religion, history (French Revolution, battles, military uniforms), or drawn from successful novels. Épinal imagery has its origins in popular art imagery born in the 15th century mainly intended for the illiterate rural public.
Originally, the image is engraved on a wooden plate and printing is done using a hand press. It is then colored using stencils. In the 19th century, lead castings were made from the engraved wood blocks: stereotypes, which allowed production to be increased. In 1820, lithography was adopted, which induced a radical change in style, with finer drawings. In 1900, coloring was still done with stencils, thanks to a machine that could color 300 images per hour, the Aquatype.

Second edition.
Full chocolate calf binding, smooth spine very slightly faded decorated with double gilt compartments and black fillets, gilt dots at head and foot, gilt roulettes on headcaps, blind romantic garland frames and a gilt fillet on boards, gilt inscription "Comice agricole de l'arrondissement de Mirecourt à Mr L. Laurain 1845" on front board which has four brown stains, gilt fillet on edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, contemporary binding.
Work complete with its 10 folding plates at rear.
Light marginal dampstaining at head and foot of first pages and plates, copy almost entirely free from foxing.

First edition of 1000 numbered copies on luxury paper.
SPine very slightly faded, spine of the second volume cracked to foot, a pale dampstain to head of first pages of the second volume, otherwise a good set.
Richly illustrated.

First edition, rarely complete, even rarer as we present it in its original state, in 9 parts in publisher's boards intended to be bound in two large volumes. The illustration comprises two engraved title pages, 40 steel engravings drawn by Bartlet (various engravers), and hundreds of wood engravings in the text.
Publisher's full red cloth boards with gilt decoration. Smooth spine decorated with a large panel. Covers decorated with a large stamp featuring machinery and factories; blind-stamped frame. Headcaps rubbed. Scattered foxing in the margins of the engravings and tissue guards browned. The last three volumes are with conjugate leaves. Three volumes have some signatures slightly protruding.
Details of the 9 volumes: VOLUME 1: 240 pages; VOLUME 2: paginated 241 to 480.; VOLUME 3: paginated 481 to 640 + LXXX.; VOLUME 4: paginated 641 to 816 + LXXXI to CXIiv; VOLUME 5: paginated 817 to 832 end of the first volume +cxl +paginated 1 to 208; VOLUME 6: paginated from 206 to 448.; VOLUME 7: paginated 449 to 688.; VOLUME 8: paginated 689 to 928.; VOLUME 9: paginated 929 to 1052 + preface table, Directions to the binder and 2 title pages.
Encyclopedia of arts and crafts based on the 1851 Universal Exhibition in London and on the Crystal Palace, of which two plates are found in the first volume, one of the building, the other of the exhibition plan.
Conceived as a dictionary, the long articles follow in alphabetical order, from Abattoirs, Aqueducs to Warming and Ventilation.

First edition printed in a small number of copies of this offprint from the Annales maritimes et coloniales.
Half bronze sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with quadruple gilt fillets showing traces of rubbing and trace of library shelf label at head, upper headcaps rubbed, marbled paper boards, contemporary binding.
Work complete with its 4 folding plates at rear with 49 figures.
Foxing on plates, interior free from any foxing.
Rare.

New edition for Polydore Vergil's book of inventions and first edition for Cicero's sentences. Fine italic impressions. Printer's devices on the title page. The Cicero edition is absent from English catalogues.

 

De rerum inventoribus was placed on the Index and republished in 1575 in an expurgated form, and the edition we present is therefore not expurgated. The first French translation appears to have been published in 1527 according to a copy at the University of Glasgow, although contradictory information gives 1528 as the date of the first French edition in Latin by Robert Estienne. Brunet gives 1499 for the date of the first edition.

 

Half marbled blonde sheep binding, early 19th century. Smooth spine with three fleurons. Beige title and volume labels. Missing endpaper on upper board of volume 1 and on lower board of volume 2. Very fresh interior.

 

First edition.
Publisher's polychrome boards, smooth spine richly decorated, first cover decorated with a frame of gilt fillets and a portrait, edges gilt. Seven plates on tissue guards.
Spine slightly rubbed, some minimal foxing, otherwise a fine copy.

First edition. Work illustrated with plates. Spine somewhat worn, restored with an adhesive piece, small marginal tears with slight corner losses to boards, some occasional foxing.

First edition. Extracted from the Revue des Deux Mondes. Rare
Under plain wrapper.

First edition of these two memoirs extracted from the first fascicle, Modern State section, of the Description de l'Egypte.
Cream parchment-style modern paper boards. Black sheep title-label. Wide-margined copy, uncut.
Historical notice on artificial incubation in Egypt and method employed to hatch chickens. History and description of the manufacture of sal ammoniac.

First edition, extracted from the Revue des deux mondes. Rare.
In plain wrappers.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise in very fine fresh condition and preservation.



Volume MODERN STATE, II:
The genius of the scholars of the Institute is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Modern Egypt. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water systems, music, crafts, are displayed with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draftsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pachas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

THE DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates titled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of Pharaonic Egypt. Natural History is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Geographic and topographic maps while the 3 volumes : Modern State present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Army of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was executed in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Middle-Egypt" and "Grand-Egypt" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which extended over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Ancient and modern Egypt" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and subsequently director of the Napoléon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the vastest historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever carried out on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, etched and engraved in previously unused formats (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the engravers' work, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French publishing adventures.

Original etching in plano format, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Produced between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on laid paper watermarked "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Light marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine state of freshness and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draftsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pachas or simple potter artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is distributed across 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum of the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Undoubtedly assembled for the first time in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, systematically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever undertaken of a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in formats previously unused (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the task of engravers, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano format, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Produced between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on laid paper watermarked "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Minor marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, a small repaired tear to upper margin (1 cm), otherwise excellent state of freshness and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draftsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pachas or simple potter artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is distributed across 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum of the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Undoubtedly assembled for the first time in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, systematically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever undertaken of a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in formats previously unused (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the task of engravers, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, uncut, from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Slight marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise in very fine fresh condition and well preserved.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water systems, music, crafts, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple pottery artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the East.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which spread over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum of the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then accomplished, under the aegis and glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever carried out on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that formed the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at Les Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in colors, engraved with etching and burin in formats hitherto unusual (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine intended to lighten the engravers' work, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testament to one of the most ambitious French publishing adventures.

Original etching in plano, uncut, from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Slight marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise in very fine fresh condition and well preserved.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water systems, music, crafts, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple pottery artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the East.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which spread over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum of the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then accomplished, under the aegis and glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever carried out on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that formed the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at Les Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in colors, engraved with etching and burin in formats hitherto unusual (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine intended to lighten the engravers' work, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testament to one of the most ambitious French publishing adventures.

Original etching in plano, uncut, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise in very fine state of freshness and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draftsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates titled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is distributed across 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the expertise of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which extended over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum of the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever carried out on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in formats hitherto unused (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacture, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine intended to lighten the burden of the engravers, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional workmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, uncut, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise in very fine state of freshness and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draftsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates titled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is distributed across 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the expertise of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which extended over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum of the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever carried out on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in formats hitherto unused (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacture, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine intended to lighten the burden of the engravers, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional workmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, uncut, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 on Napoleon Bonaparte's orders and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Light marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.
ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE OF CAIRO :
The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first reasoned studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, gathering plans, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the 9th century Tulunid period to the Mamluk constructions contemporary with the arrival of Bonaparte's troops. Furthermore, the architects and engineers of the Institute of Egypt realized a large series of plates devoted to dwellings and civil constructions, whether of grand or more modest execution, providing precious testimony on the life of Cairenes at the end of the 19th century. The few ancient vestiges remaining in the city were also immortalized by the scholars of the Institute, who had established their quarters in the capital.


Volume ETAT MODERNE, II :
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water systems, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations in the midst of aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829) :
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of Pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Army of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was executed in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which extended over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and subsequently director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the other members of the Institute there and thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile up to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the vastest historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever undertaken on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in previously unused formats (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for paper manufacture, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the engravers' work, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional execution and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, uncut, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 on Napoleon Bonaparte's orders and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Light marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II :
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water systems, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations in the midst of aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829) :
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of Pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Army of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was executed in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which extended over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and subsequently director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the other members of the Institute there and thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile up to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the vastest historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever undertaken on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in previously unused formats (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for paper manufacture, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the engravers' work, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional execution and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Slight marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water management, music, and craftsmanship are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the Description de L'Egypte draftsmen, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple pottery craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern armies.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the 167 scholars who were members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the expertise of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, the greatest French scientists and artists ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient remains of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, systematically studied Egypt for three years. They then carried out, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever undertaken of a country. But perhaps it was the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in previously unprecedented formats (the largest covers nearly one square meter), required the construction of new forms and vats for papermaking, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the engravers' work, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen, 46 of whom participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Slight marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water management, music, and craftsmanship are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the Description de L'Egypte draftsmen, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple pottery craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern armies.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the 167 scholars who were members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the expertise of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, the greatest French scientists and artists ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient remains of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, systematically studied Egypt for three years. They then carried out, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever undertaken of a country. But perhaps it was the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in previously unprecedented formats (the largest covers nearly one square meter), required the construction of new forms and vats for papermaking, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the engravers' work, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen, 46 of whom participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume MODERN STATE, II:
The genius of the scholars of the Institute is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Modern Egypt. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopedia remains underlying in the approach of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to draw a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations in the midst of aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

THE DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
The Description of Egypt is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. Titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquities are devoted to the splendors of Pharaonic Egypt. Natural History is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Geographical and topographical maps while the 3 volumes : Modern State draw a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description of Egypt the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description of Egypt was executed in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and baptized "Middle-Egypt" and "Grand-Egypt" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the watermark "ancient and modern Egypt," called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and subsequently director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined in the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic cavalcade gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus draw a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time brought together in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever carried out on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description of Egypt, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in formats hitherto unused (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the burden of the engravers, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, uncut, from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Produced between February 1802 and 1829 on Napoleon Bonaparte's orders and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light marginal foxing not touching the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the Description de L'Egypte draughtsmen, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. Titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of Napoleon's Louvre museum who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever realized on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at Les Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, etched and engraved in formats hitherto unused (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the burden of engravers, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional workmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French publishing adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Created between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water management, music, and craftsmanship are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the Description de L'Egypte draftsmen, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt during Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of Pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the approximately 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the expertise of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time brought together in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, systematically studied Egypt for three years. They then achieved, under the aegis and glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever conducted on a country. But it was perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in colors, etched and engraved in formats hitherto unusual (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for papermaking, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the engravers' work, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen, 46 of whom participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional workmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Created between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water management, music, and craftsmanship are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the Description de L'Egypte draftsmen, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter artisans are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt during Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of Pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the approximately 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the expertise of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the "Egypte ancienne et moderne" watermark, called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with many other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time brought together in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, systematically studied Egypt for three years. They then achieved, under the aegis and glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever conducted on a country. But it was perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in colors, etched and engraved in formats hitherto unusual (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for papermaking, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the engravers' work, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen, 46 of whom participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional workmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Produced between February 1802 and 1829 on Napoleon Bonaparte's orders and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on laid paper watermarked "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise in very fine fresh condition and well-preserved.



VOLUME ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the scholars from the Institute is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draftsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations in the midst of aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates titled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Army of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the approximately 167 scholars who were members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute gathered in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were tasked with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the expertise of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which extended over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the watermark "Egypte ancienne et moderne," called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but alone decided to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic cavalcade gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile up to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the museum of natural history H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then carried out, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever conducted on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at Les Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, etched and engraved in formats hitherto unusual (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the engravers' work, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on laid paper watermarked "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Slight and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water systems, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Rich pashas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is distributed across 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the watermark "Egypte ancienne et moderne," called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and subsequently director of the Napoleon museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus draw a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time brought together in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the vastest historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever conducted on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in formats hitherto unusual (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the burden of engravers, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional workmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Executed between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on laid paper watermarked "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Slight and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine condition and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, sanitary conditions, water systems, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Rich pashas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is distributed across 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, physicians... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the watermark "Egypte ancienne et moderne," called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and subsequently director of the Napoleon museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus draw a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of the Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time brought together in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the vastest historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever conducted on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in formats hitherto unusual (the largest covers nearly a square meter), necessitated the construction of new forms and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the burden of engravers, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional workmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Produced between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on watermarked laid paper "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and offered to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, a small repaired tear in the upper margin (1 cm), otherwise excellent state of freshness and preservation.



Volume ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the Institute's scholars is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's L'Encyclopédie remains underlying in the approach of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, striving to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Wealthy pashas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations amid aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 plates in black and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is distributed across 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Oriental armies.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the approximately 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which stretched over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the watermark "Egypte ancienne et moderne," called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and subsequently director of the Napoleon Museum of the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon during his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus draw a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile to Nubia. Among them, the painter at the natural history museum H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draughtsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time brought together in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studies Egypt for three years. They then carry out, under the aegis and to the glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever undertaken on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at Les Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, engraved with etching and burin in previously unused formats (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the burden of the engravers, and required the realization of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draughtsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional execution and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French editorial adventures.

Original etching in plano format, untrimmed, extracted from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand.
Produced between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published from 1809 [actually 1810], it was printed in 1000 copies on laid paper watermarked "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and presented to institutions.
Light and marginal foxing not affecting the engraving, otherwise very fine state of freshness and preservation.



VOLUME ETAT MODERNE, II:
The genius of the scholars of the Institute is particularly revealed through the plates of the section called Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industry, social structures, health conditions, water management, music, craftsmanship, are presented with exceptional precision and graphic quality. The spirit of L'Encyclopédie by Diderot and d'Alembert remains underlying in the approach of the draftsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompany the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, endeavoring to create a portrait of the populations imbued with beauty and respect. Rich pashas or simple potter craftsmen are represented with sensitivity, going about their occupations in the midst of aesthetic compositions, without falling into idealism or caricature.

LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, IMPERIAL edition (1809-1829):
La Description de l'Egypte is one of the masterpieces of French publishing and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings gathering nearly 1000 black plates and 72 in color. The 6 volumes of plates entitled Antiquités are devoted to the splendors of pharaonic Egypt. L'Histoire naturelle is divided into 3 volumes of engravings. One volume is devoted to Cartes géographiques et topographiques while the 3 volumes : Etat Moderne present a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Army of the Orient.

The "Egyptian campaign," a military disaster, reveals through the engravings of the Description de l'Egypte the scientific success it became, thanks to the some 167 scholars members of the Commission of Sciences and Arts of the Institute of Egypt who followed Napoleon's army. The Institute brought together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects, doctors... They were charged with rediscovering modern and ancient Egypt, showing its natural riches, and the know-how of its inhabitants.

The first edition, called "Imperial," of the Description de l'Egypte was produced in four large formats, two of them specially created for it and named "Moyen-Egypte" and "Grand-Egypte" formats. A specific press was built for its printing, which extended over twenty years, between 1809 and 1829. The Imperial edition proved so popular that a second edition in 37 volumes entirely in black and without the watermark "Égypte ancienne et moderne," called the "Panckoucke" edition, was published from 1821 by the C.-L.-F. Panckoucke printing house (Paris).
The realization of this monument of erudition owes much to Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and subsequently director of the Napoleon Museum at the Louvre who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt with numerous other scholars but decided alone to venture into the South of the country, while the other invited scientists remained confined to the Cairo region. The fabulous sketches brought back by Denon from his romantic ride gave Bonaparte the idea to send the other members of the Institute there and thus create a faithful and complete portrait of the territory. Following Denon, it was therefore the greatest French scientists and artists who ventured along the Nile as far as Nubia. Among them, the painter at the museum of natural history H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomieu, the draftsman Joly, and the engineers Fourier and Costaz, charged with the scientific study of the ancient vestiges of Upper Egypt.
Probably for the first time assembled in such an expedition, the French scientific and artistic elite, composed of more than 160 "scholars" including nearly 50 artists, methodically studied Egypt for three years. They then realized, under the aegis and glory of Napoleon, the most vast historical, geographical, scientific, economic and ethnological analysis ever carried out on a country. But it is perhaps the engravings that constituted the major technical challenge of this Description de l'Egypte, as testified by Yves Laissus, curator of the exhibition organized in 2009 by the RMN and the Army Museum at the Invalides:
"The illustration, 836 plates including about sixty in color, etched and engraved in formats hitherto unused (the largest covers nearly one square meter), necessitated the construction of new molds and vats for paper manufacturing, justified the invention, by Nicolas Conté, of a machine designed to lighten the burden of the engravers, and required the creation of new presses capable of printing these immense images. Some of them required two years of work. Nearly 200 engravers reproduced on copper the works of 62 draftsmen of whom 46 participated in the expedition."
Rare and superb original engraving of exceptional craftsmanship and graphic quality, testimony to one of the most ambitious French publishing adventures.