histoire, Couverture rigide (Plus de 516 000 résultats)

Hardcover. Etat : Very Good. 1st Edition. "4 volumes of elephant broadsheets bound as oblong folios (28 x 21 3/4 in.; 55.3 x 71.1 cm). 3 lithographed title-pages and 3 letterpress contents leaves, 150 lithographed plates by J. T. Bowen after John James and James Woodhouse Audubon, backgrounds after Victor Gifford Audubon, handcolored and heightened with gum arabic; titles and contents toned, moderate marginal dust-soiling on most plates, some finger soiling, plates 1, 62, 72, 73, 81 creased chiefly in upper lefthand corner, tape repairs to tiny tears along bottom margins of plates 112-113, small oil stains in gutters of about 13 plates, chiefly in the fourth volume. Contemporary quarter red morocco over brown marbled boards, spines gilt in six compartments lettered "Histoire Naturelle" in the second, numbered in the fourth, and monogrammed in the sixth; extremities rubbed; minor loss to head of spine (vol. 1), vol. 2 head of spine torn but present. FIRST EDITION OF THE ONE OF THE GREATEST COLORPLATE BOOKS PRODUCED ENTIRELY IN AMERICA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. After an unsuccessful attempt to secure federal funding for his "Great Western Journey," Audubon determined that the commercial potential of the Quadrupeds was sufficient to risk funding the expedition himself. "To render [the Quadrupeds] more complete, I will leave the comforts of my home and beloved family, bound to the Rocky Mountains I cannot tell how long I may be absent, but look to return loaded up knowledge, new and abundant specimens on the shot and not from stuffed museums' moth-eaten remains. I am told that I am too old to undertake such a long and arduous journey, but having the will, I will no doubt safely bear or even surmount the difficulties" (letter to C. Bonaparte, February, 1843, quoted by Rhodes). To his collaborator the Rev. James Bachman, he exclaimed "I am growing old, but what of this? My spirits are as enthusiastical as ever, my legs full able to carry my body for ten years to come, and in about two of these I expect the illustrations out, and ere the following twelve months have elapsed, their histories studied, their descriptions carefully prepared and the book printed!" (Streshinsky, Audubon: Life and Art in the American Wilderness, p. 332). It was to be J.J. Audubon's last major endeavor. Returning home in late fall of 1843 aged 58 and in declining health, he delegated many of the smaller mammals to his son John Woodhouse to draw and the backgrounds to his youngest, Victor Gifford, who also supervised the printing and publication. Despite Audubon's optimistic timeline for the completed work, it took the family five years to publish 150 plates in thirty parts. The first proofs were ready in 1842, but Audubon was Audubon's lithographer J.T. Bowen was immersed in the production of the octavo set of The Birds of America. The last part of the octavo Birds appeared in May, 1844, and publication of the folio Quadrupeds began immediately, with the first number being issued in January, 1845 and the first volume completed within the year. The accompanying octavo text volumes, written and edited by Rev. John Bachman, first appeared between 1846 and 1854. "The massive project was a commercial success, thanks to the close management of Victor" (Reese), attracting a total number of 300 subscribers. REFERENCES: Bennett p. 5; McGill/Wood 208; Nissen ZBI 162; Reese 36; Sabin 2367 PROVENANCE: Gilt cypher in sixth spine compartment; J.R. Walsh (stamps on title-pages and contents leaves); Acquired from Nico Isreal, 1978; The Richard Harris Collection: Natural History and Colourplate Books (Bloomsbury, 13 October 2010, lot 3: $504,000).

Hardcover. Etat : Near fine. First. THE RENDLESHAM-FAIRHAVEN COPY IN A FINE HARLEIAN-STYLE BINDING. Two volumes. London: Printed at the Expence of the Author: and Sold by W. Innys and R. Manby, by Mr. Hauksbee and by the Author at Mr. Bacon's; 1731-1743-1747. First edition. Folio (20 5/8" x 14 1/4", 523mm x 361mm). [Full collation available.] With 220 hand-colored etched-engraved plates and a double-page hand-colored etched-engraved map. Collated complete against Stafleu-Cowan. Bound in contemporary Harleian-style red morocco (re-backed): a central lozenge comprising small gilt tools and an elaborate gilt roll border. On the spine, 7 raised bands. Author and title gilt to green morocco in the second panel, number gilt to green morocco in the third. Gilt roll to the edges of the boards, continuing onto the inside dentelle. Marbled end-papers. All edges of the text-block gilt. Re-backed almost imperceptibly. With some nicks, scratches and small patches of soiling to the binding. Fore-corners a little bumped. Mild foxing throughout. A couple of short tears to the plates. Pigment oxidation with some attendant off-setting, notably to the folding map in vol. II. Armorial bookplate of Lord Rendlesham (covering another booksplate) to the front paste-down of each volume. Armorial bookplate of Henry Rogers Broughton, Lord Fairhaven, to the recto of the front free end-paper of each volume. Mark Catesby (1683-1749) was a pioneering naturalist who drew no boundaries around his interests. An inheritance from his father allowed him to cross the Atlantic to Virginia in 1712, and to make return journeys that brought him along the Atlantic coastline and to the Bahamas. He sent specimens back to Sir Hans Sloane, and meanwhile described and drew what he had seen in the unspoiled and unsettled southern part of the American Atlantic. Returning for good to England in 1726, and with the encouragement of Sloane and other members of the Royal Society -- to which Catesby was belatedly elected in 1733 -- spent the next two decades bringing his monumental and comprehensive account to completion. The text, in English and French, allowed the work to reach the widest possible audience in Europe. Although some are by others (notably Georg Ehret), the great majority of the plates were drawn and engraved by Catesby himself. He writes in the preface that he believes the illustration to surpass the description in importance, and it is those illustrations that made the Natural History popular enough to go into two further eighteenth-century editions as well as continental piracies. Catesby's style might seem naïve, but they considerably surpass the stiff -- heraldic, even -- illustrations -- especially of birds -- that had come before. His juxtaposition of fauna against flora, bringing a sense of landscape as well as behavior, was groundbreaking, and of great influence on his successors, especially Audubon. Peter Isaac Thellusson (1761-1808) was created first Baron in 1806. Lord Rendlesham inherited his father's home, the vast Rendlesham Hall in Suffolk, which stood until 1949. The rest of the elder Thellusson's fortune, however, was embroiled in one of the most celebrated and consequential probate cases, Thellusson v Woodford, thought to be the inspiration for Jarndyce v Jarndyce in Dickens's Bleak House. Eventually decided in favor of Lord Rendlesham, it took many years and the invervention of Parliament to resolve. Perhaps the obscured bookplate is that of the elder Thellusson? Henry Rogers Broughton (1900-1973), second baron, amassed one of the great collections of natural history books and art (donated to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge). The present volume was bought from the first part of his epochal sale (Sotheby's London, 18 May 2022, lot 42). Anker 95; Fine Bird Books 65; Great Flower Books 53; Hunt 486; Nissen, BBI 336; Nissen, IVB 177; Nissen, ZBI 842; Pritzel 1602; Sabin 11509; Stafleu-Cowan 1057; Wood 282.

Hardcover. Etat : Good. First. First edition. Two volumes. London: Printed at the Expence of the Author: and Sold by W. Innys and R. Manby, by Mr. Hauksbee and by the Author at Mr. Bacon's; 1731-1743-1747. Folio (20 3/8" x 14 3/8", 518mm x 366mm). [Full collation available.] With 220 hand-colored etched-engraved plates and a double-page hand-colored etched-engraved map. Bound in contemporary diced calf. On the covers, a fantastical gilt border with serpents and bees, boars and birds, blossoms and snails. On the spine, seven raised bands. Panels gilt. Title gilt to green morocco in the second panel, number gilt to green morocco in the third. Gilt roll to the edges of the boards. Presented in red cloth clam-shell boxes with black morocco spine-labels gilt. Joints split with some little losses. Head- and tail-pieces perished, with the headband of vol. II only. A partially-closed gouge to the front board of vol. I. Fore-corners worn. Internally, mild foxing throughout, and some offsetting from the plates. Engraved armorial bookplate of Fane William Sharpe, "Student of Ch(rist) Ch(urch, Oxford)" to the front paste-down of each volume, with (his?) shelfmark in early ink manuscript above. A totally unsophisticated set from the collection of Clarence Dillon. Mark Catesby (1683-1749) was a pioneering naturalist who drew no boundaries around his interests. An inheritance from his father allowed him to cross the Atlantic to Virginia in 1712, and to make return journeys that brought him along the Atlantic coastline and to the Bahamas. He sent specimens back to Sir Hans Sloane, and meanwhile described and drew what he had seen in the unspoiled and unsettled southern part of the American Atlantic. Returning for good to England in 1726, and with the encouragement of Sloane and other members of the Royal Society -- to which Catesby was belatedly elected in 1733 -- spent the next two decades bringing his monumental and comprehensive account to completion. The text, in English and French, allowed the work to reach the widest possible audience in Europe. Although some are by others (notably Georg Ehret), the great majority of the plates were drawn and engraved by Catesby himself. He writes in the preface that he believes the illustration to surpass the description in importance, and it is those illustrations that made the Natural History popular enough to go into two further eighteenth-century editions as well as continental piracies. Catesby's style might seem naïve, but they considerably surpass the stiff -- heraldic, even -- illustrations -- especially of birds -- that had come before. His juxtaposition of fauna against flora, bringing a sense of landscape as well as behavior, was groundbreaking, and of great influence on his successors, especially Audubon. Fane William Sharpe (d. 1711) was Member of Parliament for Callington (Cornwall) 1756-1771. His father John, whose seat he took in 1756, was an agent in the West Indies; perhaps this is the source of the younger man's interest in the flora and fauna of this part of the Atlantic. The volumes come from the estate of Clarence Dillon, the Polish-born American titan of finance (he outbid J.P. Morgan for Dodge, and merged it with Chrysler). Dillon was a Francophile, whose name lives on in Domaine Clarence Dillon, which includes Château Haut Brion. His estate in Far Hills, Dunwalke, was sold by Princeton University in 2001. Dunthorne 72, Ellis/Mengel 476, Fine Bird Books 65, Great Flower Books 53, Hunt 486, Nissen BBI 336 and IVB 177.

12 parts in 6 volumes. Folio (18 x 10 6/8 inches). Half-titles. 12 title-pages with engraved vignettes, 432 EXCEPTIONALLY FINE engraved plates with original hand-colour, some HEIGHTENED IN GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE to reflect the metallic sheen of fish scales. Contemporary tree calf with the arms of the Duchesse de Berry (the arms of France and Spain) stamped in gilt on each cover, all edges gilt (foot of spine of volume III chipped with minor loss, other extremities with minor scuffing). Provenance: with the supra libros of Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Luisa, the Duchesse de Berry (1798-1870) on each cover; Belgian Royal Library. "the finest illustrated work on fishes ever produced" (Nissen) THE DUCHESSE DE BERRY'S COPY of the first edition in French, published contemporaneously with the German edition. A FINE AND ATTRACTIVE, COMPLETE COPY OF BLOCH'S MONUMENTAL WORK. Bloch was a German medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century and is best known for his encyclopedic work in ichthyology. The drawings were taken from Bloch's collection of some 1500 fish, the largest collection of its time, which he put together from purchases made at home and from returning travellers and missionaries from all over the world including Sir William Hamilton in Naples. ". the finest illustrated work on fishes ever produced. The plates, by a variety of artists and engravers, are outstandingly coloured, and are heightened with gold, silver, and bronze to produce the metallic sheen of fish scales" (Nissen). From the distinguished library of the Duchesse de Berry, daughter of the future King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Clementina of Austria. In 1816 she married Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duc de Berry, the heir to the French throne. Only the year before his uncle Louis XVII had been restored to the French throne, and on this death in 1824, the Duc's father became the last Bourbon monarch, as Charles X. tragically the Duc did not inherit the crown, but was assassinated at the Paris Opera in 1820. The Duc and Duchesse's only son, the Comte de Chambord, "the miracle baby" was born seven months after his father's murder and became the Legitimist Bourbon heir. During this period the Duchesse became patron to the world's greatest botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redoute. Not only did she support him with the purchase of his celebrated 170 watercolours of 'Roses' on vellum, but she also obtained for him the post of 'maitre de Dessin' at the Museum of Natural History in 1824, even becoming one of his students. (Nissen) Nissen ZBI 416; Wood p. 244. Catalogued by Kate Hunter.

6 volumes. Folio (18 x 13 inches). 1008 fine hand-coloured plates, drawn and engraved by Franz Nicolaus Martinet under the supervision of Edme Louis d'Aubenton (EXCEPTIONALLY CLEAN AND BRIGHT). Contemporary diced green morocco gilt, the spines in seven compartments with six raised bands, title "Oiseaux Enluminee" in the second, and plate count in the third, others decorated with fine gilt tools, all edges gilt (extremities scuffed). LARGE-PAPER ISSUE OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST AND MOST IMPORTANT LANDMARKS IN THE HISTORY OF ORNITHOLOGY. THIS COPY IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM, ISSUED WITHOUT TEXT. "ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL BIRD BOOKS FROM THE COLLECTOR'S POINT OF VIEW" (Fine Bird Books). In 1765 Daubenton the younger, at Buffon's instigation, commenced the publication of the plates. By 1780 or a little later 42 cahiers (with 1008 plates) had appeared, in no particular order, and without text. The intention was that the plates should illustrate the ornithological volumes of Buffon's "Histoire Naturelle générale et particulière" (1749-1804): this proved impossible because of the limited edition of the coloured plates. A new set of 262 black-and-white plates was prepared for the nine ornithological volumes of the "Natural History. The 35 non-ornithological plates feature 6 of Beetles, 21 of Butterflies and Moths, 3 of Toads and Lizards, 4 of Coral and 1 of Mantidae. Being supplementary, they are missing in many copies. Anker 76-77; Fine bird books p 69 (with 3 stars); Mengel 645; Nissen IVB 158; see Zimmer pages 104-106. Catalogued by Kate Hunter (L64F21H-I).

[8], 206 pp.; [4], 181, [1 blank]; [1], [1 blank], "86" [= 80], [2 blank] pp.A hand-coloured copy of the third French edition of Linschoten's classic illustrated guide for travellers to the East and West Indies, termed by Lach ''the most important of the first-hand accounts published independently of the great travel collections'' (I.198). No other book contained so much useful intelligence on the East and West Indies. Unhindered by the censorship that constrained writers from the Iberian peninsula (details of seas and coasts in Asia and the Americas were military secrets), he included such information as sailing directions, physical descriptions of countries, and statistics on commerce and trade. The work was held in such high regard that for nearly a century, every Dutch ship sailing to Africa and Asia carried a copy of a Dutch edition of Linschoten. The 42 plates (11 large folding) are especially noteworthy, including 6 maps and several bird's-eye views, many with coats of arms of the regions shown and of the colonial powers that controlled parts of them.Although the work contains valuable reconnaissance for the New World, the material on India and the East Indies is the most valuable, being the fruit of the author's own observation. In the service of the Portuguese, Linschoten spent five years in Goa (1583-1588/89), making numerous visits to other parts of India. He was thoroughly immersed in Indian culture and the complex relations between the Portuguese colonial apparatus and indigenous peoples. Highlights include a first-hand descriptions of the caste system, political structures, business practices of the Banyas, and exotic natural phenomena. The text is divided into three parts. The first part covers the East Indies and East Africa, including regions as far east as Japan. The second describes the navigation along the coasts of West Africa around the Cape of Good Hope to Arabia, together with some coasts in the New World. The third book is devoted to North America, the Caribbean and Brazil.About 4 sheets slightly browned and a few others with spots or minor foxing, a tear repaired in the title-page to part 3 (not affecting the text or engraving), one plate was cut and reattached at an early date and a few others show very minor browning or small tears where the folds cross, the corner of one leaf torn off (without loss of text) and a few other minor marginal defects, but still generally in very good condition, with the colouring rich and in good condition. The boards are slightly rubbed and the head and foot of the spine expertly restored, but the binding is still in good condition. A seminal work on navigation to the East and West Indies that opened up exploration to explorers outside Spain and Portugal.l Alden & Landis 638/37 (8 copies); Lach, Asia in the making of Europe I, pp. 196-204 & 482-490; Palau 138584; Sabin 41373 & 28266; STCN (3 copies); Tiele, Bibl. 686-688.

Hardback. Etat : Good+. First Edition. 21 vols bound in 20 (9 volumes quarto text, 1 volume elephant folio text [bound with Antiquities vol I], 11 elephant folio plate volumes), the complete set of 894 plates of which 40 are wholly or partly printed in colours and or hand-coloured, and 2 printed in bistre, many double-page, and or, folding, plate DD in Etat Moderne II with fore-margin sometime renewed, scattered light foxing, contemporary calf gilt with marbled paper panels to covers (moiré cloth panels to natural history vols.), text volumes rebacked to style, spine gilt lettered and ruled, 1809-1830. ANTIQUITIES - 5 vols: (I) Engraved frontispiece, map, 99 plates numbered 1-97 (plates 79 and 87 each in two states) + 1 unnumbered plate; Bound with folio text; (II). 92 plates numbered 1-92; (III). 69 plates numbered 1-69 ; (IV). 72 plates numbered 1-72 + 2 plates lettered e & f ; (V). 89 plates numbered 1-89. ETAT MODERNE - 2 vols. (I). Engraved map, 83 plates numbered 1-83; (II). 22plates numbered 84-105 + 31 plates numbered I-XXXI + 11 plates lettered A-K + 9 plates lettered AA-II + 4 plates lettered KK-NN + 9 plates lettered a-i + 1 plate lettered k (JJ and j not used). HISTOIRE NATURELLE - 2 vols bound in 3: (I). 62 plates; (II). 105 plates; (II bis). 77 plates. Amongst the artists who contributed to this section are Barraband, Bessa, Redoute, and Turpin. CARTES GEORAPHIQUE ET TOPOGRAPHIQUE - engraved title & 52 engraved plates. Provenance: Bookplate of Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland (1792-1865). Volumes with either the Garter Crest or Ducal bookplate. Percy, the second son of Hugh, the second Duke, was a distinguished naval officer and a man of science and learning, who rose to the rank of Admiral, and was First Lord of the Admiralty in 1852. Percy became Duke of Northumberland in 1847, and a Knight of the Garter in 1852. FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS SCIENTIFIC, HISTORICAL, ARTISTIC AND PUBLISHING PROJECTS - A COMPLETE SET WITH FINE ENGLISH PROVENANCE. THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION OF ANCIENTAND MODERN EGYPT, THE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SAVANTS WHO ACCOMPANIED NAPOLEON'S EXPEDITION TO EGYPT (1798-1801). THE WORK IS THE GREATEST OF A NUMBER OF OUTSTANDING SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS BY THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT DETAILING THE RESULTSOF EXPLORATION, UNEQUALLEDBY ANY OTHER NATION DURING THE SAME PERIOD. The only flaw in Napoleon s preparations for the invasion of Egypt was a miscalculation when it came to Turkey s reaction to France s unsolicited help in dealing with its mostly unruly vassals, the Mamluks of Egypt. Had it not been for this, Napoleon s plan for following up military conquest by revolutionising the economy and institutions of Egypt might well have created a modern European-style state, controlled by France, at the axis of all the trade routes between Europe, India and the East. Plans to this end involved nearly 500 civilians, the cream of whom were about 150 men drawn from the Institut de France. Once in Egypt their first task was to make a thorough survey of every aspect of the country to assist the planning of its future shape, and this was extended to include Antiquities. The work was co-ordinated by L Institut de l Egypte (later replaced by the Commission des Sciences et Arts d'Egypte), founded in the appropriated house of Hassan Kachef (illustrated in the plates to the Etat Moderne), with Gaspar Monge as president.As early as October 1798 Fourier was entrusted with the task of uniting the reports of the various disciplines with a view to publication. Following the capitulation of the army to Egypt under General Menou (a convert to Islam), the savants returned to France where a commission was set up for the editing and supervision of the work. The first volumes were published by Napoleon s government, and it is a measure of how important this work was considered to be that publication continued following the Bourbon restoration. . never before or since has a study of such scope and thoroughness been accomplished.

Hardcover. Etat : Very Good. Paris: Levrault Freres (later Levrault, Schoell & Co.), 1801-1805 (illustrateur). 1st Edition. "2 volumes, folio (22 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.; 57.8 x 40 cm). 145 fine stipple-engraved plates after Jacques Barraband, printed in colors and finished by hand by Langlois under the direction of Bouquet, dedication leaf to B.G.E.L. Lacépède in vol. 1, half-titles and single-page indices in each volume; light, scattered or marginal foxing affecting about 15 plates, occasional light foxing to text margins, minor creases to plates 18 and 77, neat repair to marginal tear on pl. 116, WITHAL AN EXCEPTIONALLY BRIGHT AND CLEAN COPY. Contemporary half crimson straight-grain morocco, smooth spines lettered and ruled gilt; board edges a bit worn, top of lower covers of each volume lightly sunned. FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FRENCH ORNITHOLOGICAL BOOKS, FROM THE CELEBRATED LIBRARY OF BERIAH BOTFIELD. Levaillant, one of France's greatest ornithologists, was born the son of the French consul in Paramarimbo, Dutch Guiana. Having studied natural history at Metz, he became one of the first of a new breed of naturalists who observed and recorded their subjects in their natural habitat. In 1781-1784, he collected specimens in South Africa on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. Jacques Barraband (1767/68-1809) worked for the Gobelin factory and was recognized as the best ornithological artist of his time owing to his attention to remarkably accurate detail and use of naturalistically textured color. Langlois' skillful engravings of Barraband's original watercolor and gouache drawings reproduce their delicate modulations of tone and color as well as their fine lines and flawless draftsmanship. "After he had made himself Emperor, it was part of Napoleon's deliberate policy to initiate a series of magnificent publications that would vie with those undertaken on the orders of Louis XIV. These were sent as presented to crowned heads, men of science, and learned bodies, in evidence of the splendours of the Empire The works of Levaillant owe their sumptuous character to this impetus. His Histoire naturelle des perroquets is, unwittingly, a part of the glories of Napoleonic France" (Fine Bird Books, p. 15). REFERENCES: Anker 303; Ayer/Zimmer p. 392; Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 118; Nissen IVB 558; Ronsil 1780 PROVENANCE: Highly Important Books from Beriah Botfield's Library (Christie's London, 30 March 1994, lot 77)".

4 volumes in 2, folio (20 1/4 x 13 in.; 51.4 x 33 cm). 140 stipple-engraved plates printed in color and finished by hand by Bouquet, Dien, Gabriel, Massard, Robert and others after Redouté, Poiteau, Turpin, and others (a few heightened with gum arabic in vol. 3), title-pages for vol. 1 in French and Latin, dedication to Louis XVIII in vol. 2; short closed tear in upper gutter pl 8 of vol. 1, pl. 24 of vol. 3 shaved at outer margin, some occasional faint spotting to plates and light foxing (chiefly marginal) to text and vol. 1 title-page, text leaves to plates 11-27 and terminal leaf browned in vol. 4, and plates in vol. 4 misbound (as 1-4; 6; 9; 5; 7-8; 10-37). Contemporary green morocco richly gilt by J. Wright, covers ruled with triple fillets and embellished with roll-tool borders incorporating grape, floral, pineapple, and acorn tools, the spines in 6 compartments gilt with floral tools and raised bands (one reserved for lettering), gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, edges gilt. THE BOTFIELD COPY OF THIS EARLY FLORA OF THE WEST INDIES, FIRST EDITION. According to Brunet, only 150 copies of this lavish work were published in 32 fascicules. Relatively little is known of Tussac's early life, but as a botanist he travelled around the West Indies, visiting Santo Domingo and Martinique in 1786, Haiti and Jamaica in 1802. In Haiti he briefly became curator of a botanic garden before returning to France at the end of that year. Tussac's preface to this work gives a vivid account of his travels and adventures, as well as an account of Toussaint-Louverture's slave rebellion in Santo Domingo. Most of his drawings had been destroyed by fire during the rebellion, but he was able later to recreate them from his notes and collected specimens. REFERENCES: Brunet V:987; Nissen BBI 2017; Great Flower Books 78; Dunthorne 312; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 15:397 PROVENANCE: Beriah Botfield (his sale, Christie's London, 30 March 1994, lot 90; Christie's New York, 6 December 2013, lot 188; Sotheby's New York 18 December 2019, lot 203).

Hardcover. Etat : Fine. This historically significant manuscript is the 'First Zoological Inventory of Polynesia.' The work based on the research of Charles-Gaëtan Noury is entitled Frà gate la Sirene, commendà e par Mr. Noury Capitaine de Frà gate. Histoire naturelle. Voyage dans l'Oceanie, annà es 1847, 1848 & 1849. Iles de la Socià tà , Tahiti & Marquises, Nouka hiva and was unknown until 2017. The work was completed in France after 1850.The manuscript is in 6 volumes, one volume of text and five volumes with 458 illustrations (including 444 watercolors, 10 pen drawings, and 4 pencil drawings). Each illustration is mounted on card and often has French handwritten descriptors with local names. The five volumes with illustrations are bound in green half morocco with gold details and monogram of C.N. to the front boards. The text volume is bound in half-cloth. Also included in the lot is the manuscript published on behalf of the Belgian Academy of Sciences by Michel Jangou after the discovery of this one of a kind work of Noury's. Jangou's publication is entitled Voyage en Polynà sie (1847-1850): Le bestiaire oublià du capitaine Noury and was published in Brüssel in 2017 (available on Amazon as well).All of the illustrations and text were based on the scientific findings of Charles-Gaëtan Noury. It encompassed the entire animal kingdom of Polynesia creating the 'First Zoological Inventory of Polynesia.' Michel Jangou commented in his publication of the manuscript that "Noury produced a pioneering work, the first zoological inventory of Polynesia! He compiled it discreetly, with the invaluable help of a talented painter who remains anonymous. Since then, Noury 's manuscript and the watercolors which illustrate it have remained ignored by everything: it took more than a century and a half for the captain's work, still intact, to find the light and finally be revealed to us." (p. 39)Noury divided the animals into individual classes. The artist depicted the animals with brilliant colors and a mastery of detail. The manuscript depicted several previously unknown species. Watercolor number 183 features a detailed autographed commentary from Noury himself. Noury's text was mainly dedicated to his zoological findings with a smaller section on plants. The individual classes and sections are introduced by a summary table, which follows Milne Edwards zoological classification system of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, ringed animals, insects, myriapods, arachnids, crustaceans, molluscs, and zoophytes. His descriptions were often enriched with island anecdotes.Charles-Gaëtan Noury (1809-1869) was a French naval officer and naturalist. He boarded the Sirà ne in Brest, France in 1846 as the deputy to Commander Lavaud. Lavaud had been appointed governor of the French settlements in Oceania. While Lavaud served as governor, Noury had command of the Sirà ne and stationed in Papeete (Tahiti). He dedicated himself to scientific research there and with the help of painters produced this remarkable astonishing manuscript.Noury had one work published in Nantes in 1861 entitled Album Polynà sien de M. C. Noury, Capitaine de Vaisseau which showed images of tattoos and artifacts of South Sea curiosities. This work with 15 plates is currently on the market at 25,000 EUR.This one of a kind manuscript from Noury offered here remained undiscovered for over 160 years. It features 458 illustrations and hand-written scientific text that make it a truly astonishing work for any collection.Additional photos available upon request. --- The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. The bindings are slightly rubbed. There can be some faint foxing to title or illustrations. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions. --- Paper Size Image or Sheet Size ~ 12 3/4" by 8 1/4"; Mounting Card Size ~ 16 3/8" by 11 3/8" Image or Sheet Size ~ 12 3/4" by 8 1/4"; Mo. Signed by Author.

3 volumes. 16mo., (5 ¾ x 4 ¾ inches). ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT half-titles and vignette title pages LAVISHLY ILLUMINATED IN GILT AND COLOR. 113 EXQUISITE MINIATURE WATERCOLORS plus frontispieces; 3 engraved plates, original pen sketch and 2 photographic portraits inserted (very occasional offsetting, engraved plates slightly toned). Contemporary red morocco, green morocco gilt doublures, green moiré silk guards, by Marius Michel; red levant chemises and pull-off cases by Hardy-Mennil (chemises worn but holding). Provenance: With the armorial device of Léon Curmer (1801-1870) in the center and his monogram at head and foot of the doublures, his sale, Paris, 22 May 1874. With the bookplate to verso of front free endpaper of Robert Hoe, his sale, Part IV, Anderson Auction Company, 18 November 1912 (describing a fourth volume). General Brayton Ives, his sale, American Art Association, 6 April 1915. Donated to the Hispanic Society of American in 1955 by Archer M. Huntington (describing only three volumes, as here). Christie's sale 2059, Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana, 5 December 2008. A SUPERB COLLECTION OF MINIATURE PAINTINGS OF ROSES BY A STUDENT OF REDOUTÉ. Manuscript on paper. Includes "Histoire de la Rose" by Edouard Cadol and Delongchamps (1859), with quotations from French poets, written within blue and gold borders. Rembert was a student of Redouté who produced two such manuscripts for Curmer, the present one and "Les Fleurs" (February 1858-1861-3 April 1862). The prefatory page of "Les Fleurs" says of Rembert: "qui pourrait se glorifier d'etre élève de Redouté, s'il n'était lui-même un maître" ("who could boast of being Redouté's student, even if he himself was not a master"). "Les Roses" took two years to make and was described in the Curmer sale catalogue as an "admirable manuscript." The publisher and bookseller Léon Curmer (1801-1870), who specialized in botanical art, was one of the first publishers to make systematic use of chromolithography to reproduce Medieval illuminated manuscripts in color. He also applied this new and innovative technique to photography. He opened his bookshop in 1833, going bankrupt in 1845 but continuing to publish many works over the next 20 years. He is perhaps best known for his edition of "Paul et Virginie" (1836-1838), one of the most illustrated books of the Romantic period. Marius Michel (born Henry-François-Victor Michel, 1846-1925) was a French gilder and art binder trained by his father Jean Michel, becoming his partner in 1866 before founding a bindery together in 1876. "A CHARMING COLLECTION, the text of which is formed by the 'History of the Rose' by Edouard Cadol and Delongchamps, and by poems referring to the Rose. All the paintings were executed by Ferdinand Rembert from specimens furnished by the most celebrated cultivators of roses, and the butterflies and insects were painted after the suggestion of M. Deyrolle. The names of the roses were given by Eugène Verdier and Edouard André" (quoted in the Anderson catalogue: A Catalogue of Manuscripts Forming a Portion of the Library of Robert Hoe, New York: Privately Printed, 1909, p.197). Catalogued by Megan Scauri.

First edition. 21 vols bound in 20 (9 volumes quarto text, 1 volume elephant folio text [bound with Antiquities vol. I], 11 elephant folio plate volumes), the complete set of 894 plates of which 40 are wholly or partly printed in colours and or hand-coloured, and 2 printed in bistre, many double-page, and or folding, plate DD in Etat moderne II with fore-margin sometime renewed, scattered light foxing, contemporary calf gilt with marbled paper panels to covers (moiré cloth panels to natural history vols.), text volumes rebacked to style, spine gilt lettered and ruled. Antiquities, 5 vols: (I) Engraved frontispiece, map, 99 plates numbered 1-97 (plates 79 and 87 each in two states) + 1 unnumbered plate; Bound with folio text; (II). 92 plates numbered 1-92; (III). 69 plates numbered 1-69 ; (IV). 72 plates numbered 1-72 + 2 plates lettered e & f ; (V). 89 plates numbered 1-89. Etat Moderne, 2 vols. (I). Engraved map, 83 plates numbered 1-83; (II). 22 plates numbered 84-105 + 31 plates numbered I-XXXI + 11 plates lettered A-K + 9 plates lettered AA-II + 4 plates lettered KK-NN + 9 plates lettered a-i + 1 plate lettered k (JJ and j not used). Histoire Naturelle, 2 vols bound in 3: (I). 62 plates; (II). 105 plates; (II bis). 77 plates. Amongst the artists who contributed to this section are Barraband, Bessa, Redoute, and Turpin. Cartes Georaphique et topographique, engraved title & 52 engraved plates. First edition of one of the most ambitious scientific, historical, artistic and publishing projects - a complete set with fine English provenance. The first comprehensive description of ancient and modern Egypt, the outstanding achievement of the savants who accompanied Napoleon's expedition to Egypt (1798-1801). The work is the greatest of a number of outstanding scientific publications by the French government detailing the results of exploration, unequalled by any other nation during the same period. The only flaw in Napoleon's preparations for the invasion of Egypt was a miscalculation when it came to Turkey's reaction to France's unsolicited 'help' in dealing with its mostly unruly vassals, the Mamluks of Egypt. Had it not been for this, Napoleon's plan for following up military conquest by revolutionising the economy and institutions of Egypt might well have created a modern European-style state, controlled by France, at the axis of all the trade routes between Europe, India and the East. Plans to this end involved nearly 500 civilians, the cream of whom were about 150 men drawn from the Institut de France. Once in Egypt their first task was to make a thorough survey of every aspect of the country to assist the planning of its future shape, and this was extended to include Antiquities. The work was co-ordinated by L'Institut de l'Egypte (later replaced by the Commission des Sciences et Arts d'Egypte), founded in the appropriated house of Hassan Kachef (illustrated in the plates to the Etat Moderne), with Gaspar Monge as president. As early as October 1798 Fourier was entrusted with the task of uniting the reports of the various disciplines with a view to publication. Following the capitulation of the army to Egypt under General Menou (a convert to Islam), the savants returned to France where a commission was set up for the editing and supervision of the work. The first volumes were published by Napoleon's government, and it is a measure of how important this work was considered to be that publication continued following the Bourbon restoration. '. never before or since has a study of such scope and thoroughness been accomplished on the basis of field work carried out in so short a space of time and under such inadequate and harrowing circumstances' (J.C. Herold, Bonaparte in Egypt, 1963). Antiquities describes not only the ruins, but also the objects excavated, including the Rosetta Stone, here described for the first time. The quality of the plates was much enhanced by the use of an engraving machine invented by Conte, which is itself illustrated among the plates. Etat Moderne describes the architecture of Egypt subsequent to the Arab invasion in the seventh century, particularly Cairo, as well as sections on Art et Métiers, Costumes et Portraits, Vases, Meubles et Instruments, and Inscriptions, Monnaies et Médailles. Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland was the second son of Hugh, the second Duke, a distinguished naval officer and a man of science and learning, he rose to the rank of Admiral, and was First Lord of the Admiralty in 1852. He became Duke of Northumberland in 1847, and a Knight of the Garter in 1852. Atabey, 343; Blackmer, 476; Brunet II, 616-617; Nebenzahl, Maps of the Holy Land, 60; Nissen, BBI, 2234; Nissen, ZBI, 4608; Wilbour pp178-185.

Hardcover. Etat : Good. 1st Edition. A presente obra encontra-se em bom estado de conservação, contém manchas amareladas causadas pelo tempo e anotação a caneta na folha de rosto do volume 2. Na encadernação, há desgastes na capa e lombada. Formato: 15 x 22 Conservação da capa: Bom Estado Conservação do miolo: Bom Mess weight 8750g.

Half-Leather. Etat : Fine. Remainder of title: "Accompagné de descriptions par M. le Baron Cuvier, et M. A. de Chamisso, et d'observations sur les cranes humaines par M. le docteur Gall." Folio (16 x 10 inches): 2 letterpress title-pages dated 1820 and 1822, Dedication, list of subscribers and plates at end. Lithographic frontispiece portrait of Romanzoff and 104 hand-colored plates from drawings by the author, or after the author by Adam, Franquelin, Norblin Morlet and de Chamisso, folding map with route traced in color, 2 further maps on one leaf bound at end of volume (some spotting and browning). Contemporary French half red morocco, smooth spine gilt, marbled boards. "ONE OF THE VERY VALUABLE AND FUNDAMENTAL WORKS ON ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, AND THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS" (Lada-Mocarski). VERY RARE FULLY COLORED COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION of Choris' splendid plates to illustrate Kotzebue's world voyage of 1815-1818 on which he was expedition artist. Essentially, this is an illustrated album recording only the most memorable facts of the voyage but with full explanations of the plates--more of which relate to California, Hawaii, Kamchatka and Alaska than any other work of the period--and the Philippines, Chile and Easter Island. It is arranged in 8 sections which were first sold in 22 livraisons, 1820-1822 (although both Brunet and Howes state that publication ended in 1823). Two title-pages were printed, dated 1820 to accompany the first livraison, and 1822 for the successive parts. There was only one issue of the text and plates, according to Forbes, and although a lithographic portrait of the artist is found in a few copies, its presence does not constitute an issue point. Indeed, it may have been produced only after the work was completed. The text was written and edited by J.B. Eyries and the list of subscribers accounts for 188 copies. Two variant plates are noted by bibliographers, both present here: plate II for the Sandwich Islands shows Kamehameha in a black robe, and plate XVI has been re-worked to include a lush background with the artist seated in the foreground watching dancers. Choris' manuscript text of the voyage was never published but his album is highly prized for its beauty and its historical record. Forbes writes that it contains "a final and very beautiful pictorial examination of the Hawaiian Islands and of Hawaiian culture as it existed prior to the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, and prior to the abolition of the 'kapu' or feudal system following the king's death." REFERENCES: Brunet I:1851 (calling for 110 plates); Forbes 541; Hill 290; Howes C-397; Lada-Mocarski 84; Peters California on Stone pp. 97-98; Sabin 12884; Streeter sale IV:2461. Book.

2 volumes, folio (20 1/4 x 13 1/4 in.; 551.4 x 33.7 cm). 114 fine stipple engraved plates after Jacques Barraband by Bouquet, Grémilliet, and Perée, printed in color and finished by hand; half titles and indices in both volumes, errata leaf for both volumes at the end of vol. 2, this issue without the phrase "Libraire de S.A.I. le Prince Joseph" after Denné's name in the imprint; some marginal foxing to a few plates, scattered foxing or spotting affecting about a dozen plates, occasional foxing (chiefly marginal) to text. Fine contemporary diced Russia, paneled gilt, central gilt emblem of the arms of the Knight of Order of the Garter embellished with the armorial stag of the Earls of Dartmouth on an azured field, the spines in 7 compartments gilt, marbled endpapers, edges gilt; rebacked, preserving the original spines, hinges strengthened. FIRST EDITION OF LEVAILLANT'S SPECTACULAR WORK ON EXOTIC BIRDS. Until Gould, Levaillant was the unparalleled producer of the most comprehensive series of works on exotic birds (Fine Bird Books). The present work was originally issued in 19 parts between 1801 and 1806. The superb plates after Barraband effortlessly capture the striking, unique characteristics and rich coloring of each exotic bird species, featuring 24 birds of paradise; 15 rollers; 17 jays; 18 toucans, 24 barbets, 5 tamatias, 3 barbacous; and 8 jacamars. A pupil of Joseph Malaine, Barraband first worked as a draughtsman at the Gobelins tapestry factory and then as an artist for the Sèvres porcelain manufactory. But his work later in life for Levaillant undoubtedly marked the high point of his career and made abundantly clear why he was considered the best ornithological artist of his generation. FROM THE DISTINGUISHED LIBRARY OF THE EARLS OF DARTMOUTH, probably acquired by the 3rd Earl at the time his investiture as a Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1805. Dartmouth served as lord steward of the household from August 1802 and as lord chamberlain from May 1804. He was a trustee of the British Museum from 1802 to 1810. REFERENCES: Anker 304; Ayer/Zimmer p. 393; Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 118; C. Jackson, Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World (Woodbridge, 1999), p. 148; McGill/Wood p. 434; Nissen, IVB 559; Ronsil 1780 PROVENANCE: George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth (1755-1810, gilt supralibros); William Heneage Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth (1851-1936, early 20th century bookplate on front pastedown); A. J. Dearden (inscribed on bookplate and dated 1925 and on verso of front free endpaper of vol. 1).

4 volumes in 2, large folio (20 6/8 x 14 inches). Half-titles, title-pages for each volume in both French and Latin (spotted throughout, pages 29-80 in volume IV very browned). 137 of a possible 140 stipple-engraved plates printed in colours and finished by hand, by Bouquet, Dien, Gabriel, Massard and others after Dabnour, Poiteau, Pretre, P.J. Redoute and Turpin, including plates bis 25 in volume one, plates 2,4, 10 and 19 magnificent double-page plates, bis 1 in volume III (bound without plates 20, 31 and 32 from volume II as noted by Quaritch in 1976, some mostly marginal spotting throughout). Contemporary green paper boards, each spine with two red morocco lettering-pieces, all edges uncut (joints starting, extremities a bit worn). Provenance: with the green ink library stamp of the Society of St. Sulpicius at the end of both volumes, and on the title-page of volume III; Arpad Plesch, his sale Sotheby's 16th March 1976; Robert de Belder (1921-1995) and his wife Jelena de Belder-Koracic (1925-2003), horticulturists and proprietors of Arboretum Kalmthout, their sale Sotheby's 28th April 1987, lot 366 First edition, LARGE PAPER COPY, of which Brunet says: 'Il n'a ete tire que 150 exemplaires' (only 150 copies printed). The number of plates found in each copy varies: Dunthorne, Davy de Virille and Brunet mention 138 plates, Stafleu 137 of 140 plates. Regardless of the number, these magnificent coloured illustrations of the exotic flora of the West Indies are amongst the earliest published, and are surely the most sumptuous. When Europeans first arrived in the West Indies the islands were mostly covered by forest. Centuries of cultivation have altered that landscape considerably, but the islands remain rich in exotic native flora. The earliest botanical surveys of the islands were carried out by French and British naturalists, nearly two hundred years after the discovery of the Americas. These include the work of Plumier (1693, 1703, 1755-60) in the French colonies, and the work of Plukenet (1691), and Sloane (1696, 1707-1725) in the British colonies. Their publications are richly and superbly illustrated and depicted plants never before seen by the Europeans. Tussac was a French botanist born in Poitou, who moved to Martinique in 1786. "After some years collecting plants on Martinique, Tussac became curator of a botanic garden in Haiti. In 1802 he left Haiti and visited Jamaica before returning to France, where he later took up the directorship of the botanic garden at Angers (1816-1826). He published Flore des Antilles between 1808 and 1827 [as here]. Tussac made 2,000 drawings while in Martinique which were burnt in 1802 during the Haitian war of independence (his herbarium and manuscripts were saved, though the whereabouts of the latter is unknown). The tree fern Cyathea tussaccii (syn. Alsophila tussacii (Desv.) D.S. Conant) collected by Tussac was named after him by his son-in-law, Auguste Desvaux, also his successor at Angers" (Natural History Museum online). The plates are after the leading botanical artists of the time, such as Poiteau, Turpin, Pretre, Redoute and Risso. Dunthorne 312; Nissen 2017; Stafleu TL2 15.397. Catalogued by Kate Hunter.

FIRST EDITION OF THE MYSTERY PLAY MOUNTED IN ROUEN AT CHRISTMASTIME 1474 ON THIRTY-ONE TIMBER STAGES IN THE MARKET SQUARE. The primary platforms - all bearing signs - represented Paradise, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Syria, Rome, Hell and Limbo. Over two days, seventy-eight amateur actors recited the 15,000 verses, livened by burlesque, violence, the sublime and some dozen musical interludes. "THIS PLAY.GIVES MORE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE THAN ANY OTHER" (Brown). It dictates actors' movements and positions, the painted backdrops and the type, color and location of fixed furniture. The elaborate stage machinery included an immense dragon's head (Hell) whose jaws opened and closed for the damned, serpents and flames shooting from its nostrils, eyes and ears. THE MYSTÈRE'S POSITION IN MUSIC HISTORY IS MOST REMARKABLE. "HERE IS THE EARLIEST DESCRIPTION I HAVE ENCOUNTERED THAT IS CERTAINLY OF VOICES AND INSTRUMENTS WORKING TOGETHER IN WHAT ARE CLEARLY POLYPHONIC CHANSONS" (Fallows). The printer left space for the musical notation to be supplied in manuscript. The layout of text and incipits confirms the music belonged to the chansonnier repertoire, while detailed performance notes indicate vocalists took their pitch from the instrumentalists and performed simultaneously with them in at least one three-part chanson. THIS IS THE ONLY ROUEN MYSTERY PLAY TO BE PRINTED IN THE 15TH CENTURY. It amused generations of illiterate townsfolk, farmers and traders, who paid their admission to participate in two days of "living history". The printer, however, gambled that the educated wealthy would buy this luxurious folio, enticed in part by marginal references to the sources underpinning the plot and dialog. Two other complete examples survive (BnF and La Vallière-Ste.-Genéviève; the Soleinne-Vienna copy lacks the first leaf). None has manuscript music. Active from about 1495 to 1499, Baptiste Bourguet's press is known from seven editions, six in unique examples (all in Paris). With one hundred twenty-four edition-sheets, that offered here is by far the most ambitious. Another one has seven, and the remaining five one sheet each. Both Claudin and the British Museum Catalogue favor Rouen as Bourguet's place of activity. In good condition (oil spots on nine leaves, slightly foxed, one bifolium more so); from the library of Ernest Daguin, who commissioned the binding (Catalogue 4e pte. (1905) 1291 "Livre des plus précieux" & pl. 51). ISTC im00884100; GW M25773; CIBN M-560; Claudin, Histoire de l'imprimerie en France au XVe.siècle II: 336-40 "fort précieux". Brown, Music in the French Secular Theater, 1400-1550 18, 42-53, 98; Douhet, Dictionnaire des Mystères 523-29; Fallows, "Specific Information on the Ensembles for Composed Polyphony, 1400-1474" in Studies in the Performance of Late Medieval Music ed. Borman 109-159; Ferrari et al., The Staging of Religious Drama in Europe 6-7, 80, 90, 92, 157-158; Frank, The Medieval French Drama 172-73 & 189-91; Handschin, "Das Weihnachts-Mysterium von Rouen" in Acta Musicologica 7 (1935) 97-110 (groundbreaking); Happé, Cyclic Form and the English Mystery Plays 165-66; Runnalls, Les Mystères français imprimés 8a & pp. 12-15, 31, 61-63; Soleinne, Bibliothèque dramatique (1844) 533 "Rarissime" (now ÖNB); Tydeman, The Medieval European Stage 9-12, 282-84, 291-92, 310-11, 320-21. Blind-ruled brown morocco over heavy boards (Francisque Cuzin; short crack at the top of the front hinge), gilt-lettered title on the front panel, old blue edges.

First edition, first state; 2 vols; folio (53 x 35 cm); half-titles, 145 etched plates after illustrations by Jacques Barraband printed in colour and finished by hand, table of contents to end of each vol., occasional light spotting, mostly to margins; contemporary burgundy straight-grained morocco gilt, upper and lower panels with wide gilt borders of palmettes, enclosing Meander roll in blind and inner gilt panel, gilt spine in 7 compartments, all edges gilt, minor restoration to corners and spine caps, each vol. housed in red cloth clamshell case with contrasting black calf lettering-pieces to spine. First edition in the preferred folio format of this celebrated work, which stands in the front rank of ornithological books. An excellent copy of Levaillant's celebrated Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets, illustrated with 145 hand-finished etched colour-plates after original drawings by the French artist Jacques Barraband (d.1809), often considered one of the most beautiful colour-plate books of Napoleonic France. This copy has the title of volume one in its first state, with the date An IX (1801). 'After he had made himself Emperor, it was part of Napoleon's deliberate policy to initiate a series of magnificent publications that would vie with those undertaken to the orders of Louis XIV. These were sent as presents to crowned heads, men of science, and learned bodies, in evidence of the splendours of the Empire. In this manner many glorious books came into being, and it is in this light that we should see Redouté's Les Liliacées and his two works on the flowers of La Malmaison. The works of Levaillant owe their sumptuous character to the same impetus' (Fine Bird Books). Levaillant (1753-1824) inherited a passion for observation and travel from his childhood in Dutch Guiana, where his father was the French consul. He returned to France with his family, where he eventually became a merchant of natural history specimens. At 27, he travelled to Southern Africa with the Dutch East India Company, likely sponsored by Jacob Temminck to collect specimens for his collection. Levaillant was among the first explorer-naturalists to venture into the field to see and study birds in their natural habitats, resulting in some of the finest ornithological works ever produced. He was also a pioneer of travel writing; his colourful accounts of his journeys describe him as wearing 'court suits of "Blue-Boy" silk, with white gloves, ostrich-plume hat, and lace ruffs' to show respect for the animals he hunted (Fine Bird Books). He writes extensively about his close relationships with African companions and condemns the Dutch for their violence against Indigenous people in the region. His work is also notable for his use of French descriptive names for birds such as La Perrouche à face bleue, as opposed to the standard binomial nomenclature introduced by Carl Linnaeus. The artist Jacques Barraband had honed his skills as a draughtsman at the renowned Gobelins tapestry manufacturer in Paris, allowing him to create illustrations unparalleled in their delicacy and beauty. His drawings for the present work were printed in colour by Langlois, the great master of French colour printing in the early 19th century. The names of three of the birds described commemorate the artists involved in the production of the plates: Barraband, Langlois, and Bouquet, who executed the engravings. Anker 303; Fine Bird Books p.90; Zimmer p.392.

Couverture rigide. Etat : Très bon. Paris, Baudry, Libraire-Editeur, 1844.8 tomes reliés en 4 volumes in-8 de : I/ (2) ff., 349 pp. (mal chiffrées 449), (1) f. de table ; (2) ff., 329 pp., (1) f. de table ; II/ (2) ff., 386 pp., (1) f. de table ; (2) ff., 363 pp., table au verso de la p. 363 ; III/ (2) ff., 310 pp., (1) f. de table ; (2) ff., 287 pp., (1) p. de table ; IV/ (2) ff., 297 pp., (1) f. de table ; (2) ff., 329 pp, (1) f. de table.Demi-veau bleu glacé, dos à nerfs ornés de filets dorés, plats de papier marbré, tranches mouchetées. Élégantes reliure de l'époque. 207 x 129 mm. --- Édition originale « d'un chef-d'?uvre inégalé. L'un des livres les plus lus dans le monde entier. » (Dictionnaire des ?uvres).Vicaire, III, 359-360 ; Carteret, I, 235.« Rare et très recherché. Rarissime en belle condition d'époque, atteint de très fortes cotes ». (Marcel Clouzot, Guide du Bibliophile français).« Les héros de ces aventures sont quatre gentilshommes, amis inséparables, mousquetaires de Louis xiii : Athos, en réalité comte de la Fère, a été ruiné par un tragique mariage avec une aventurière ; il est devenu mousquetaire par désespoir, il a l'âme romantique, noble et hautaine ; Porthos,- dont le véritable nom est du Vallon, est un géant débonnaire et vaniteux ; Aramis, ou le chevalier d'Herblay, arraché à sa Vocation religieuse par une aventure galante, oscille continûment entre un vague mysticisme, une habileté dans les intrigues toute jésuitique, des amours secrètes et fort aristocratiques, et une bravoure pleine de fougue. Aux trois premiers compagnons vient se joindre d'Artagnan, un Gascon courageux et rusé, qui arrive de sa prince natale, nanti des plus folles ambitions et d'un maigre pécule ; il deviendra le héros de l'histoire ».L'habileté avec laquelle cette ?uvre est conduite ne se retrouve dans aucune autre du même genre.A côté du roman feuilleton, qui venait d'apparaître avec les Mystères de Paris d'Eugène Sue, Alexandre Dumas cr? /// Paris, Baudry, Libraire-Editeur, 1844.8 parts in 4 8vo volumes [207 x 129 mm]: I/ (2) ll., 349 pp. (wrongly numbered 449), (1) l. of table ; (2) ll., 329 pp., (1) l. of table ; II/ (2) ll., 386 pp., (1) l. of table ; (2) ll., 363 pp., table at the back of p. 363; III/ (2) ll., 310 pp., (1) l. of table ; (2) ll., 287 pp., (1) p. of table ; IV/ (2) ll., 297 pp., (1) l. of table ; (2) ll., 329 pp, (1) l. of table. Blue half-calf, ribbed spines decorated with gilt fillets, marbled paper covers, mottled edges. Elegant contemporary binding. --- The First edition of "The three musketeers appears as an unequalled masterpiece and remains one of the most widely read book in the whole world" (Dictionnaire des ?uvres).Vicaire, III, 359-360 ; Carteret, I, 235."Rare and very sought-after. Extremely rare in beautiful contemporary condition, reaches very high prices." (Marcel Clouzot, Guide du Bibliophile français)."The heroes of these adventures are four gentlemen, inseparable friends, Louis XIII's musketeers: Athos, actually count de la Fère, has been ruined by a tragic marriage with an adventurer woman; he became a musketeer as a last resort, he has a romantic, noble and haughty soul; Porthos, whose real name is du Vallon, is an easy-going conceited giant; Aramis, or the knight d'Herblay, torn from his religious vocation by a gallant adventure, continuously fluctuates between a vague mysticism, a typical Jesuit dexterity for intrigues, secret and very aristocratic loves, and a bravery full of passion. To the first three companions is joining D'Artagnan, a brave and crafty Gascon coming from his native province, endowed with the craziest ambitions and small savings; he becomes the hero of the story."The skillfulness with which the work is led is not to be found in any other of the kind.Next to the serial novel that just appeared with the Mysteries of Paris by Eugène Sue, Alexandre Dumas created a new genre by using the appeal that the history of France had towards the.

In-8 de (36)-106-(2) pp., maroquin rouge, dos orné à nerfs, armes poussées sur les plats et en pied de dos, frise dorée d'encadrement, tranches dorées (reliure du XVIIIe siècle). Exemplaire de l'auteur biffé, corrigé, annoté et enrichi de la main de Charles Perrault avec près de quatre-vingt dix interventions autographes à l'encre brune réparties sur l'ensemble du texte imprimé, plus une préface inédite (2 pages).Édition originale et seule publiée dédicacée à Jacques Bénigne Bossuet suivie de l'E?pi?tre chre?tienne sur la pe?nitence et de l'Ode aux nouveaux convertis de 1685 produite a? l?occasion de la re?vocation de l?e?dit de Nantes. L'illustration est composée de sept vignettes gravées par Sébastien Leclerc. « La dévotion à saint Paulin est très répandue dans la France du grand siècle. De nombreuses confréries se créent autour des années 1665-1670 ; pour accélérer le recrutement, on fait entrevoir aux fidèles la possibilité d'obtenir des reliques du saint. Elles se font longtemps attendre et arrivent en France en 1685. L'arrivée en France des reliques du saint des coliques et des fruits et légumes a éveillé un certain écho dans le milieu de l'humanisme dévôt et dans celui des amateurs de jardins (.) Saint Paulin est précédé d'une longue épître-dédicace à Bossuet. Perrault répond par avance aux objections que le lecteur serait tenté de lui faire (.). Mais on distingue vite, à travers l'exposé érudit, la véritable pensée de l'académicien. Son but est de se poser en doctrinaire de l'art moral. Saint Paulin est pour lui l'occasion d'expliquer et de mettre en pratique une idée qu'il considère comme essentielle : la nécessité pour la France d'élaborer un art de type nouveau, un art chrétien qui sera nécessairement supérieur à l'art barbare de la civilisation païenne » (Marc Soriano). Les corrections de Charles Perrault sont souvent importantes, pouvant porter sur des groupes de quatre à cinq alexandrins consécutifs, biffés, retouchés, parfois remplacés par des vers copiés dans les marges (pages 2, 7, 22, 36, 44, 49, 56, 62, 63, 74, 78, 79, 85). Les quatre premiers chants sont suivis d'un court résumé de sa main.Placée en tête d'exemplaire, une préface inédite, également reprise et biffée par ses soins, explicite les intentions de l'auteur après la publication de Saint Paulin : Préface (?) que ce Poème ait été bien reçu du public (?) Je nay pas laissé de le corriger en plusieurs endroits (?) si l'on était encore dans le genre d'Horace qui ne se (sentait) guère offensé de (nommer) quelques légers défauts dans un poème quand d'ailleurs il y rencontrait beaucoup de (?) qui lui plaisaient mais aujourd'hui on a tellement pris le contrepied de ce grand poète que quelques beautés que puisse avoir un poème on ne le puisse souffrir (?) la moindre négligence. Autrefois on passait légèrement sur ce qui était faible pour s'arrêter aux endroits qui avaient ou de la force ou de la délicatesse. Dans ce temps-ci on coule vite sur ce qui est beau pour ne faire attention qu'à ce qui est défectueux et digne de censure. Le plaisir de la lecture a changé d'objet (?). En regard de cette préface, est imprimé un essai typographique "Ministre saint / Croyons" répété quatre fois.« En publiant en 1686 son poe?me e?pique sur Saint Paulin, Perrault (1628-1703) avait certainement cherche? a? se faire une place e?minente dans les Lettres, car l?e?pope?e e?tait unanimement conside?re?e comme le genre litte?raire le plus difficile dans lequel, en France, tous ceux qui s?y e?taient essaye?s (et ils e?taient nombreux) avaient e?choue? Bussy-Rabutin e?tait alle? jusqu?a? dire qu?« un poe?me e?pique ne peut re?ussir en notre langue ; il est aise? de le prouver par des exemples. Le Moi?se, le Saint Louis, la Pucelle, le Clovis et l?Alaric en sont de bons te?moignages ». Celui qui y parviendrait serait imme?diatement consacre? Perrault fera d?ailleurs une deuxie?me tentative avec son Adam en 1696 et il chercha toujours a? sauver la valeur de son Saint Paulin contre les sarcasmes de Boileau, bien qu?il ait fini par e?tre oblige? d?avouer que son poe?me e?pique contenait quelques faiblesses » (Ge?rard Ge?linas, Charles Perrault revisite?, p. 251).Bel exemplaire, jamais décrit, relié en maroquin rouge aux armes de François Michel de Léon (Marseille 1727-1800), trésorier général des finances en Provence ; fils de Jean-Joseph et Marie-Anne de Borély, il a rassemblé toute sa vie une collection d?environ 1800 volumes concernant principalement l?histoire de la Provence. Il composa de nombreux ouvrages qui furent publiés. « Michel de Léon mourut dans sa ville natale le 17 janvier 1800, laissant toutes ses richesses si laborieusement acquises à son fils unique, qui les conserva jusqu?à sa mort. C?est alors qu?eut lieu la dispersion de la bibliothèque et des collections. Les ouvrages les plus rares furent vendus aux prix les plus infimes. Les bouquinistes et les fripiers, encombrés de livres de toutes sortes, achetés au poids du papier pour la plupart, s?en débarrassaient avec empressement. Heureusement, il se trouva des amateurs d?élite, les marquis de Clapiers et de Foresta, L. de Crozet et Second-Cresp, entre autres, qui recueillirent quelques-unes de ces précieuses épaves » (Émile Perrier).Brunet, IV, 509 ; Tchemerzine V, 166 ; Cioranescu, 54255 ; Olivier, Hermal, Roton, planche 1655 ; Émile Perrier, Les Bibliophiles et les collectionneurs provençaux anciens et modernes, Marseille, 1897, p. 354.

Quarante-six volumes grand in-4 (le tome 5 des Poissons relié en 2 volumes). Reliure de l'époque en maroquin rouge, roulette dorée en encadrement des plats, dos à faux nerfs ornés, avec titres et tomaison en lettres dorées, roulette intérieure dorée, tranches dorées (le 46e volume en reliure pastiche). Le dernier volume concernant les cétacés n'a pas été relié dans cette même série, ainsi que les 6 planches et les 2 cartes du Supplément V. Nous les joignons à l'exemplaire. Quelques rousseurs et menus défauts, quelques erreurs de pagination et de numérotation dans les planches, quelques feuillets et planches brunis dans l'ensemble. Néanmoins bel exemplaire à grandes marges dans une élégante reliure en maroquin rouge de l'époque.De la Bibliothèque de Mr de Podenas avec son Ex-libris armoriéEDITION ORIGINALE DE CE CHEF-D'OEUVRE DES SCIENCES NATURELLES DU XVIIIe SIECLE, dont les planches ou figures sont principalement dues à Jacques de SEVE père et fils.Les volumes sont illustrés de deux portraits de Buffon, 1262 planches et 16 cartes et tableaux, Les planches sont presque toutes l'?uvre du peintre et dessinateur Jacques de Sève, ou de son fils Jacques Eustache de Sève, à l'exception de la planche du cheval dessinée par Oudry.Notre exemplaire comprend toutes les planches de la série des Poissons AVANT LA LETTRE : elles ne sont ni numérotées ni paginées ni légendées. Seuls apparaissent parfois les noms des dessinateur et sculpteur.Naturaliste et écrivain français, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon (1707-1788), est l'auteur d'une monumentale Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, publiée en 36 volumes in-4 entre 1749 et 1788, à laquelle collaborèrent notamment Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton (1716-1800), Philibert Guéneau de Montbeliard (1720-1785) et l'abbé Gabriel Bexon (1748-1784). Divisée en sept parties, elle comprend : Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi 1749-1767 (15 vol.), Histoire naturelle des oiseaux 1770-1783 (9 vol.), Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière Supplément (Théorie de la Terre, minéraux, animaux quadrupèdes) 1774-1789 (7 vol.), Histoire naturelle des minéraux. 1783-1788 (5 vol. ou 6 selon que les cartes sont reliées en un volume d'atlas ou pas), Histoire naturelle des quadrupèdes ovipares et des serpens 1788-1789 (2 vol.), Histoire naturelle des poissons 1798-1803 (5 vol.) et Histoire naturelle des cétacées 1804 (1 vol.).Seules les quatre premières parties sont l'?uvre de Buffon. Les trois dernières, parues après sa mort, sont dues à Bernard Germain Étienne de La Ville, comte de Lacepède (1756-1825).L'Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roy de Buffon connut un succès immense, presque aussi important que l'Encyclopédie de Diderot et d'Alembert qui parut simultanément. Elle est de nos jours considérée comme l'une des réalisations les plus abouties du projet des Lumières.PMM 198. // ENGLISH // Forty-six large volumes in-4 (volume 5 of Les Poissons bound in 2 volumes). Bound in red morocco, gilt border on the boards, spines with false nerves, with titles and tomaison in gilt, inner gilt border, gilt edges (the 46th volume in pastiche binding). The last volume concerning cetaceans has not been bound in this same series, as well as the 6 plates and 2 maps of Supplement V. We enclose them with the copy. Some foxing and minor defects, some pagination and numbering errors in the plates, some browned leaves and plates throughout. Nevertheless a fine copy with large margins in an elegant contemporary red morocco binding.From the Library of Mr de Podenas with his armorial bookplateFirst edition of this masterpiece of natural sciences of the 18th century, whose plates or figures are mainly due to Jacques de SEVE father and son.The volumes are illustrated with two portraits of Buffon, 1262 plates and 16 maps and tables. The plates are almost all the work of the painter and draughtsman Jacques de Sève, or of his son Jacq.

Couverture rigide. Etat : Très bon. Normal 0 21 false false false FR X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tableau Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Edition originale du plus important voyage français entrepris dans le Pacifique au XIXe siècle. Bagnall, 1687 (partie); Davidson, pp. 115-6 (partie); Ferguson, 1341 (partie); Hill 2, 504 (partie); Hocken, p. 47 (partie); Sabin, 21210 (partie) ; Chadenat 60 ; Hill, p.88. Il s'agit de la première expédition de Dumont d'Urville, qui avait pour objet de préciser et de compléter les informations sur les îles du Pacifique déjà recueillies par Duperrey. Après avoir passé le Cap de Bonne Espérance, l'Astrolabe fit relâche à Port Jackson, avant de se diriger vers la Nouvelle Zélande et en particulier le détroit de Cook. Les navigateurs explorèrent ensuite les îles Tonga, une partie de l'archipel des Fiji, la Nouvelle Angleterre, la Nouvelle Guinée, Amboina, la Tasmanie, Vanikoro et Java. Grâce aux importantes collections et observations rapportées, l'expédition de Dumont d'Urville fut un grand succès scientifique. Les textes sont illustrés de 9 planches pour l'Histoire du voyage, 8 planches pour la Zoologie, 2 tableaux dépliants pour les Observations nautiques; les atlas contiennent un portrait, 8 cartes dont une en couleurs, et 239 planches (dont 57 coloriées) pour l'Histoire du voyage, 204 planches de zoologie, 80 planches de botanique. 1° Historique ? 10 tomes en 5 vol. avec gravures, et 2 Atlas de 247 belles planches, noires et coloriées : vues, paysages, portraits, types d?indigènes, scènes de m?urs, etc. 2° Zoologie ? 6 parties en 4 vol. in-8 avec 8 pl. et Atlas de 192 pl. coloriées. 3° Botanique ? 2 tomes en 1 vol. et Atlas de 80 pl. noires et coloriées. 4° Entomologie ? 2 tomes en 1 vol. et Atlas de 12 pl. coloriées. « The scientific voyage of the Astrolabe was arguably the most important and the most influential nineteenth-century French voyage to the Pacific. In addition to its comprehensive hydrographical work, especially in New Zealand, the Astrolabe scientists made extensive scientific observations and vast collections of natural history. The outstanding results of the expedition were published from 1830 to 1835. The atlases contain what are generally acknowledged to be some of the finest plates ever produced of the natural history, topography, and anthropology of the Australasian and South-west Pacific. Most of the fine topographical views are after Louis Auguste de Sainson. The official account of the voyage is rarely found complete ». Bon exemplaire de ce très important voyage dans le Pacifique, conservé dans ses reliures uniformes de l?époque. Il manque à cette collection les 2 tomes de texte de Philologie par Dumont d'Urville, et l'atlas d'hydrographie, d'un format supérieur aux autres atlas et qui manque souvent.

Couverture rigide. - Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, Paris 1859, 11,5x18cm, relié. - | Envois de Baudelaire & Hugo : la tempétueuse rencontre littéraire de l'Albatros et de l'Homme Océan | Édition originale, dont il n'a été tiré que 500 exemplaires. Portrait de Théophile Gautier gravé à l'eau forte par Emile Thérond en frontisipice. Importante lettre préface de Victor Hugo. Reliure en plein maroquin rouge, dos à cinq nerfs sertis de filets noirs, date dorée en queue, gardes et contreplats de papier à la cuve, ex-libris baudelairien de Renée Cortot encollé sur la première garde, couvertures conservées, tête dorée. Pâles rousseurs affectant les premiers et derniers feuillets, bel exemplaire parfaitement établi. Rare envoi autographe signé de Charles Baudelaire?: «?à mon ami Paul Meurice. Ch. Baudelaire.?» Un billet d'ex-dono autographe de Victor Hugo adressé à Paul Meurice à été joint à cet exemplaire par nos soins et monté sur onglet. Ce billet, qui ne fut sans doute jamais utilisé, avait été cependant préparé, avec quelques autres, par Victor Hugo pour offrir à son ami un exemplaire de ses uvres publiées à Paris, pendant son exil. Si l'histoire ne permit pas à Hugo d'adresser cet ouvrage à Meurice, ce billet d'envoi, jusqu'à lors non utilisé, ne pouvait être, selon nous, plus justement associé. Cette exceptionnelle dédicace manuscrite de Charles Baudelaire à Paul Meurice, véritable frère de substitution de Victor Hugo, porte le témoignage d'une rencontre littéraire unique entre deux des plus importants poètes français, Hugo et Baudelaire. Paul Meurice fut en effet l'intermédiaire indispensable entre le poète condamné et son illustre pair exilé, car demander à Victor Hugo d'associer leurs noms à cette élégie de Théophile Gautier fut une des grandes audaces de Charles Baudelaire et n'aurait sans doute eu aucune chance de se réaliser sans le précieux concours de Paul Meurice. Nègre de Dumas, auteur de Fanfan la Tulipe et des adaptations théâtrales de Victor Hugo, George Sand, Alexandre Dumas ou Théophile Gautier, Paul Meurice fut un écrivain de talent qui se tint dans l'ombre des grands artistes de son temps. Sa relation unique avec Victor Hugo lui conféra cependant un rôle déterminant dans l'histoire littéraire. Plus qu'un ami, Paul se substitua, avec Auguste Vacquerie, aux frères décédés de Victor Hugo?: «?j'ai perdu mes deux frères ; lui et vous, vous et lui, vous les remplacez ; seulement j'étais le cadet ; je suis devenu l'aîné, voilà toute la différence.?» C'est à ce frère de c ur (dont il fut le témoin de mariage au côté d'Ingres et Dumas) que le poète en exil confia ses intérêts littéraires et financiers et c'est lui qu'il désignera, avec Auguste Vacquerie, comme exécuteur testamentaire. Après la mort du poète, Meurice fondera la maison Victor Hugo qui est, aujourd'hui encore, une des plus célèbres demeures-musées d'écrivain. En 1859, la maison de Paul est devenue l'antichambre parisienne du rocher anglo-normand de Victor Hugo, et Baudelaire s'adresse donc naturellement à cet ambassadeur officiel. Les deux hommes se connaissent assez peu mais partagent un ami commun, Théophile Gautier, avec lequel Meurice travailla dès 1842 à une adaptation de Falstaff. Il est donc l'intermédiaire idéal pour s'assurer la bienveillance de l'inaccessible Hugo. Baudelaire avait pourtant déjà brièvement rencontré Victor Hugo. à dix-neuf ans, il sollicita une entrevue avec le plus grand poète moderne, auquel il vouait un culte depuis l'enfance?: «?Je vous aime comme on aime un héros, un livre, comme on aime purement et sans intérêt toute belle chose.?». Déjà, il se rêvait en digne successeur, comme il lui avoue à demi-mot?: «?à dix-neuf ans eussiez-vous hésité à en écrire autant à [.] Chateaubriand par exemple?». Pour le jeune apprenti poète, Victor Hugo appartient au passé, et Baudelaire souhaitera rapidement s'affranchir de ce pesant modèle. Dès son premier ouvrage, Le Salon de 1845, l'iconoclaste Baudelaire éreinte son ancienne idole en déclarant la fin du.

Couverture rigide. Etat : Très bon. Edition originale. 24 tomes de texte en 26 volumes in-8 et 11 volumes grand in-folio d'atlas (10 de planches et un atlas géographique).Demi-veau bleu glacé, dos lisses avec titres et tomaison en lettres dorées, plats recouverts de papier marbré bleu (reliure de Tessier relieur et doreur se S.A.R. le Duc d'Orléans, avec son étiquette au contreplat supérieur du volume Antiquités 1). (Dos des atlas refaits, plats conservés avec quelques restaurations de papier ; rares rousseurs légères, frontispice restauré). SECONDE EDITION de ce monument de l'histoire du livre comprenant 994 planches.L'ouvrage comprend: Texte: Antiquités. Description - 5 volumes. Antiquités. Mémoires - 4 volumes illustrés de 13 tableaux, 5 planches et 1 carte. Etat Moderne - 8 tomes en 10 volumes illustrés de 45 planches (en 25 feuilles), 17 tableaux (en 17 feuilles) et 2 cartes (ancienne et comparée de l'Egypte, - de la Basse-Egypte). Histoire Naturelle - 6 volumes illustrés de 2 tableaux (en 4 feuilles) et 1 planche. Explication des planches - 1 volume Atlas: Antiquités - 5 volumes illustrés du frontispice, 420 planches (compris le portrait de Louis XVIII) et un tableau. Etat Moderne - 2 volumes illustrés de 189 planches sur 181 feuilles. Histoire Naturelle - 2 tomes en 3 volumes illustrés de 245 planches. Atlas géographique - 1 volume illustré de 53 cartes et planches dont titre gravé à double page.Soit un total de 908 planches in-folio, auxquelles il faut rajouter l'illustration des volumes in8, soit 3 cartes, 32 tableaux et 51 planches.Très bel exemplaire. La Description de l'Egypte est le résultat de la collaboration des savants, artistes et techniciens qui suivirent Bonaparte en Egypte. C'est L'OUVRAGE LE PLUS MONUMENTAL JAMAIS CONSACRE A UN PEUPLE. Monge et Denou en furent les maîtres d'?uvre.Votée par le Directoire en avril 1798, l'expédition militaire en Egypte menée par Bonaparte se double d'une expédition scientifique.Pour cela, Bonaparte crée une commission des sciences et des arts composée de savants et experts ; au total, 167 personnes, toutes disciplines confondues, vont faire partie de l'expédition : physiciens, peintres, naturalistes, dessinateurs, mathématiciens, astronomes, géographes, architectes, sculpteurs, hommes de lettres, imprimeurs, etc. parmi lesquels Jacques Barraband, Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Jules-César Savigny, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Vivant Denon, Conté, Méchain, etc. Deux mois après leur arrivée en Egypte, Bonaparte crée l'Institut d'Egypte dans le but de consigner, reproduire et répertorier les travaux et recherches des savants dans les domaines multiples et variés de l'antiquité, l'architecture, la langue, l'artisanat, la musique, l'industrie, la minéralogie, la médecine, etc. Malgré tous les obstacles, l'expédition réussit à ramener une quantité de documents impressionnante et inédite. C'est grâce à la compétence de tous ces hommes que cette ?uvre monumentale a pu voir le jour.Publiée tout d'abord en 1809, la Description de l'Egypte ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française se divise en 4 grandes sections : l'Egypte Ancienne (antiquités), l'Egypte Moderne, l'Histoire Naturelle et la géographie.La seconde édition, dite de Panckoucke, de plus petit format, parut entre 1821 et 1829.La Description de l'Egypte ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française CONSTITUE AUJOURD'HUI ENCORE UNE SOURCE DOCUMENTAIRE DE PREMIER ORDRE, nombre d'édifices représentés sur les planches ayant été complètement détruits par la suite. Atabey, 343 (1st edition) ; Brunet, II, 617. // ENGLISH // 24 volumes of text in 26 volumes in-8 and 11 volumes large in-folio of atlases (10 of plates and a geographical atlas).Half blue glazed calf, smooth spines with titles and tomaison in gilt letters, boards covered with blue marbled paper (binding by Tessier, binder and gilder to H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans, with his label on the upper fro.

Hardcover. Etat : Near fine. First. BOUND FOR MARIE DE' MEDICI, QUEEN REGENT OF FRANCE. Paris: En la boutique de Nivelle. Chez Sebastien Cramoisy, 1617. First edition. Quarto (9 5/8" x 6 9/16", 244mm x 168mm). [Full collation available.] With two engraved full-page portraits by Gaultier. Bound in olive morocco, likely by Clovis Ève. On the boards, a triple gilt fillet border surrounding a semis of fleurs de lis, gilt. In the center, the heraldic achievement of Marie de' Medici, gilt (Olivier 2504, fer 2). In the corners, the crowned ciphers of Marie de' Medici, gilt (Olivier 2504, fer 4). On the spine, a double gilt fillet border surrounding a semis of fleurs de lis, gilt. Title gilt between double gilt fillets. Crowned cipher of Marie de' Medici at center, gilt. Dashed gilt rolls to the head- and tail-pieces as well as to the edges of the boards. Marbled end-papers. All edges gilt. Spine sunned. Some scuffing generally, but altogether an exceptionally solid and unsophisticated copy (A2-4 on new guards). Text-block ruled in russet throughout. Excellent margins. A few pencil marginalia (X's generally). The occasional spot, with some inkstains on the title-page. Hexagonal monogrammatic bookplate of Jean Bonna to the front paste-down. Label of Adolphe Bordes on the recto on the final blank. Louis IX of France (1214-1270) was later canonized as Saint Louis for his zealotry; his reign is a peak of the French middle ages. At the age of 12, Louis became king after the death of his father, and his mother, Blanche of Castile, was regent until he came of age in 1234. Louis died in Tunis during a crusade, and in 1297, Pope Boniface proclaimed him a saint. This extraordinary arc was described in 1309 by Jean de Joinville. Why, then, was a new edition brought forth some three centuries later? Claude Ménard found in Laval a previously unpublished manuscript of Joinville's life of St. Louis, along with several Latin texts related to the process of his canonization. He consequently brought out a much-improved edition. Ménard's endeavors on the subject were not, however, coincidental. With the death of Henry IV his son Louis became king at the age of 8. Henry's widow, Marie de' Medici (1575-1642) served as her son's regent until 1614. The mirroring of the early years of Louis IX can hardly be ignored (indeed, the portraits of Louis IX and XIII literally face one another), and so with hope of a second golden age under a beloved boy-king, Ménard dedicated the work to his namesake. Florentine Marie was never fully accepted by the French aristocracy. She kept her own cadre of Italians at court, and was in turn viewed with suspicion as a bourgeois foreigner. By the age of 15, Louis XIII had consolidated enough power to shake of the maternal yoke, and with the "coup de majesté" banished Marie from court (under house-arrest at Blois) in April of 1617. Clovis Ève (ca. 1565-1635) followed his father Nicolas as relieur du roi (royal bookbinder), and is best known for these bindings "à semis" (or semées) viz. gridded with fleurs-de-lis and interspersed with the monograms and arms of their owners. The fate of all royal material hinges, notionally, on the French Revolution. Adolphe Bordes compiled a library with a special interest in French religious texts and heraldry and wrote on his booklabel that he acquired the volume from the library of William Beckford. This is lot 1190 in the second portion of his legendary 1882 Sotheby's sale. The book then came to be owned by Jacques Guérin, in whose Hôtel Drouot sale (7 June 1990) the present copy was lot 29. Guérin was one of the great twentieth-century French bibliophiles, and is best known as a collector of Proust (he owned the manuscripts of À la recherche du temps perdu). Its final owner before its acquisition (his sale, Christie's London, 15 June 2015, lot 101) was Jean Bonna, the renowned collector of early French first editions (especially illustrated), and he had a nonpareil collection of them. Olivier 2504 (binding).

Couverture rigide. Etat : Très bon. Londres, printed for the author, 1789-1794.7 volumes grand in-4 de : I/ vii pp., (1) p., 41 pp. de texte, 1 aquarelle non numérotée, 43 aquarelles numérotées 1 à 41 (2 planches portent le n°18, 2 portent le n°19), 7 aquarelles d'?ufs numérotés de i à vii ; II/ (1) f. de titre, 46 pp. de texte, 45 aquarelles numérotées 42 à 86, 6 aquarelles d'?ufs numérotées de viii à xiii ; III/ (1) f. de titre, 42 pp. de texte, 41 aquarelles numérotées 87 à 127, 5 aquarelles d'?ufs numérotées de xiv à xviii ; IV/ (1) f. de titre, 39 pp. de texte, 38 aquarelles numérotées 118 à 155, 10 aquarelles d'?ufs numérotées de xix à xxviii, report de peinture sur la p. 32 ; V/ (1) f. de titre, 38 pp. de texte, 36 aquarelles numérotées 166 à 201, 9 aquarelles d'?ufs numérotées de xxix à xxxvii ; VI/ (1) f. de titre, 34 pp. de texte, 34 aquarelles numérotées 202 à 235, 10 aquarelles d'?ufs numérotées de xxxviii à xlvii, report du dessin sur certaines pp. de texte ; VII/ (1) f. de titre, 33 pp. de texte, 33 aquarelles numérotées 236 à 265 (2 planches portent les n°244, 250 et 255), 5 aquarelles d'?ufs numérotées de xlviii à lii, (3) ff. d'index, première garde détachée, pte. tache d'encre en marge de la pl. 22. Soit un total de 323 dessins aquarellés. Plein maroquin vert à grain long, triple filet doré encadrant les plats avec écoinçons aux angles, dos à nerfs ornés de filets dorés, tranches dorées. Reliure par H. Walther.340 x 279 mm. --- Edition originale de « l'ouvrage d'ornithologie anglais le plus rare », l'un des 60 luxueux exemplaires ornés de gouaches originales par Lewin et exclusivement réservés aux 60 souscripteurs.Nissen IVB 5623 ; Fine Bird Books p. 119 ; Jackson, Etchings, pp. 159-164 ; Wood, p. 435 ; Allibone, II, 1090 ; Graesse, Trésor de livres rares, 190 ; Brunet, 1037.L'illustration comprend 323 aquarelles originales à pleine page de William Lewin.Une entreprise d'une telle ampleur est unique dans /// Londres, printed for the author, 1789-1794.7 volumes large 4to [340 x 279 mm] of: I/ vii pp., (1) p., 41 pp. of text, 1 unnumbered watercolor, 43 watercolours numbered from 1 to 41 (2 plates bearing the number 18, and 2 bearing the number 19), 7 numbered watercolours of eggs from i to vii; II/ (1) title-page, 46 pp. of text, 45 watercolours numbered from 42 to 86, 6 numbered watercolours of eggs from viii to xiii; III/ (1) title-page, 42 pp. of text, 41 watercolours numbered from 87 to 127, 5 numbered watercolours of eggs from xiv to xviii; IV/ (1) title-page, 39 pp. of text, 38 numbered watercolours from 118 to 155, 10 numbered watercolours of eggs from xix to xxviii, transfer of painting on p.32; V/ (1) title-page, 38 pp. of text, 36 numbered watercolours from 166 to 201, 9 numbered watercolours of eggs from xxix to xxxvii; VI/ (1) title-page, 34 pp. of text, 34 watercolours numbered from 202 to 235, 10 watercolours of eggs numbered from xxxviii to xlviii, transfer of the drawing on some pp. of text; VII/ title-page, 33 pp. of text, 33 watercolours numbered from 236 to 265 (2 plates bearing the numbers 244, 250 and 255), 5 watercolours of eggs numbered from xlviii to lii, (3) ll. of index, first endpaper detached, small ink stain in the margin of pl. 22. In total 323 watercolored drawings. Full green straight-grained morocco, triple gilt fillet around the covers with spandrels in the corners, spines ribbed and decorated with gilt fillets, gilt edges. Binding by H. Walther. --- First edition of "the rarest of all English bird books", one of only 60 luxurious copies illustrated with original gouaches by Lewin and exclusively reserved for the 60 subscribers. Nissen IVB 5623; Fine Bird Books p. 119; Jackson, Etchings, pp. 159-164; Wood, p. 435; Allibone, II, 1090; Graesse, Trésor de livres rares, 190; Brunet, 1037.The illustration includes 323 original full-page watercolours by William Lewin.A production of such magnitude is unique in the history of ornitholo.

Hardcover. Etat : Near Fine. Histoire de la navigation de Jean Hugues de Linschot hollandois: aux Indes Orientales - Le Grand Routier de mer de Jean Hugues de Linschot hollandois. Contentant une instruction des routes & cours qui'il convient tenir en la Navigation des Indes Orientales.- Description de l'Amérique & des parties d'icelle, comme de la Nouvelle France, Floride, des Antilles, Iucaya, Cuba, Jamaica, &c. 3 parts in one volume, folio (12 1/4 x 8 in.; 31.1 x 20. 3 cm). Titles of Parts I-II within elaborate engraved border, engraved vignette on title of Part III, engraved portrait of Linschoten, 6 engraved folding maps, including the twin hemispherical world map by J.B. Vrient after Petrus Plancius (Shirley 192), 32 (of 36) engraved double or folding plates, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, separate pagination for each part but with continuous registration. CONDITION/BINDING: Lacking Church's plates 7, 34-36 (cf. Church 252), Part I title-page tipped in, leaf A2 guarded, plates toned, world map slightly trimmed along bottom, long marginal tears to maps of the Coasts of Abyssinia, Arabia, and Hindostan and of South America and the Antilles, occasional light toning in Part II, strong dampstaining and browning in Part III (quires Pp-Rr), lacking terminal blank. Eighteenth-century half speckled calf; rebacked with chips to spine and joint cracking near foot of spine, endpapers renewed. (64V1A) The third edition with additional commentary on the historical and scientific aspects of the accounts by the physician and natural history collector Bernardus Paludanus, whose annotations are printed in italics. The present edition is virtually a line-for-line reprint of the first French edition of 1619 but is illustrated with the original plates from the first edition of 1595-96-95 published in Dutch (Church 252) rather than with the reduced engravings used in the 1619 edition. During his five years in Goa in the service of the Portuguese, Linschoten recorded the caste system and social customs of India as well as its flora and fauna. Divided into three parts, the first deals with the East Indies and Africa, including regions as far east as China and Japan. The second book delineates navigation of the coasts of West Africa around the Cape of Good Hope to Arabia. The third section is devoted to North America, including Florida, the Caribbean, and Brazil. REFERENCES: Alden/Landis 638/67; JCB III, P. 271; Palau 138584; Sabin 41373.(6.4V.topleft).

Hardcover. Etat : Very good. First. First folio edition. Amsterdam: J.F. Bernard, 1730. Folio (20 1/8"x 13 15/16", 337mm x 511mm). [Full collation available.] With 184 hand-colored engraved plates on 94 leaves (4 with a single plate, 90 with two), numbered (single plates indicated with an asterisk): [1*] (general title-page), 1.I, 2.I, II-L*, 1.LI, 2.LI, LII-C*, CI-CLXIX CLXXI CLXXIII-CLXXXIV*. Bound in contemporary half speckled calf over speckled boards (re-backed, with the original back-strip laid down). On the spine, five raised bands. Title gilt to the second panel. Re-backed, with the original back-strip laid down. Scuffed generally and worn at the edges, with some skinning. End-papers creased, with the front end-papers laid in loose. The odd spot of foxing, but internally quite a good copy. Minor worming to the lower margin from the half-title (Ï 1) through D2. Pigment oxidation to the verso of most plates. Bookplate of Bob Luza to the front free end-paper. Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) came from a distinguished Swiss-German family; her father was Matthäus Merian and her grandfather Johann Theodor de Bry. In 1685, Merian moved with her two daughters and her mother into a Labadist community at Waltha Castle. She was so inspired by the Wunderkammer of Cornelis van Sommelsdijck, who had been governor of Surinam (Dutch Guiana or Suriname), at the castle, that she sailed for South America with her younger daughter Dorothea. There she studied, drew and collected specimens for nearly two years, focusing intently on the metamorphoses of insects there. Indeed, metamorphic insects were the principle subject of her lifelong study and publication, even before her time in Surinam; the first edition of the first part of the present work (with only European insects) was published in German in Nuremberg in 1679 as Der Raupen. It was issued in Dutch 1713-1714 as Der Rupsen. with the addition of a second part. Merian suffered a stroke in 1715 but completed the work with its third part, aided by her daughter Dorothea Maria Graff and incorporating additional material from Surinam sent by her elder daughter Johanna Helena Herolt, which was published in 1718 (after Merian's death) as the Erucarum ortus in three parts, with 150 plates in total. The work was translated into French by Jean Marret in 1730 as Histoire des insectes de l'Europe -- it now being necessary to distinguish Merian's European work from her South American. That 1730 edition was published in folio (with the same small plates, usually 2 or 4 to a page) with, according to Nissen, a total of 186 plates, including "18 nouvelles planches, dessinées par la même dame" and also in Dutch -- as the present item. Nissen disregards that two numbers, CLXX and CLXXII, are not independent plates, bringing the total plate-count to 184 (as Landwehr confirms). Four of those plates are title-wreaths (the first part-title being used as a general title, then pll. 1.LI, CI and CLXXI as the remaining three). The numbers are a little difficult to square; the fourth part, whose plates are rather larger -- ca. 203mm x 146mm -- than those of the original three parts -- ca. 154mm x 121mm, adds 31 plates (title + 30) and not 18. Bob Luza (1893-1980) was a Jewish physician in Amsterdam who amassed a large library, notably emblem books and other illustrated material. His large library was disbursed in a two-day sale by van Gendt in 1981. Cf. Hunt 483; Landwehr, Dutch Books 136 (46 leaves of plates, viz. 4 plates per leaf); Nissen, BBI 1342.

Large 8vo, Large Folio and Imp.-Folio. Text-volumes with 3 plates. Atlas-volumes with 2 frontispieces and 530 (of 533) lithogr. and engr. plates, maps and plans. Contemp. half calf, gilt. Sabin 21216; Nissen ZBI 1200. - Text-volumes: Dumont d'Urville. Histoire du voyage. 10 vols. 1841-1846; Vincendon-Dumoulin et Coupvent-Desbois. Physique. 1842; Vincendon-Dumoulin. Hydrographie. 2 vols. in 1. 1843-1851. 2 plates; Botanique. 2 vols. in 1. Vol. 1: Montagne, M. C. Plantes cellulaires. Vol. 2: Decaisne, J. Description des plantes vasculaires. 1845-1853; Hombron et Jacquinot. Zoologie. Vols. 1-4 (of 5). 1846-1853; Grange, M. J. Géologie, minéralogie et géographie physique du voyage. 2 parts in 1 vol. 1848. 1 plate.; Dumoutier. Anthropologie. 1854. - Atlas Pittoresque: 2 frontispieces, 198 plates and 9 maps. - Atlas Hydrographique: 57 maps. - Atlas Zoologique: 137 (of 140) plates. - Atlas Anthropologie: 50 plates. - Atlas Géologie, Minéralogie: 9 plates and 4 maps. - Atlas Botanique: 66 plates. - Atlas Zoologique lacking 3 plates: Mammifères, plate 20b: Dugong des Indes, details; Oiseaux, plate 12: Colombe de Félicie; Reptiles, plate 2: Proctotrète mosaique. - 2 plates loosely inserted: Poissons, plate 4: Centropiste tasmanien and Crustacés, plate 7: Lithode antarctique. - Some occasional browning or staining. A very nice set, uniformely and decoratively bound.

Couverture rigide. Etat : Très bon. London, Will. Gardiner, Robinsons, Paternoster-Row, 1802-1806.2 ouvrages reliés en 4 volumes in-folio. 362 planches imprimées à l'envers et coloriées à la main. Quelques rousseurs et piqûres. Relié en plein maroquin rouge à grain long, fleurons feuillagés dorés aux angles des plats, dos à nerfs richement ornés, roulette intérieure dorée à la grecque, tranches dorées. Quelques épidermures et restaurations à la reliure. Reliures uniformes de l'époque. 450 x 280 mm. --- Très rare exemplaire de ce magnifique ouvrage d'ornithologie, l'un des 25 imprimés sur grand-papier et tirés en contre-épreuve. Fine Bird Books, p. 74 ; Nissen IVB 286 et 288 ; Zimmer pp. 192-203. L'illustration superbe se compose de 362 planches à pleine page représentant des oiseaux d'espèces variées. Marquées du filigrane J. Whatman 1794 et Ruse & Turner 1801-05, elles ont toutes été finement coloriées à la main à l'époque, et revelent un fini plus doux que les planches de l'édition originale de 1743-51. Afin de ressembler à des aquarelles originales, elles furent tirées en contre-épreuves, une méthode techniquement ambitieuse qui fournit des impressions délicates sans cuvette : les estampes furent tirées à partir des épreuves originales fraichement imprimées et aussitôt repassées sous presse avec une seconde feuille de papier. Les gravures alors obtenues sont ainsi du même sens que le dessin d'origine. Cette méthode de production de planches était très coûteuse et prenait beaucoup de temps ; cela explique la rareté de ce type d'exemplaires. « George Edwards (1694-1773) was born at Stratford, Essex, and received his early education at a public school at Leytonstone, later being apprenticed to a tradesman in ? London. Having access to a large library of scientific books Edwards studied these assiduously and, having made up his mind not to enter business, decided to travel abroad. Between 1716 and 1733 he visited many foreign countries but i /// London, Will. Gardiner, Robinsons, Paternoster-Row, 1802-1806.2 works bound in 4 volumes folio [450 x 280 mm]. 362 plates printed back to front and hand-colored. A few foxing and spotting. Bound in red full straight-grained morocco, gilt fleurons in foliage on the corners, spines ribbed and richly decorated, gilt inner border in the Greek style. A few scratches and restorations on the binding. Contemporary uniform bindings. --- A very rare copy of this wonderful work of ornithology, one of 25 printed on large-paper and with reversed impressions. Fine Bird Books, p. 74; Nissen IVB 286 and 288; Zimmer pp. 192-203. The superb illustration is composed of 362 full-page plates representing birds of varied species. Marked with the watermark J. Whatman 1794 and Ruse & Turner 1801-05, all of them were finely contemporary hand-colored, and show a softer result than the plates of the first edition of 1743-51. In order to look like original watercolours, they have been printed in reversed impression, a technically ambitious method which provides delicate prints without dish: the engravings have been printed from the original proofs freshly printed and immediately sent again to press with a second leaf of paper. The engravings finally obtained are then in the same way than the original drawing. This method of production of plates was very expensive and was taking a lot of time; it explains the rarity of this kind of copies. « George Edwards (1694-1773) was born at Stratford, Essex, and received his early education at a public school at Leytonstone, later being apprenticed to a tradesman in ? London. Having access to a large library of scientific books Edwards studied these assiduously and, having made up his mind not to enter business, decided to travel abroad. Between 1716 and 1733 he visited many foreign countries but in December of the latter year settled down in London and, through the influence of Sir Hans Sloane, was chosen Librarian to the Royal College of Phys.