Paris (France)

First edition of the French translation, one of 26 lettered copies on Lana wove rag paper, issued as part of the tête-de-tirage.

A fine copy.

Rare first edition of this project, whose development was certainly collective (with contributions from several democrats, including Frédéric Charrassin, Charles Fauvety, Adolphe Louis Chouippe, and Alexandre Erdan), but which was authored by the neo-criticist philosopher Charles Renouvier (1815–1903).

Bound in contemporary half cherry-colored sheepskin, with a smooth spine adorned with gilt fillets; some rubbing to the spine and boards. Marbled paper over boards, handmade laid paper endpapers and pastedowns, modern bookplate affixed to the front pastedown, slightly bumped corners, minor tears to the joints, speckled edges. Original binding.

Minor, insignificant foxing.

The central idea of this work is that of direct government and direct legislation, inspired by the debate initiated by Rittinghausen.

At the time, this idea was considered utopian and dangerous—much like in contemporary debates—on the grounds that it would discredit the representative system and, contrary to the authors’ intentions, play into the hands of the emerging Caesarism (this was 1851...).

The book also presents other proposals for institutional reform, notably the adoption of the canton as the basic administrative and political unit of the nation, intended to form the true French commune.

Provenance: from the library of Georges and Geneviève Dubois, with their bookplate affixed to the front pastedown.

First edition of the author's third book, with no copies printed on deluxe paper, here a review copy.

Spine very lightly sunned, without seriousness, faint spotting to the board edges.

Rare and desirable presentation copy signed by Patrick Modiano to the woman of letters Christiane Baroche: "Pour Christiane ces boulevards de ceinture avec lesquels elle est bien indulgente. Avec l'amitié de Patrick."

First edition, one of 922 numbered copies on vellum paper.

Bound in contemporary tricolour half-shagreen with horizontal bands, the spine with seven raised bands framed by beige shagreen fillets, the boards in blue and red shagreen with wood-grain patterned panels evoking the white of the French flag; marbled endpapers and pastedowns; original wrappers and backstrip preserved; top edge gilt. Binding signed by Louis Gilbert.

Work illustrated with coloured pochoir plates by Jean Bruller.

A handsome copy in a period patriotic binding for this work of antimilitarist inspiration.

First edition, illustrated at the close of the volume with six plates printed out of text.

Only three copies recorded in the CCF (BnF, Institut, Strasbourg).

Our copy is preserved in its original state, issued in a temporary paper wrapper.

Spine restored at head with small losses; marginal losses to the soiled covers; two small adhesive strips along the right margins of the final plate; author’s name and title pencilled on the upper cover.

The study of Phoenician languages was the speciality of Auguste-Célestin Judas (1805–1873).

First edition of this pioneering work in the history of psychiatry (cf. Garrison & Morton 4920; Semelaigne I, pp. 68-73; Waller records only the 1770 German translation; Wellcome III 547; Blake 277).

Contemporary half calf with vellum-tipped corners, smooth spines gilt with decorative rolls, some rubbing and small wormholes to the spines, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges; bindings from the early nineteenth century.

Ink stains on pp. 72–76 of the first volume, a black ink spot at the head of the lower cover of the second volume, a few minor and unobtrusive foxmarks.

For Lorry, not all melancholic patients are driven by a single fixed idea, and melancholy is a state of mental disorder of physical origin, in which the mind—sharply disturbed by objects either external or produced by the imagination—becomes unable to resist, repel, or reason through the ideas arising from them. He identifies two forms of the condition, according to whether its origin lies in the solid parts or in the humours, which he terms nervous melancholy and humoral melancholy respectively.

"La mélancolie nerveuse peut parfois constituer l'hystérie chez la femme, l'hypochondrie chez l'homme ; ou bien c'est la manie vraie, ou encore, sans le moindre symptôme maniaque, elle consiste uniquement en convulsions. Il semble y avoir peu de différences entre la mélancolie et la manie, mais le mélancolique délire surtout sur ce qui le concerne en particulier, tandis que le délire maniaque s'étend à tous les sujets". Cf. Semelaigne.

Lorry (1726–1783) may also be regarded as the founder of dermatology in France (Tractatus de morbis cutaneis, Paris, G. Cavelier, 1777).

A pleasant copy, with generous margins.

First edition, printed in a small run, of this offprint from the Journal des savants.

Work illustrated with a finely engraved plate printed outside the text.

Some scattered foxing internally and to the wrappers.

Appointed in 1820 to the chair of archaeology at the Sorbonne, succeeding Quatremère de Quincy, Désiré Raoul-Rochette (1789–1854) was chiefly known for his expertise in Greek antiquity. He also served as curator of the Cabinet des médailles.

On the upper cover, authorial presentation inscription from Désiré Raoul-Rochette to the physician and botanist Henri Dutrochet (1776–1847), the discoverer of the phenomena of exosmosis and endosmosis.

First edition of this important work on former French Indochina, comprising:

• Geography and Travels. Volumes 1 to 7 (1901–1919), illustrated with 52 maps and portraits (40 in color), plus numerous plates and maps within the text or pagination.
• Miscellaneous Studies. Literature, History, Natural History. Volumes 1 to 3 (1898–1904), illustrated with 43 plates and maps (35 in color), plus numerous plates within the pagination.
• Atlas. Notices and Maps. 1 volume (1903), illustrated with 10 color maps.
• For 9 volumes (of 11) in the set: contemporary bindings in half green cloth with tips, smooth spines with some staining and fading, red morocco title labels (some with minor losses), red board covers with a checkered pattern, gray paper endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers bound in (some with minor angular losses, wrapper of volume 3 restored); for the remaining two volumes (Volumes 3 and 7): modern bindings in half green cloth with tips, matching the style of the other nine.

On the half-title page of Volume VI, signed autograph inscription by Auguste Pavie: "A l'ami Vitoux, hommage affectueux. A. Pavie."

Accompanying this set is: "Carte de l'Indo-Chine dressée par MM. les Capitaines Cupet, Friquegnon et de Malglaive membres de la Mission Pavie."

Printed in Paris by Augustin Challamel in 1893 (broadsheet, folded and linen-backed, with some foxing).

The map is housed in a modern half green cloth portfolio with tips, red oasis title label, red board covers, and a red full-cloth slipcase, designed to match the text volumes.

"A pioneer of new routes in Cambodia and Laos, and a key figure in French expansion in Indochina, Auguste Pavie (1847–1925) holds a privileged place among the explorers of this region. Born in Dinan, he joined the army at seventeen, served in Cochinchina with the Marine Infantry (1868), and was sent to Cambodia in 1875 (…). In 1876, he was commissioned by the Governor of Indochina to create a new map of Cambodia, taking advantage of the construction of a telegraph line between Phnom Penh and Bangkok (…). In 1885, Le Myre de Vilers, recognizing his abilities, appointed him to the delicate post of French Consul in Luang Prabang, where he was to defend the rights France had inherited from Annam over Laos (…). From Luang Prabang, Pavie undertook a series of journeys across Laos from 1887 to 1889, regions that Mouhot and F. Garnier had only briefly explored. His investigations focused on three main directions: east (Tran-Ninh, Plain of Jars); northeast (Hua-Panh); and north (Sip-Song-Chau). It was in this last area that Pavie concentrated his efforts, seeking safe routes to Tonkin in order to open up Laos and firmly link it to France's other Indochinese possessions (…). From 1888, Pavie was no longer alone. He surrounded himself with military collaborators—Cogniard, Cupet, Malglaive, Pennequin…—and civilians such as the young diplomat Lefèvre-Pontalis and the brilliant biologist Le Dantec. Within a few years, the Pavie Mission, a veritable geographical service, would number some forty members, not counting the many indigenous auxiliaries. Dispersed in small groups along different routes, the mission members multiplied the leader's efforts, covering considerable ground. Thus, in 1890–1891, surrounded by a large team of geographers, naturalists, doctors, ethnographers, and economists, Pavie successfully completed a vast territorial survey intended to establish the future borders between French Indochina, China, Siam, and Burma (…). The scientific results of this collective enterprise, unparalleled in the French Empire, were impressive. Extending far beyond Laos, the investigations covered Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia, and southern China. In total, some 600,000 km²—an area larger than France—were surveyed and partially mapped, and 70,000 km of land and river routes were recorded (…). Truly multidisciplinary, the Pavie Mission encompassed all fields of knowledge, neglecting neither history, nor literature, nor folklore…" (Cf. Numa Broc, Dictionnaire illustré des explorateurs français du XIXe siècle, Asie, pp. 366–368).

First edition, with no copies issued on deluxe paper.

A handsome copy.

With Pierre Bourdieu’s signed presentation inscription to the anthropologist Emmanuel Terray.

First edition, with a single copy recorded in the CCF (Dijon).

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers and housed in a plain blue interim cover, with a mounted title label at the head of the spine.

Some foxing.

The sole edition of this compilation, conceived primarily for fiscal purposes: indirect taxes at the time were levied chiefly on beverages.

The bookseller Louis Rondonneau (1759–1834) is renowned as the author, compiler, or editor of numerous legal codes, manuals, collections, and repertories of legislation and jurisprudence.

Third edition.

Our copy is preserved in its original state, issued in temporary blue paper wrappers, with some losses to the corners and a mounted title label on the spine.

Some light foxing.

Pierre-Auguste Mutel (1795–1847) entered the École Polytechnique in 1813, graduating 34th in the class of 1815, and went on to serve in the artillery corps.

Manuscript ex-libris of Becquerel, dated 24 October 1833; it is difficult to determine which member of this illustrious family should be associated with this provenance.

First edition printed on alfa wove paper.

A fine copy.

Inscribed and signed by Jacques Perret to Charles Linder, the presentation augmented with a small drawing depicting a ballot box topped with a tricolour flag.

First edition, one of the review copies.

A pleasing copy.

Signed presentation inscription from Paul Valéry to Germaine Fiévé : "... petit souvenir d'une collaboration sans mauvaises pensées et autres..."

First edition, one of the review copies.

Spine partially and lightly sun-faded without consequence, with a small restored nick at the head of the backstrip.

Author's signed presentation inscription from André Malraux to the diplomat and man of letters Pierre de Boisdeffre.

First edition of the French translation, one of 80 numbered copies on alfa paper issued in a special "du monde entier" wrapper, the only deluxe copies together with 35 on pur fil.

A handsome copy.

First edition, with no copies printed on deluxe paper, one of the publisher’s review copies.

Pleasing copy, complete with its publisher’s printed slip.

Autograph presentation inscription signed by Paul Valéry to Germaine Fiévé: "... petit souvenir d'une collaboration sans mauvaises pensées et autres..."

Autograph card, dated and signed, sent from his Paris residence to the writer Christiane Baroche, comprising twelve lines in blue ink.

With the accompanying handwritten envelope on which Christiane Baroche added "Leiris" in the upper right corner.

"5 avril 1979,

chère Christiane Baroche,

merci à vous ainsi qu’à tous ceux qui ont bien voulu m’adresser, par l’intermédiaire de Sud, un signe amical. Je ne puis qu’en être reconforté et trouver là un peu de courage dont je manque de plus en plus pour travailler ! Soyez donc certaine que votre idée m’a fait plaisir et croyez à mes sentiments les meilleurs. Michel Leiris."

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

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

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

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

Autograph note dated and signed by Marguerite Yourcenar, written from her Paris residence to journalist Marcel Baroche of the literary review Sud. Written on one of her visiting cards. 

Eighteen lines in green ink, with the autograph envelope addressed to her correspondent, concerning a proposed collaboration with Yourncenar initiated by the director of Sud.

[27 December 1980,
to the journal Sud, to Marcel Baroche,

Dear Sir, you have my acceptance of the proposal for a special issue on my work in 1982, together with my thanks in advance. There exist many photographs of me, a few of which strike me as fairly faithful likenesses: I do not personally possess any, but perhaps I may be able to find some to send you in due course. For the moment at least, I have no unpublished material to offer. Perhaps later…

With kind regards,
Marguerite Yourcenar.]

"27 décembre 1980, à la revue Sud, à marcel Baroche,

cher monsieur, vous avez mon acceptation au projet d'un numéro spécial sur mon oeuvre en 1982, et mes remerciements anticipés. Il existe de nombreuses photographies de moi dont quelques unes me paraissent ressemblantes : je n'en possède personnellement aucune, mais peut-être en trouverai-je à vous en envoyer en temps utile. Pour l'instant au moins, je ne possède aucun inédit à offrir. Plus tard peut-être... Bien sympathiquement Marguerite Yourcenar."

First edition, one of 35 numbered copies on Rivoli vellum, the only deluxe-paper issue.

A particularly handsome copy

First edition, one of 24 numbered copies on Vélin Rivoli, the only deluxe issue.

A particularly handsome copy.

First edition, one of 36 copies on pure-wire vellum, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

A particularly attractive copy.

First edition of the French translation, for which no deluxe paper copies were issued.

A handsome copy, complete with its photographic dust jacket showing a tiny tear at the head of the spine, with illustrations.

Inscribed and signed by Julio Cortázar to the writer Christiane Baroche: "Pour toi, Chirstiane, avec toute mon amitié. Julio."

Very rare first edition (125 copies printed according to Quérard) of this remarkable exposition of Talma’s dramaturgical principles, still regarded as a “revolutionary” actor despite his immense success (his friendship with Napoleon never wavered); the text was inserted the same year, 1825, at the beginning of the new edition of the Memoirs of Henri-Louis Caïn, known as Lekain (1729–1778), who was still considered in the early nineteenth century as one of the greatest tragedians of the eighteenth century.

See Quérard IX, 333.

Scattered foxing.

Full cherry-red long-grain morocco, smooth spine tooled with gilt fillets, garlands and fleurons, gilt rolls at head and tail, gilt fillet, garland and dotted border together with blind-stamped palmettes on the boards, small black speckling on the front board, blue endpapers and pastedowns, gilt lace border on the pastedowns, gilt fillets on the board edges, all edges gilt, contemporary binding.

A handsomely produced copy in a period Romantic full-morocco binding.

First edition, one of the 81 numbered copies on Holland paper, the only deluxe issue.

A handsome copy.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece and four plates after drawings from life by Voutier, engraved on copper by Normand fils (cf. Loukia Droulia, 429; Blackmer, 1750; not in Atabey).

Half black shagreen binding, spine restored, with four raised bands ruled in triple gilt fillets, aubergine paper boards, boards faded, gilt armorial device stamped to the upper cover, modern bookplate pasted at the head of a pastedown, contemporary binding.

Scattered foxing.

"Voutier went to Greece in 1821 and acted as ADC to Mavrocordatos on the Peta campaign" (Leonora Navari).

Distinguished provenance: copy bearing the arms of King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover (1771–1851), with his library’s red stamp on the verso of the title-page.

First edition, one of 65 copies on Arches; our copy is unnumbered but correctly justified "vergé d’Arches" at the foot of the lower cover. One of the only deluxe papers issued.

Two slight sunning marks at head and foot of the spine, which is also lightly pinched at the foot.

A pleasing copy.

First edition.

With press clippings laid in.

Half bronze sheep binding, spine with four raised bands framed with gilt pointillé and decorated with double gilt fillets, red sheep lettering-piece, a few small black spots and a light scratch to the spine, marbled paper boards, cat’s-eye patterned endpapers and pastedowns, contemporary binding.

A pleasing copy.

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

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

Bound at the end:

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

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

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

First edition from the Imprimerie Royale, complete in nine quarto volumes with all 262 black-and-white engraved plates.

Contemporary full polished and mottled calf, spines with raised bands decorated with guilloche tooling and gilt ornaments in the compartments, red morocco lettering-pieces and numbering-pieces, triple gilt fillet border on boards, double gilt fillet on board edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges. Minor variations in the tooling on volume 3.

In this set, some headcaps missing, 6 cm joints split at foot of volume 1, 6.5 cm and 6 cm at foot of volume 2, 3.5 cm at head of volume 3, corners bumped, scratches and minor restoration to boards, including a more significant repair on volume 7 measuring 11 cm, browning in left margin of lower board of volume 4.

In this copy: some worming, several instances of dampstaining throughout the set, more pronounced in volumes 1, 3, and 8, some tears, restored on the title page and on pp. ix and xxiii of volume 1, also restored on p. 496 of volume 2, on pp. 259 and 260 of volume 3, on pp. 481 and 482 of volume 4, and on pp. 173 to 176 of volume 5.

Copy with some marginal annotations: in volume 2, a manuscript footnote added in ink on p. 541 ("Voyez les Planches enluminures n°491"), erroneous manuscript dates in ink in volumes 2 and 8, the number "18" annotated in ink in the upper right corner of the rear endpaper of volume 9.

Copy richly illustrated with drawings by Jacques de Sève, engraved by Robert de Launay, Lucas, Michel, Madeleine-Thérèse Rousselet, C. Baron, Hubert, Catherine Haussard, Carl Gottlieb Guttenberg, Jean-Guillaume Blanchon, Menil, Dufour, Louis Claude Legrand, Claude Mathieu Fessard, Elisabeth Haussard, François Hubert, A.-B. Duhamel, Mlle Mansard, C. Baquoy, Heinrich Guttenberg, Laurent Guyot, Benazeth, Schmitz, Marie-Anne Rousselet (M. R. veuve Tardieu), Louis-Gabriel Monnier, Pierre-Étienne Moitte, Jean-Louis de Lignon, Levillain, N. du Four, Thomas Chambars, Nicolas Thomas, Luigi Valperga, and George Louis Biosse.

Accompanied by two additional plates, heightened in color, numbered XX and XXII, from a volume 7 of the Histoire naturelle des oiseaux.

Rare first edition illustrated with 10 folding plates, including 5 grammatical tables and 5 plates of calligraphy.

Not recorded in Blackmer, Atabey or Hage Chahine.

Half olive-green calf, spine with four raised bands framed with gilt garlands and decorated with small blind-stamped floral tools, black morocco title and author labels, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding.

Spine slightly darkened, small paper losses to the upper right corners of the first leaves not affecting the text, some foxing mainly at the end of the volume. Much better known for his role in the mission sent by Napoleon to the Shah of Persia to negotiate a counter-alliance against Turkey, Amédée Jaubert (1779–1847) was a distinguished orientalist, professor of Persian at the Collège de France, and of Turkish at the École des langues orientales, of which he became president in 1838.

First edition of the French translation and notes prepared by Billecocq (cf. Sabin, 41879; Leclerc, 943; Field, 947; Howes, 443; Staton-Trenlaine, Bibliogr. of Canadiana, 597 for the original edition).

Half mottled calf, smooth spine decorated with gilt tools, brown shagreen title-piece, marbled paper boards slightly darkened and faded at the edges, red edges; modern binding.

Stamp on the half-title, a light marginal dampstain affecting the outer margins of the final leaves.

Illustrated with a folding copper-engraved map by P. F. Tardieu, “Des pays situés à l'ouest du Canada”.

“The interest of the work lies in the detailed and relatively objective descriptions it provides of Indigenous life (…) The work is also of great value for its extensive lists of terms used by the Inuit, the Agniers, the Algonquins, the Mohegans, the Chaouanons and the Saulteaux.” Cf. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, IV, pp. 524–525.

First edition, illustrated with seven folding plates.

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

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

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

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

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

First edition of the French translation, with no issue on deluxe paper.

Minor surface scuffs along the margins of the front wrapper.

With a fine signed presentation inscription by Italo Calvino: "A Michel Tournier avec le souvenir de Italo Calvino. Mai 1974."

First edition on standard paper.

A handsome copy, complete with its publisher’s wraparound band.

Fine presentation inscription signed by Milan Kundera: "Paris 1998. Pour Michel Tournier avec l'amitié fidèle de Milan Kundera."

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

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

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

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

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

In this copy:

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

Third edition, partially revised and corrected, incorporating new material.

Bradel binding in olive-green half percaline, smooth spine, bordeaux morocco-grained shagreen lettering-piece; restored and lightly soiled original wrappers preserved; modern binding.

Some scattered foxing, bookplate mounted on the verso of the front wrapper, traces of adhesive at the head and foot of the endpapers.

The first edition appeared in 1868.

This collection of twenty-six short independent pieces chiefly concerns the Chinese world and its adjacent regions (Indochina and Japan).

First edition, with no copies issued on deluxe paper.

Backstrip lightly creased, minor corner creases to the covers.

Inscribed, dated, and signed by Marguerite Duras to Yvonne Beaujour.

First edition, with no deluxe paper issue, one of the review copies.

A pleasing copy.

Inscribed, dated and signed by Annie Ernaux to her friend, the writer Christiane Baroche.

First edition of these observations and proposed reforms concerning the Navy. Pierre-Alexandre Forfait (1752–1807) served as Minister of the Navy from November 1799 to October 1801.

Contemporary full fawn calf, mottled and polished, smooth spine tooled with gilt decorative compartments and false bands, red shagreen lettering-piece, joints lightly rubbed, boards framed with delicate gilt rolls, a few abrasions and small losses to the leather at the lower edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners softened, all edges gilt, a period binding.

Pierre-Alexandre Forfait (1752–1807) served as Minister of the Navy from November 1799 to October 1801.

Forfait and Bonaparte met in Venice around 1798, and it was he who "forma" the future Emperor in the principles of naval warfare that Napoleon would later wage against England.

In this pamphlet, he characterises the English in the following terms « … ces dominateurs des mers ne donneront jamais le temps nécessaire pour recréer et former une marine par les moyens ordinaires, la navigation marchande ou la pêche … Comptez qu'ils vous déclareront toujours la guerre, ou vous la feront sans la déclarer, avant que vos forces navales aient pu atteindre son degré de développement qui puisse les inquiéter ».

The plan of 21 July 1803, in which the flotilla was to operate without the support of the Navy, clearly demonstrates the deep influence Forfait’s ideas had on Bonaparte.

However, the group formed by Decrès, Ganteaume, Bruix and Villeneuve during the Egyptian campaign exerted a powerful influence on Napoleon; and Decrès ultimately succeeded in definitively supplanting Forfait.

Provenance: manuscript ex-libris of Decrès mounted on a pastedown; he succeeded the author as Minister of the Navy and remained in office until 1814.

First edition (cf. Martin & Walter, 16 491; Monglond III, 630; not in Schefer, Blackmer or Atabey).

Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine with a vertically lettered fawn sheepskin label, red edges; a modern binding.

Some foxing; marginal staining to the upper edges of the final leaves.

Excellent abridgement of General Hénin de Cuvillers’ diplomatic mission to Constantinople (1793–1795).

Upon his return from Turkey, Hénin (born 1755) took part in the Italian campaign of 1796 and was wounded at Caldiero and Arcole.

Appointed in 1802 as assistant to the general staff in Saint-Domingue, he was entrusted by Rochambeau with the colony’s military archives, which he brought back to Paris in 1804.

His military career under the Empire ended in 1813, when he was required to justify himself before the Grenoble court martial following the evacuation of the Simplon, deemed too hasty.

Granted retirement in 1815, he lived until 1841.

The 164 dispatches summarised in this volume provide valuable insights into diplomatic life in Constantinople, relations with the Revolutionary government, news from the Asian trading posts, the situation in the Levant, and maritime and military affairs.

New edition, illustrated with 111 drawings by Neuville and Riou. 7 plates some of which in color.
Publisher's gilt Globe binding, upper plate signed Blancheland, Engel relieur, spine with lighthouse, second plate of Engel H type, publisher's catalogue Y at end of volume.
Fine copy despite the last endpaper hinge partly split.
Undoubtedly the most famous of Jules Verne's novels, featuring the mythical figure of Captain Nemo and his legendary submarine, the Nautilus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unique ensemble of works devoted to the philanthropic achievements of the Marquise d'Aligre (1776–1843).

Full olive-green calf, the spine slightly darkened, with five raised bands framed by triple gilt fillets and decorated with double gilt panels; gilt roll tools on the partially worn headcaps, rubbing to joints, gilt scrolling borders on the covers, gilt armorial device stamped at the centre of the upper cover, large blind-stamped fleuron at the centre of the lower cover; marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle border on the pastedowns, gilt edges somewhat dulled on the board edges, all edges gilt; lower corners softened; contemporary binding.

A few scattered spots.

The volume is bound with the arms of the Marquise d'Aligre’s husband, Étienne-Jean-François-Charles, Marquis d'Aligre (1770–1847), member of the Conseil général de la Seine in 1803, chamberlain to Caroline Murat (1804), peer of France under the Restoration, and supporter of the constitutional and liberal monarchy.

Louise Camus de Pontcarré, whom he married in 1810, was his second wife—and his first cousin.

"Femme de bien, possédant, comme son mari, une fortune considérable, elle s'associa à toutes ses oeuvres, les développant et en créant des nouvelles. Parmi celles-ci, il faut citer notamment l'asile d'Aligre à Chartres, l'hôpital d'Aligre à Bonneval (Eure-et-Loir), l'hôpital de Bourbon-Lancy (Saône-et-Loire)" [Dict. de biogr. française].

We provide below a detailed list of the pieces gathered in this volume:

• GRANDPERRET (Th.). Eloge de madame la marquise d'Aligre (…) Mémoire couronné par l'Académie royale des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Lyon. Lyon, Impr. et Lith. de Chanoine et Comp., 1846, 1 unnumbered leaf, 69 pp., double lithographed portrait on a tinted background. "La ville de Lyon se glorifie de posséder les plus beaux établissements que les particuliers aient élevés au soulagement des malheureux. Madame d'Aligre les vit et fut inspirée par ces grands exemples ! Il appartenait donc à l'Académie de Lyon de mettre au concours l'éloge de cette noble et charitable dame". These are the opening lines printed on the leaf bound after the half-title, followed by another leaf setting out the competition’s terms. – Inauguration de la chapelle et de la fontaine élevées à la mémoire de madame d'Aligre à Bourbon-Lancy. S.l., Impr. Gratiot, [1845], 2 unnumbered leaves.
• – CHALONS D'ARGE (A.P.). Madame la marquise d'Aligre. Sa vie, ses fondations, sa mort. [Paris], Impr. Gratiot, 1847, 2 unnumbered leaves and 29 pp. This pamphlet repeats the two introductory announcement leaves and the double lithographed portrait described above under "Grandperret". The half-title has been bound upside down.
• – GOUIN (Ed.). La marquise d'Aligre. Paris, Impr. Gratiot, 1847, 2 unnumbered leaves and 53 pp. With the two announcement leaves and the portrait.

First edition on ordinary paper.

A vertical crease along the right margin of the upper cover, which also shows a tiny blemish at the head; a complete copy retaining its publisher’s wraparound band.

Fine presentation inscription signed by Pascal Quignard: "Pour Michel Tournier cette terrasse à Rome, avec mon meilleur souvenir. Pascal Quignard."

First edition, with no deluxe paper issue.

The covers are faintly and marginally toned; a pleasing copy overall.

Moving and precious presentation copy signed by Jacques Julliard: "Pour Simone Veil à elle qui a été de tous les combats contre ce fascisme qui vient... pour lui dire estime et amitié. Jacques Julliard."

First issue of the fifty large hors-texte lithographs drawn from life by Henry John Terry (cf. Vicaire, VII, 1164).

Publisher’s binding in full red cloth, smooth spine decorated with blind-ruled compartments and fillets, light rubbing to the head- and tailcaps, gilt-lettered title on the front board, yellow endpapers, trace of a removed bookplate on one pastedown, one lower corner softened, slight discoloration to the lower left corner of the rear board, occasional marginal foxing, a small loss to the foot of page 119, and minor wormholes at the foot of the last three leaves, not affecting the text.

The fifty striking black lithographs depict the most picturesque views of Haute-Savoie.

Henry John Terry, originally from England, studied in Geneva under Alexandre Calame, the foremost Swiss landscape painter of the nineteenth century, and later settled in the country.

A well-preserved copy in the publisher’s original cloth.

First edition, issued without any deluxe paper copies.

Occasional marginal tears to upper part of front cover, small lacks of paper to spine-ends, lack of paper to the lower left corner of the lower cover, and a small snag to lower part of lower cover.

Exceptional presentation copy from one woman writer to another, addressed by Georges de Peyrebrune to Jane Catulle Mendès: "pour mon exquise confrère / pour ma charmante amie / Madame Catulle Mendès / En souvenir / Peyrebrune".

First editions by Peyrebrune and even more so her inscribed copies are decidedly scarce: "it is still very difficult to find Peyrebrune's books nowadays" (Sophie Ménard).

First edition of each volume.

The first work lacks its map, while the second retains it.

Full marbled blond calf binding, smooth spines decorated with gilt floral and scroll motifs, red calf title labels, gilt fillet borders on the covers, gilt roll tooling along the edges, cat’s-eye endpapers and pastedowns, green edges, contemporary binding.

Restorations to the spines, joints fragile, repairs to the title leaves, handwritten notes at the head of the first page of text in each volume.

First edition on ordinary paper.

Pages 10–11 lightly sunned owing to the presence of a newspaper clipping.

Fine presentation inscription signed by André Pieyre de Mandiargues: "à  Michel Tournier en très cordiale sympathie. André PM."

First edition, one of 1050 numbered copies on alfa paper.
Two very slight sunning without gravity to head of boards, handsome copy.
Paperboard binding after Mario Prassinos' original design.

Very rare first edition.

This printing does not include the two maps later added by the publisher in the second issue, intended to illustrate the itinerary for readers who had not acquired the atlas (corresponding to plates XVIII and XXIV of the atlas), cf. Hage Chahine 3995. Röhricht 480-481. Chadenat 1712.

The text volume is largely unopened and includes one full-page plate.

The atlas volume, housed in a red full-cloth box and slipcase, is complete with all 27 plates (numbered I to XXVI, XVIII [bis]; plates XIX-XX are printed on a single sheet).

A very fine and rare copy in its original condition.

First edition, with no deluxe paper issue.

A handsome copy, with the promotional leaflet loosely inserted; the verso is creased and shows a tear.

Fine dated and signed presentation inscription from Annie Ernaux to the writer Christiane Baroche: "Pour Christiane,qui m'a fait "naître" dans le bonheur il y a dix ans. Annie. 3/02/84."

First edition of the French translation (cf. Atabey, 557 (text) and 569 (atlas). Blackmer, 788 (atlas). Hage Chahine, 2105.)

Contemporary half brown shagreen, spines uniformly sunned and faded, raised bands framed with black fillets, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers, gilt edges; a few lightly rubbed corners, one small defect to the foot of the edges of the fifteenth volume.

Some light foxing in the text volumes.

The atlas volume, folio, is issued in parts under ten beige paper wrappers with printed blue labels; the wrapper of part 6 is lacking; the general map of the Ottoman Empire has been restored in the final part; light foxing to the covers.

The original German edition was published in Budapest in ten volumes between 1827 and 1835. The illustrations comprise thirty-nine maps and plans—principally battle plans—prepared by the translator J. J. Hellert. The text includes eight folding genealogical tables of Ottoman princes and high dignitaries.

Joseph von Hammer, a renowned Austrian orientalist and diplomat, was born in Graz (Styria) in 1774. He entered the Royal Academy of Oriental Languages in Vienna, where he studied Turkish, Persian and Arabic. In 1799 he undertook his first journey to Constantinople; the following year he joined the British admiral Sidney Smith in the campaign against the French in Egypt as interpreter and translator. He attended the grand vizier’s council at Jaffa and the surrender of Alexandria. In 1802 he became secretary to the Austrian legation in Constantinople, from which he travelled into Asia Minor and Greece. Posted in 1806 to the consulate-general at Jassy in Moldavia, he was appointed interpreter at the Viennese chancellery in 1807. In 1817 he rose to the rank of court councillor. After inheriting the estates of the Counts of Purgstall, he added their name to his own and was created baron in 1835. He translated numerous oriental works into German and played a major role in the founding of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, serving as its first president from 1848 to 1849. He died in Vienna in 1856. "Aucun orientaliste avant lui n'a connu plus intimement les peuples musulmans et n'a autant contribué à nous faire connaître leurs mœurs, leur histoire et leur littérature […]. Il passa trente ans à réunir les documents [de son Histoire de l'Empire ottoman], qu'il a tirée de manuscrits orientaux et des archives de Saint-Marc à Venise, de celles de Vienne, et de tous les ouvrages publiés en Europe sur l'Empire ottoman" (Hoefer, XXIII, 259-267). Provenance: S. H. Weiss bookshop in Constantinople, located on the Grande Rue de Pera opposite the Russian consulate (label in each text volume).

Rare work. 

First edition, illustrated with 39 double-page colour maps.

Publisher’s binding of brown textured cloth backed with matching corners, smooth spine without lettering, showing rubbing with some fraying to the cloth; title stamped to the upper board; marbled endpapers; corners worn. Publisher’s binding.

Scattered, insignificant foxing; the table of contents leaf is creased; a dampstain with discoloration and paper loss to the foot of the rear board.

This is the last of the major general atlases of the French colonies to appear before the upheavals of the Second World War. Through both text and cartography, it offers an exceptionally comprehensive survey of France’s overseas possessions, each geographical area being treated in a separate section (North Africa, French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarenes, Indochina, Oceania, the Antilles, the French Mandate in the Levant), concluding with a substantial index.

The son of the explorer Maurice Grandidier, Guillaume Grandidier (1873–1957) was above all a geographer, and — like his father — a specialist on Madagascar.

Laid in: Study map of the principal transport routes of Central-West Africa (southern Sahara), a large folding map (with significant paper loss along one fold).

First edition, one of 12, 13, or 14 numbered copies on Whatman paper depending on the volume, the only deluxe paper copies. The first three volumes had no limited deluxe paper issue and are from an edition of 3,000 copies each. The Whatman copies are as follows:
- 12 copies for volumes seven, eight, nine, twelve, and thirteen,

- 13 copies for volumes four, five, six, ten, and eleven,

- 14 copies for the final four volumes.
Half dark brown morocco with bands, smooth spines, author, title, and volume numbers tooled in palladium, vellum-style boards, plain endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved for every volume, top edges in palladium (uncut for the Whatman copies), bindings signed by René Kieffer (binder’s stamp and label on the first endpaper of each volume). Head of vol. 2 lightly rubbed.

Copy belonging to Charles Péguy’s collaborator André Bourgeois, administrator of the Cahiers de la quinzaine (literary magazine which published this novel). It exceptionally contains valuable bound-in manuscript notes by Romain Rolland and Péguy.

This exceedingly rare set in first edition is handsomely bound by the great René Kieffer. It contains every volume issued on deluxe paper - these being "deuxième exemplaire de souche", i.e. name copies of the administrator after Charles Péguy's copy and before the printer's.

New edition, partly original, revised, corrected and enlarged.

Bound in full red morocco, spines with five raised bands decorated with gilt garlands and compartments adorned with crowned “LL” monograms, gilt rolls on the caps, triple gilt fillets framing the covers, gilt armorial stamps of Louis XV at the centre of each board, gilt dentelle border on the turn-ins, gilt fillets along the edges, marbled edges. Slightly rubbed corners. Contemporary bindings.

Some leaves slightly yellowed, minor paper flaw on page 101 of the second volume.

Extensive and highly useful table of contents at the end of the second volume. Jean-Antoine Soulatges, lawyer at the Parliament of Toulouse, who died in that city around 1780, was also the author of a Traité des crimes.

A handsome copy, in red morocco, bearing the cipher and arms of Louis XV (OHR pl. 2495, tools 12 and 30).

First edition of the French translation.

Our copy is issued in its original state, preserved in a blue paper temporary wrapper and housed within a double chemise and slipcase in navy half-shagreen, smooth spine, marbled-paper boards; a modern binding signed by Devauchelle.

A rare and appealing copy.

Recorded in the CCF only at the BnF.

Sole edition of this theatrical jeu d’esprit, which bears little relation to China despite the purported setting of the action: "La scène se passe à Pé-King, l’an du monde 100, 857, et de Con-Fou-Tsée 6550". In reality, it is a play about the destructive nature of gambling, for which there was no real need to summon China as a pretext; moreover, the characters speak and behave like perfectly typical French petits bourgeois."

First edition, one of the review copies.
Spine just lightly rubbed.
Inscribed and signed by Patrick Modiano to the writer Christiane Baroche.
 

Second edition of this monumental work of historiography.

The collation of the text volumes (74 steel-engraved plates) conforms to the list of plates given in volume XX (with the exception of the plate depicting the French before Moscow, which is lacking), but does not match the plate count of the first edition, as certain plates were not reissued. The atlas corresponds to that of the first edition and is complete with its 66 maps.

Some foxing, mainly affecting the edges.

Handsome bindings of red half morocco with corners, the spines with five raised bands and triple blind-ruled compartments, a few minor abrasions without consequence to three spines, marbled paper sides, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edges, for the 21 text volumes; and a contemporary binding of red half sheep for the atlas, the smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and tools, a few black marks to the spine, red paper-covered boards lightly soiled at the margins, corners rubbed.

Autograph letter signed by François-René de Chateaubriand to Ferdinand Denois, written in Rome and dated 11 August 1829, 2 pages and two lines in black ink on a bifolium. A tear caused by the opening of the letter on the blank portion of the final leaf, without loss of text.

« I must also, Sir, thank you once again: my poor friend La Ferronays [the Minister of Foreign Affairs Auguste Ferron de La Ferronnays was to resign two weeks later for reasons of health] has written to me that all his ailments have returned, that he feels unwell two or three times a day, and that he cannot consider returning to public affairs, etc. I believe that the interim will nevertheless be prolonged and that this will allow matters to carry through to the end of the session. I requested leave through MM. Boissy and Givré [his embassy secretaries, the diplomat and future politician Hilaire-Étienne-Octave Rouillé de Boissy, and the diplomat and future politician Bernard Desmousseaux de Givré], without being entirely resolved to make use of it: this will depend on events. A telegraphic dispatch of 4 April, arriving via Toulon, informed me that the king étoit fort content de la nomination du pape. Our cardinals rallied to me and conducted themselves very well. Cardinal [Anne-Antoine-Jules de] Clermont-Tonnerre, who suffered a fall, is lodged at the embassy, where I am caring for him as best I can – que dira la Gazette ? [La Gazette de France, the organ of the Ultras, was highly hostile to Chateaubriand.]... »

First edition, with no deluxe paper issue.

A small stain to the upper-left margin of the front cover; an attractive copy nonetheless.

Fine dated and signed presentation inscription from Annie Ernaux to the writer Christiane Baroche : "Voilà Christiane, je ne pouvais réellement écrire autre chose... Avec amitié AErnaux 6/01/88."

Rare pre-first edition offprint of Charles de Gaulle's article Les Origines de l'armée française, published in issue 520 of the Revue d'Infanterie in January 1936. This 44-page text will be entirely reprinted two years later as the first chapter of his celebrated work La France et son armée, published by Plon in 1938. Our copy is enriched with an autograph inscription signed by the author "to M. Jean Auburtin": "With profound and faithful friendship. C. de Gaulle."

Blue wrappers slightly sunned at extremities, spine and upper joint rebacked, minor losses to spine, vertical crease probably from mailing, old creases to upper right corners, some ink stains on lower wrapper, old stamp affixed and partially torn on same wrapper.

First edition of the French translation, one of 25 numbered copies on pur fil, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

Blood red morocco binding, gilt title lenghtwise, black stingray boards framed in morocco, gilt decorative paper endleaves, original wrappers preserved, top edge gilt, an elegant binding signed Boichot. Front free endpaper slightly toned, otherwise a handsome untrimmed copy.

Illustrated with original woodcuts by Jean-Gabriel Daragnès.

First edition of this rare album illustrated with 18 lithographed plates, including the title-frontispiece (see Inventaire du Fonds Français, VII, 243, no. 21).

This unbound suite is housed in a grey cloth chemise and matching modern slipcase, spine unlettered with two tears at head and tail, plain boards, light soiling to the lower board.

Some scattered foxing.

First edition, illustrated with a single folding plate bearing two figures: a plan of Algiers and its surroundings (cf. Quérard IV, 343 : does not record the plate and gives xlviii pp. for the "pièces à l'appui" indeed, p. xlviii carries, like the final leaf, the printer's address. Tailliart 2420 : does not record the plate).

Minor marginal losses to the spine and boards, a few light spots.

"Causes de la rupture avec Alger. Historique des rapports de la France avec Alger. Les torts des représentants d'Alger dans la Régence pendant ces dernières années. Ultimatum. Blocus. Nécessité d'une enquête ou au moins d'une information spéciale avant d'entreprendre une expédition. On va dépenser beaucoup d'argent sans profit. Cette guerre n'est pas juste ; elle n'est pas utile ; elle n'est pas légale" [Tailliart].

The supporting documents include : the Treaty of Peace between France and the Regency of Algiers, 17 December 1801; the letter from Mustapha-Pasha, Dey of Algiers, to the First Consul, 13 August 1802; the settlement concerning the claims of Messrs. Bacri and Busnach of Algiers, followed by the law of 24 July 1820 ordering its execution; a notice on the African concessions; and a summary of the debates held in both Chambers on Algerian affairs during the sessions of 1820, 1827, 1828, and 1829.

Author's signed presentation on the half-title: "De la part de l'auteur, 3 avril 1830" (scarcely more than two months before the French landing in Algeria).

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

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

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

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

A founder of French ecological thought, the civil engineer François-Antoine Rauch (1762–1837) demonstrated the direct relationship between deforestation and the increase in extreme weather, calling for the preservation of nature in the interest of humankind. He denounced the large-scale clearing of forests undertaken across continents and advocated the restoration and protection of woodland areas.

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

First edition on ordinary paper.

A pleasing copy, with only a few insignificant spots at the foot of the spine.

Warm presentation copy signed by Jean Echenoz to his friend, the writer, screenwriter, and filmmaker Jérôme Beaujour, also a specialist in Marguerite Duras’s cinema: "Pour mon cher Jérôme avec ma vive affection, Jean. 2.VI.10"

First edition, with no deluxe paper issue.

A fine copy.

Dated and signed presentation inscription from Annie Ernaux to the woman of letters Christiane Baroche: "Pour Christiane, très amicalement. Annie. 24/03/93."

First edition, totaling 240 numbered copies, ours one of 10 copies on japon à la forme, the deluxe issue, complete at the end of the volume with its additional complete suite of illustrations in black as stated in the limitation.
Illustrated with 17 splendid pochoir plates in black, white, and gold by George Barbier.
A rare and handsome deluxe copy of this George Barbier masterpiece.

A rare first edition, of which no subsequent reprint exists, complete with all his Neo-Latin poems, chiefly composed in Rome. The volume also contains two Greek poems at ff. 60 and 62, together with a poem which inspired the celebrated sonnet Happy he who like Ulysses.

Modern binding in full limp vellum, smooth spine, red edges, white pastedowns and endleaves.

Some defects within: discreet restoration to inner margin of title verso; small tear without loss at foot of ff. 2-3; dampstaining to lower margin of ff. 25-28 and 45-48; minimal marginal defect to f. 44, not affecting text.

Published in March 1558, this precious copy contains four books of Latin poems - Elegiæ, Varia Epigr[ammata], Amores [Faustinae], Tumuli - written by Du Bellay in Rome and Paris between 1553 and 1557. The collection, also referred to as Poemata or Œuvres latines, appeared in the same year as three other works from his Roman period: Les Regrets, Divers Jeux Rustiques, and Les Antiquitez de Rome.

First edition, with no deluxe paper issue.

A well-preserved copy.

Fine dated presentation inscription signed by Annie Ernaux to the writer Christiane Baroche: "Pour Christiane, avec notre vieille amitié, de tendre pensées 'fraternelles' AErnaux 16/01/92."

First edition of this splendid lithographed album by A. Bayot, Eugène Cicéri, and Morel Fatio, comprising a lithographed title on a tinted background, a line-engraved map by Avril, and 15 color lithographs on tinted grounds.

Contemporary black half shagreen binding with corners, spine with five raised bands and blind-stamped double fillets, cherry-red shagreen title label (with minor losses) mounted on the upper cover, black paper-covered boards, white moiré silk endpapers and pastedowns, endpapers slightly foxed and creased, all edges gilt, the binding recently restored.

Scattered foxing, a few faint marginal dampstains, one stain at the head of the final plate.

First edition.

Contemporary half calf in a bronze tone, the spine with four raised bands framed by double gilt rules and gilt pointillé work, together with broad black fillets; joints rubbed, marbled paper sides, marbled endpapers, edges sprinkled; a period binding.

Scattered foxing.

Second edition, partly original as it was revised and enlarged, and the most complete form of this celebrated manual of local law for the island of Réunion (cf. Ryckebusch 2407; Toussaint & Adolphe D439).

The work is illustrated with three folding tables inserted out of text (two in the fifth volume, one in the last).

Contemporary half-sheep bindings in dark green, smooth spines gilt-tooled with dotted ornaments, fillets and garlands, gilt rolls at head and foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.

Some rubbing to a few headcaps and spines, the upper headcap of the sixth volume torn, restorations to several spines.

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

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

Overall, discreet restorations, corners rubbed, occasional light foxing and browning, some worming to bindings not affecting text, head and tail of headcaps worn on volumes 7, 13, 14 and 15.

The complete first series of the Annales de chimie, published between 1789 and 1815, runs to 96 volumes. From 1793 to 1797, publication was suspended following the arrest of Antoine Lavoisier, the journal's treasurer and, in Édouard Grimaux's words, its "true director." The opening run here contains nearly all the issues produced under the direction of, and with contributions from, the chemists Antoine de Lavoisier and Baron Philippe Frédéric de Dietrich. Both were condemned to the guillotine during the Reign of Terror, in 1794 and 1793 respectively.

This set is further illustrated with 12 scientific plates, including two by the engraver Sellier, as well as a map of the county of Bigorre. The majority of the articles and essays are first editions, written by distinguished French and foreign chemists and physicists who helped disseminate "The New Chemistry": (in order of appearance) Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, Antoine de Lavoisier, Gaspard Monge, Claude-Louis Berthollet, Anne-François Fourcroy, Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich, Jean Henri Hassenfratz, Pierre-Auguste Adet, Jean-Antoine Chaptal, Martin Heinrich Klaproth, Johann Georg Albrecht Höpfner, Christoph Girtanner, Johann Christian Wiegleb, Jacques-Anselme Dorthes, Johann Friedrich Westrumb, Armand Seguin, Henry Cavendish, William Austin, Martin van Marum, l'abbé René Just Haüy, Peter Jacob Hjelm, Jan Ingenhousz, Isaac Milner, Johan Gadolin, James Watt, Lorenz Florenz Friedrich von Crell, Charles Blagden, Jean Senebier, Jean d'Arcet, William Higgins, Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin, Nicolas Joseph Thiéry de Ménonville, Dom Michel Rubin de Celis, Jacques Louis Schurer, Augustin-François de Silvestre, l'abbé Claude Chappe, Antoine Augustin Parmentier, Nicolas Deyeux, Bertrand Pelletier, Charles-Augustin Coulomb, Joseph Priestley, Richard Kirwan, Jean André de Luc, Jean-François Clouet, chevalier Marsilio Landriani, Jean-Noël Hallé, François Pierre Nicolas Gillet de Laumont, Georges-Charles Bartholdi, Alexandre Brongniart, Jean-Michel Haussmann, Henri Reboul, François René Curaudau, Thomas Henry, Jean-Anthyme Margueron, Nicolas Leblanc, Johann Rudolph Deiman, Pieter Nieuwland, Pierre de Ribaucourt, Pissis fils, Jean-Baptiste Van Mons ou encore Louis François Antoine Arbogast.

In 1816, the Annales de chimie was retitled Annales de chimie et de physique. In 1913, the journal split into two separate publications, Annales de chimie and Annales de physique. The titles have undergone further changes up to the present day.

A collection of 14 volumes from the opening run of the prestigious French scientific periodical Annales de chimie, containing numerous essays and articles, most in first edition, published under the editorship of distinguished figures: Antoine de Lavoisier, Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, Gaspard Monge, Claude-Louis Berthollet, Anne-François Fourcroy, Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich, Jean Henri Hassenfratz, and Pierre-Auguste Adet.

First edition, one of 70 numbered copies on Arches wove paper.

Our copy is enriched with the autograph signatures of Jacques Prévert — who signed as Jacques Rêve-vert (with the word “vert” highlighted in green) — and of André Pozner, each accompanied by two small drawings: a little cat for Jacques Prévert and a camel’s hump for André Pozner.

A fine copy, complete with its slipcase.

New edition and the first printing of Jacques Tardi’s illustrations.
Publisher’s white boards, smooth spine.
A handsome copy.
Presentation inscription, dated and signed by Jacques Tardi to Joëlle Passani, with an original black-felt drawing depicting a sorrowful-faced Bardamu in a small vignette.
 

Very rare edition (cf. Saffroy III, 35 251).

Disbound copy, with a faint dampstain in the left margin of the title-page and a few insignificant spots of foxing.

This separately published tract was later inserted into the first volume of the celebrated *Histoire généalogique de la maison d’Auvergne* (1708).

Appended here, detached from the first volume and forming the origin of the controversy: [BALUZE, MABILLON et RUINART]: Procez verbal. Contenant l'examen & discussion de deux anciens cartulaires & de l'obituaire de l'église de saint Julien de Brioude en Auvergne, de neuf anciens titres compris en sept feüillets de parchemin, & de dix autres anciens feüillets aussi en parchemin, contenant des fragmens de deux tables, l'une par ordre des chiffres, & l'autre par alphabet, lesquels ont esté destachez d'un ancien cartulaire de la mesme église. Le tout pour faire voir que Géraud de la Tour, I. du nom, duc de Guyenne & comte d'Auvergne, comme il paroist par la table généalogique qui suit. Printed in Paris by Théodore Muguet, 1695, title-leaf and 22 pp. (cf. Saffroy III, 35 252).

This tract, drafted at the request of Cardinal de Bouillon, was likewise inserted into the *Histoire généalogique de la maison d’Auvergne*.

Rare first edition (cf. Tailliart 2391).

Backstrip skewed and untitled, with a few losses and small tears to the board corners; light dampstaining at the head of the opening leaves, otherwise a clean and pleasing copy.

The author served as a military intendant and published several concise monographs on fortification and military administration.

Rare edition printed on laid paper, very likely produced in a small run for Picard bibliophiles (cf. Hage Chahine, 4071).

Listed in the CCF only at Arras, Amiens, and Compiègne.

A few minor spots.

Half cherry morocco binding, spine lightly faded and raised on five bands, a few rubs to the spine, marbled paper sides, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edge, a period binding signed by Petit, successor to Simier.

Robert de Clari (c. 1170 – after 1216) was a Picard knight, vassal to the castellan Pierre d’Amiens.

He took part in the Fourth Crusade alongside his lord Pierre d’Amiens. After the deaths in 1205 of his direct suzerains Pierre d’Amiens and Hugues IV de Campdavaine, Count of Saint-Pol, he returned swiftly to Picardy.

From the sack of Constantinople he brought back, among other things, relics which he donated to the abbey of Corbie. He then composed, in French and in Picard, La Conquête de Constantinople, a narrative in one hundred and twenty chapters recounting the Fourth Crusade and its immediate aftermath up to 1216.

He therefore died sometime after this date, though nothing further is known about him.

A pleasant copy in a binding signed by Petit, successor to Simier.