First edition.
Minor marginal tears to the boards, a few spots of foxing.
Not recorded by Sabin.
New edition, partly original, published anonymously (see Sabin 20,288).
Disbound copy, preserved in a modern marbled paper wrapper.
Abbé Louis Genty (1743–1817) is better known for his Influence de la découverte de l’Amérique sur le bonheur du genre humain, published in 1788, but this Dissertation appears here in a form close to its first draft.
Rare group of six fascicules, all in the original edition.
Bradel-style binding in green mottled boards, smooth unlettered spine, printed title label mounted at the centre of the upper cover; modern binding.
Not recorded by Polak. Apparently no copy located in the CCFr.
A stain at the head of the title page.
This curious compilation, bearing almost no identifying information, appears to be particularly rare.
It contains:
- 1. A notice to mariners concerning the change in the lighting of the lighthouse in the Bay of the Somme, scheduled for 25 Pluviôse, Year IX [14 February 1801].
- 2. An instruction on filters for purifying water, signed by the health officers Dubrueil, Thaumur, Dupré, and Billard.
- 3. A notice on naval provisions, signed by Rivoire.
- 4. A description of the sillomètre (an instrument for measuring longitude at sea), addressed to the editor of the Moniteur by the former journalist Charles Mozard (1755–1810), who had served as Commissioner of France’s commercial relations in Boston from 1794 to 1799 and was at that time among the contributors to the Moniteur.
- 5. A discourse by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre delivered at the Institut (Nautical experiments, and dietary and moral observations, proposed for the benefit and health of sailors on long-distance voyages). This contribution had already been printed in La Décade philosophique, littéraire et politique of 30 Vendémiaire, Year IX [22 October 1800].
- 6. Two practical notices on means of preserving ships (from fire, water, and rats). The nature of these texts and their immediate sources suggest that this publication was probably conceived as a trial maritime periodical intended to make available sea-related articles previously published in other journals. For reasons unknown, the experiment was not continued, a circumstance that is fairly common in the history of periodicals.
Rare first edition (cf. Tailliart 1697, Playfair 554, Polak 5050).
Spine clumsily restored with small losses, slight marginal tears to the covers, a few scattered foxmarks.
The crew of the "Béarnaise," consisting of about thirty men, seized the citadel of Bone without firing a single shot.
First edition of the French translation (cf. Sabin, 43416; Smith, Pacific Northwest Americana, 6381; Pilling, Bibl. of the Algonquian Languages, 327; Hoefer, XXXII, 566-567).
Illustrated with a portrait of the author after Sir Thomas Lawrence as frontispiece to the first volume and, at the end of each volume, three engraved maps showing the route from Fort Chipewyan to the Arctic Sea in 1789 and to the Pacific Ocean in 1793, together with the portion of North America lying between the 40th and 70th degrees north latitude and the 45th and 180th degrees west longitude.
Handsome half red shagreen bindings, flat spines ruled in gilt with quintuple fillets, traces of former labels at the head of each spine, minor rubbing to joints, red boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns; mid-19th-century bindings.
Repair to the half-title of volume I.
A pleasing copy of this major exploration narrative.
First edition.
A single copy recorded in the CCFr (Roanne).
Contemporary half green calf, smooth spine cracked and with losses, marbled paper boards, original printed wrappers preserved, binding of the period.
Lower board tending to detach.
The Venetian historian Ronaldo Fulin (1824–1884) produced numerous publications and original studies based on the exceptionally rich holdings of the Archivio di Stato of Venice.
The question addressed in this communication is linked to the presumed relations between Columbus and Venice (see the accompanying letters).
Copy from the library of the celebrated Americanist Henry Harrisse (1829–1910), a specialist of the earliest discoveries of the New World, with an autograph inscription by Ronaldo Fulin at the head of the front wrapper.
Henry Harrisse enhanced this pamphlet with seven autograph signed letters, mounted, in French or Italian, generally accompanied by their envelopes: 1. One from the Italian historian Cesare Cantù (1804–1895), dated 10 December 1881. – 2. One from the Columbian scholar Marcello Staglieno (1829–1909), dated 3 August 1888. – 3. One from the director of the Archivio di Stato of Venice (signature illegible), dated 27 June 1888. – 4. A card from the publisher B. Calore, dated 17 December 1881. – 5.–6. Two letters from the philologist and Hispanist Alfred Morel-Fatio (1850–19245), dated 2 and 9 December 1881. – 7. One letter from Henry Vignaud (1830–1922), in his capacity as First Secretary of the United States Legation in Paris from 1882 to 1909, dated 30 May 1888.
Most of these letters revolve around the existence of a purported letter from Christopher Columbus to the Senate of Venice, prior to the voyages of exploration.
Complete autograph manuscript of 50 pages, written on the recto of each leaf and containing numerous deletions and revisions.
The manuscript was published in the December 1872 issue of the Bulletin de la Société de Géographie.
Full red shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fleurons and double gilt panels adorned with floral tools, double gilt fillets on the boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle border on the pastedowns, gilt edges on the boards, corners rubbed, contemporary binding.
The leaves are numbered 1 to 50 in the upper left corner; an earlier numbering, struck through, appears in the upper margin.
The study is divided into three parts:
The first part traces the history of navigation in the Sargasso Sea from the Phoenicians, who were the first to report floating banks of algae in the Atlantic. They were followed by the Carthaginians, Arabs, and Portuguese. But it was Christopher Columbus who, in 1492, provided the first serious observations of this maritime phenomenon. Gaffarel then refers to the voyages of Gonneville, Jean de Léry, and André Thévet, cites Humboldt, and finally discusses recent scientific explorations: in 1851–1852 by the campaign of the Dolphin, Captain Lee, and in 1855 by that of the brig Méléagre, Captain Leps.
In the second part, the author examines the geography of the Sargasso Sea, noting that its extent and boundaries have always remained uncertain. He then develops three hypotheses regarding their origin, the most plausible being that the sargassum forms around the Gulf Stream, whose warm and relatively calm waters offer favourable conditions for its proliferation. The text then discusses the different species of sargassum, their mode of growth, and their accumulation, which created the strange appearance that once frightened early navigators.
Finally, the author considers the resources of the Sargasso Sea: by analogy with the harvesting of seaweed along the French coasts—where, once reduced to ash, it provides an excellent fertiliser—one might imagine exploiting the algae of the Sargasso Sea for the extraction of mineral substances, though this would require specially equipped vessels. He concludes: “La mer des Sargasses est donc une véritable région promise.
Tous, plus ou moins, directement ou non, agriculteurs pour nos champs, malades pour nos santés, industriels pour nos usines […] citoyens pour notre patrie, nous n’avons qu’à gagner à l’exploitation des richesses inconnues de cette mer…” (p. 50).
Bound at the end:
First edition of the French translation prepared by F. Soulès of "An account on the present state of Nova Scotia", originally published in 1786.
Our copy is offered unbound.
Pages 31 to 39 are devoted to fishing practices.
Rare first edition of this uncommon atlas, featuring 9 maps printed in colour, either on single sheets, double-page, or folding.
Bound in modern half dark blue calf, smooth spine with gilt rules at head and tail, title in long, boards of handmade paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.
Minor foxing to the versos of some maps, three discreet repairs using small adhesive pieces to the margins of three maps and the title page.
Printed note on the verso of the title page: "Institut national de géographie, Bruxelles".
The maps depict: General View of the East Indies, Java and Madura (detached from the volume), Sumatra and the Riouw Archipelago, Banka and Billiton, Borneo, the Celebes, the Minhassa Islands, the Sunda Islands, and the Moluccas.
First edition of the French translation.
Contemporary half vellum binding, smooth spine gilt with a small fleur-de-lis ornament at the foot, black shagreen title label, marbled paper sides.
The sole edition of this version (a portion had already been made available to the French public in 1837 under the title Histoire de la fondation de la Régence d'Alger). Alphonse Rousseau (1820–1870), first interpreter at the French General Consulate in Tunis, later served as Consul General.
Modern Pierre Libaude bookplate pasted to a free endpaper; a few minor spots.
Rare first edition (see Cordier, Japonica 583; Nipponalia I, 2073. Neither of these bibliographies mentions the map. Polak 8448).
Contemporary half cherry-red calf, spine slightly faded, with four raised bands gilt with dotted tools and fillets; light rubbing to the spine, red paper-covered boards, corners slightly bumped, speckled edges.
Occasional light foxing; a pale dampstain affecting the opening leaves and the folding double-page map showing the plan of the Strait of Shimonoseki.
This work relates the Anglo-French naval campaign of 1862–1863, by Alfred Roussin (1839–1919), a naval officer who commanded the frigate Sémiramis.
The text offers detailed descriptions of trade and the political situation in Japan, as well as of the political relations between the French, the British, and the Japanese during the years 1853–1865.
First edition of this Latin work devoted to the history of the ancient Mediterranean: Sardinia and the influences of Greece, North Africa, the Syrtes and Numidian tribes, the history of the tyrant of Syracuse, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, the island of Rhodes, and more (cf. Adams, L-704. See Durling, 2796, which records only later editions).
Restored full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt tools now largely softened, blind fillets and gilt corner ornaments framing the boards, central gilt medallion enclosing a device in Greek characters, manuscript inscription on the fore-edge, early binding.
Ink numbering at the head of the verso of the lower cover; inner hinge cracked.
Handsome volume from the Basel press of Johannes Froben, bearing his printer’s device on the title-page and at the end.
Nicknamed “the prince of printers,” Johann Froben was among the first to employ italic types, inspired by Aldus Manutius.
A professor of philosophy, Greek, and Latin at the University of Padua, the Venetian scholar Tomeo Nicolò Leonico (1456–1531) was admired by Erasmus.
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, 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, illustrated with four tinted plates, including a frontispiece (cf. O'Reilly & Reitman, Tahiti, 6452).
Contemporary half plum sheep, the spine faded and decorated with gilt garlands and floral tools, some rubbing to the spine, marbled-paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, a few worn spots along the edges.
Scattered foxing, the plates evenly toned.
The work offers a history of the island, written in the aftermath of its annexation following the cession of his domains by King Pomare V. It provides an overview of the voyages of Quirós, Wallis, Bougainville and Cook, a portrait of Tahitian life a century earlier, and a sketch of the island’s development since the arrival of the first missionaries.
Chapter V is devoted to the principal episodes of Captain Cook’s three voyages to Tahiti: encounters with the inhabitants, meetings with local chiefs, the revolt on the island of Eimeo, visits to the surrounding islands... (pp. 107–220).
Joseph Bournichon (1839–1924) was a priest and the author of several edifying monographs.
First 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.
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.
First separate edition, the text having previously appeared in the series Philipp's new voyages and travels (London, 1820–1823) (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 308).
Bradel-style binding in full grey boards, smooth spine, title label, sprinkled edges; a modern binding.
An exceptionally early account of the coastal region between Macao and Canton, published anonymously despite the initials J.R. at the end of the preface (this J.R. served as supercargo on the ship The Friendship).
New illustrated edition featuring two lithographed plates out of text and enriched with notes by Francisco de S. Luiz (cf. Brunet I, p. 263; Graesse I, p. 118).
Modern binding in half Havana calf, smooth spine decorated with gilt and black fillets and black floral motifs, black shagreen title piece, marbled paper boards, red edges.
A few light foxing spots, mainly at the beginning of the volume.
This biography, rightly celebrated, met with great success upon publication.
First edition of each volume.
The first work lacks its map, while the second retains it.
Full marbled blond calf binding, smooth spines decorated with gilt floral and scroll motifs, red calf title labels, gilt fillet borders on the covers, gilt roll tooling along the edges, cat’s-eye endpapers and pastedowns, green edges, contemporary binding.
Restorations to the spines, joints fragile, repairs to the title leaves, handwritten notes at the head of the first page of text in each volume.
First edition of 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 substantially expanded (cf. Ferguson 7152a; Lacassagne 47).
Half black shagreen bindings, spines with four raised bands decorated with gilt rules and double gilt panels, boards framed with a single blind rule over marbled paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, period bindings.
A few minor spots.
This second edition was issued simultaneously either in a single volume with continuous pagination or in two volumes with separate pagination (our copy, see Ferguson 7152).
Bénigne-Ernest Poret, Marquis de Blosseville (1799–1886), was a legitimist politician and man of letters. He was active in political life throughout the nineteenth century.
At the head of the half-title of the first volume, presentation inscription signed by Bénigne-Ernest Poret, Marquis de Blosseville, to Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat (1805–1873), then Minister of Algeria and the Colonies (1860–1867).
The latter affixed his armorial bookplate to the pastedowns and stamped the title pages with his ownership seal.
First edition (cf. O'Reilly, 2192.)
Modern Bradel binding in brown half-cloth, forest-green morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, beige endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers retained albeit lightly soiled; binding signed by Boichot.
Illustrated with 49 photographic plates hors texte.
"Minutieuse histoire analytico-chronologique des trente premières années de la Calédonie européenne. Il annonçait une suite qui n'a jamais vu le jour" (O'Reilly).
Very rare first edition, bilingual, quarto in format and printed on laid paper, of the Corsican cahier de doléances.
(Cf. Starace 4747. Not in Roland Bonaparte. Conlon, xxiv, 89:1617, who notes only the 32-page octavo edition. No copy located in CCF or Worldcat.)
Our copy is preserved in a plain grey paper wrapper, with minor internal flaws, a few discreet paper restorations to the lower right margin of the opening leaves, not affecting the text.
"Les cahiers des Tiers, en même temps que des mesures spécifiques, exigent les mêmes réformes que le reste du royaume. Cette imbrication du régional et du national est jalonnée d'événements illustrant la dynamique révolutionnaire: agitation lors des assemblées primaires, émeute de Bastia le 1er mai 1789, "révolution municipale" du mois d'août à l'annonce du 14 Juillet parisien et sous le signe de la cocarde tricolore..." Soboul, Dict. hist. de la Révolution française.
Among the specific measures requested are the following: authorisation for Corsican vessels to fly the Moor’s Head on the French white ensign (as several towns and provinces of the kingdom already displayed their own arms); establishment of a university at Corte funded by the former revenues of the Carthusians, Jacobins, and Olivetans; establishment of a lazaretto to facilitate trade with the Levant; creation of a free port; preference in appointments to be given to Corsicans or to French inhabitants established on the island, etc.
Light foxing to the lower and upper right corners of the leaves, not affecting the text.
A well-preserved and appealing copy.
First edition published anonymously, the work of the Bayonne man of letters Coste d'Arnobat (1732–1808), probably based on accounts provided by English merchants (cf. Barbier IV 1060).
Contemporary half sheep in dark brown, smooth spine tooled with gilt floral motifs, gilt initial “V” at the foot, some rubbing to spine and joints, a small marginal loss at the head of the spine, marbled paper boards, yellow sprinkled edges.
A dampstain affecting the folds of the final ten leaves.
An account of Bambouc, a region of Upper Senegal particularly noted for its gold mines and inhabited by the Mandinka people.
This narrative, later translated into German, offers highly valuable information on the activities and customs of the Malinké of Upper Senegal. Coste appended to it an essay on the Indian castes (pp. 65–113), “d’après les mémoires d’un savant observateur qui a vécu trente ans dans l’intérieur de l’Inde,” followed by two further dissertations on Holland (pp. 117–312) and on England (pp. 315–358), countries he visited in 1774.
First edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with tables printed on two large folding plates included in the pagination (cf. Ferguson 2165a.)
Contemporary half bordeaux shagreen, the spine very lightly faded, with five raised bands framed by black fillets, marbled-paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers marginally soiled and showing small preserved restorations, edges untrimmed, modern binding signed Laurenchet.
Botany Bay, on the eastern coast of Australia, had been chosen in 1787 by the British government as a place of deportation. This study seeks to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of penal colonies at a time when the proposal to establish one in France still had many supporters.
A pleasing copy.
First edition illustrated with a lithographed portrait of the author by Langlumé as a frontispiece (cf. Atabey 45. See Blackmer 60 and Weber 105 for the enlarged second edition, published the same year with a different frontispiece).
Half cherry calf binding, spine with four raised bands framed with gilt garlands, decorated with blind and gilt tooling, gilt rolls at head and tail, black morocco title-piece, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, contemporary binding.
Some light foxing, blind-stamped ex-libris of Giannalisa Feltrinelli at foot of first endpaper. Repair to the outer margin of the last two leaves, not affecting the text.
Stay on the island of Elba, return to France, Waterloo, the Villefranche affair, the trial, stay in Switzerland, Constance, Munich, Dresden, Warsaw, Krakow, Galicia, Jassy, separation of the two brothers, Constantinople, Smyrna, Naxos, Athens, Janina, Ali Pasha, flight from Janina, passage through St. Maur Island, Corfu, Cattaro, Ragusa, Trieste, landing at Ancona, visit to Rome, stay in Livorno, Lucca, Genoa, Turin, and return to France.
"First Édition edited by two of his friends from Bacheville's notes (…) The two brothers were accused of conspiracy and fled France after the Restoration. Barthelemy joined Ali Pacha; Antoine travelled to Egypt, Persia and Arabia, to die in Muscat. The engraved frontispiece is a portrait of Antoine. The frontispieces in the two Éditions are not the same; that in the second Édition depicts the brother's separation" [Leonora Navari]. A handsome copy in a contemporary Romantic binding.
First edition illustrated with a folding map at the end of the volume (cf. Nipponalia, I, 2061; Innocencio, IX, 208; lacking from Cordier Japonica, Hill and Palau).
Only two copies recorded in the CCFr (Sorbonne and BULAC).
Rare edition of this account of one of the earliest European voyages undertaken to establish commercial relations with Japan, following the success of the American Commodore Perry in 1853.
Spine cracked with loss at foot, traces of adhesive paper at the head and tail of the endpapers, modern bookplate pasted on the verso of the front cover.
Very rare complete set of this economic and commercial publication, issued from 1879 to 1938, providing the most detailed information on all aspects of trade and production in Cochinchina.
The set includes 78 folding tables (one folding table from the second volume is detached).
According to the CCF, only the BnF holds a series comprising several volumes, and even that collection is incomplete.
Contemporary bindings in half Havana sheep, smooth spines decorated with triple gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.
First octavo edition illustrated with 92 engravings by Benett, including one folding map in colour: this marks the very first use of polychromy in an illustration for a Jules Verne novel.
Publisher’s Hetzel binding "aux deux éléphants" in full red cloth, signed by Lenègre, type 3, upper cover signed by Souze, lower cover Lenègre type “e” as described by Jauzac, original blue endpapers, all edges gilt, publisher’s EL catalogue at rear.
Spine slightly faded as usual, small black marks along the hinges, spine-ends softened as often, a pleasant copy almost free of any foxing.
“Deux ans de vacances” is a Robinson Crusoe-like novel featuring fourteen schoolboys from New Zealand.
An exceptional and hitherto unpublished manuscript, complete in 775 pages, chronicling the journey of the Vicomte Edmond de Poncins through India (cited in Numa Broc, Asie, pp. 376–377, and Afrique, p. 263 (for his explorations of the Pamirs and Ethiopia), and in Thiébaud, pp. 755–756, (for his works on hunting).
This record extends from 12 September 1891, with embarkation at Marseille, through to 12 June 1892, the date of departure from Karachi bound for Marseille.
Contemporary 3/4 green morocco binding, spine in five compartments numerously framed in black with fleurons-gilt tooling, boards framed in black along the leather edges, marbled endpapers; author’s bookplate pasted to the upper pastedown; red top edge.
775 pp. (misnumbered ch. 1–567, 567–774), 1 unnumbered page, 2 unnumbered leaves of table, and a few remaining blank leaves.
Important, unpublished manuscript recounting the travels of the Vicomte Edmond de Poncins across India covering the period from 12 September 1891 (embarkation at Marseille) to 12 June 1892 (departure from Karachi for Marseille).June 1892 (departure from Karachi for Marseille).
Presented in the form of a journal, it is written in brown ink, in a cursive yet legible hand.
The text includes all of the author’s observations on the regions traversed, the routes taken and modes of transport, hunting expeditions, notable acquaintances, and his relations with servants, etc.; it also records that he took photographs during his excursions.
Departing from Marseille on 12 September 1891, Edmond de Poncins took passage on the Peï-Ho, a steamer belonging to the Messageries Maritimes. He travelled in the company of the Governor of Obock, on his way to assume office, and a British general who served as Inspector of Cavalry in India.
The route led via Port Said, Suez, Obock, and Aden. During the passage through the Red Sea, Poncins visited the engine room and conversed in Arabic with one of the stokers. On 23 September, at Aden, he transferred to the Seyne, a vessel of the same company, bound to cross the Indian Ocean. He arrived at Karachi on 29 September. The traveller left the steamer to board a sailing vessel bound for Bombay, where he arrived on 2 October. He remained there until the 8th, when he departed for Poona. On the 16th, he made an excursion to the Carlee Caves, a group of ancient Buddhist temples hewn into the rock. Back in Bombay the following day, he journeyed on to Pachora, whence he explored the Ajanta Caves, famed for their ancient Buddhist sanctuaries carved into the rock. He returned to Bombay on the 21st, proceeded to Mehmadabad the next day, and reached Kaira on the 24th. In the surrounding area, he hunted crocodiles and subsequently quail. On the 27th, he was in Ahmedabad, roughly 450 km north of Bombay, and two days later he arrived at Morvi, lying some 200 km to the east, continuing his travels across the region. Returning to Ahmedabad on 5 November, he went back to hunt in the environs of Kaira. On the 10th, he arrived at Abu Road, where he visited the temples of Mount Abu, before making his way back to Ahmedabad. He then began his journey across India towards Delhi and Calcutta, visiting Ajmere on 21 November, Chitor on the 23rd, and Udaipur on the 25th. On 3 December, he went bear hunting in the surrounding area. On the 7th, he reached Jaipur, and the following day he visited Amber Fort, which overlooks the city. On the 10th, he arrived at Alwar, and on the 12th proceeded to Delhi. Three days later, he visited Agra, before journeying into the Ganges Valley, reaching Cawnpore (Kanpur) on the 17th, Lucknoor (Lucknow) on the 18th, and Benares on 19 December. He arrived in Calcutta on 22 December 1891. He remained there until 4 January 1892, when he departed for an extended hunting expedition in the Sunderbans, a marshy region in the Ganges delta. On 10 February, he returned to Calcutta to prepare for his next expedition. He set out for Assam on 19 February 1892, a region in north-eastern India, lying in the Brahmaputra Valley at the frontier of Bhutan. The following day, he reached Goalundo (present-day Bangladesh), and on the 22nd, Jatrapur (Bangladesh), before embarking on a new hunt through the jungle atop a domesticated elephant. He arrived at Raimana (Assam, India) on 4 March. Over the ensuing days, he hunted large game - including buffalo, elephants, rhinoceroses, and tigers. On the 17th he killed a tiger cat, followed the next day by a doe and a stag, but the larger animals remained elusive. On 19 March, he suffered from heatstroke, yet continued hunting. On the 24th he reached Paglobat, continuing the next day to Dhubri in Assam, where a violent fever struck him down. Once recovered, he made a few more excursions and, on 8 April, left the region, reaching Calcutta on the 10th. On the 14th, he fell ill once more and was robbed by his servant, who was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Poncins then left Calcutta to cross the Ganges plain: on 29 April he reached Cawnpore (Kanpur), which he had already visited on his outward journey, and on the 30th he stayed at Kalka. On 1 May he arrived at Simla, situated about 250 kilometres north of Delhi, on the foothills of the Himalayas. After an excursion to Amondah, he was again seized by fever and was forced to return to Kalka, from where he took the train, reaching Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan) on the 16th. From there, he made several excursions into the hills (Murree, Gulmay), but an outbreak of cholera forced him to leave the region. On 5 June he departed Rawalpindi by train and arrived at Lahore the next day. On 8 June he reached Karachi and prepared his belongings to embark on a vessel bound for Marseilles. The journal concludes on 12 June 1892, the date of his departure from Karachi.
Translated extracts: [16 October 1891, between Bombay and Poona, Maharashtra]: “Departure for the Caves of Carlee. Left at 6 a.m. with a tonga [a cart drawn by two ponies] which took me along the road opposite the path leading to the caves. Hired two coolies for my photographic equipment and my gun. We crossed a long plain of rice fields […]. The caves lie one-third up a mountain of 800 feet rising at the end of the plain […]. One passes through a small temple of Siva and stands before the great temple, whose entrance is most impressive […]. To the right and left, large sculpted elephants emerge from the rock up to mid-body; bas-reliefs depict gods with exaggerated forms, larger than life […]. The great hall is a marvel, both in its ensemble and in its details…” (pp. 53–55).
[25 October 1891, near Kaira, south of Ahmedabad, Gujarat]: “Left at 6 a.m. on camelback to hunt crocodiles. Covered 14 miles and reached a village below which the river makes a large, very deep bend. It is the Sabarmati. Shot a large crocodile at 150 metres on the sand. The bullet went straight; it struggled for a moment, then dived and was lost. About ten others in sight dived at the same time. Went down the river and fired at a small crocodile, 60 metres away, basking on a sand islet. It made a great leap and dived into a deep pool, which was red with blood within a few minutes. A native accompanying me did not dare to fetch it. Fired at two or three other swimming crocodiles, without apparent result. At 2 o’clock I returned to my starting point […]. Altogether I must have fired at fifteen and seen fifty in four or five hours…” (pp. 76-77).
[25 November 1891, Udaipur, Rajasthan]: “In the soft haze of the rising sun, the white city appeared, dominated by high walls and the splendid silhouette of the Maharana’s palace […]. Further on, a vast circle of rugged mountains with oddly shaped peaks, here and there marked by forts and stretches of defensive walls. Truly a land of savage feudalism. The Prime Minister’s son, to whom we had announced our arrival, came to fetch us by carriage at one o’clock, placing himself at our disposal. He is a young man of twenty to twenty-two, intelligent in appearance, speaks English well and is courteous. The Maharana is not in Udaipur, residing instead in a bungalow a few miles away on a hunting expedition […]. We shall, moreover, have the honour of being invited to one of H.R.H.’s hunts; in the meantime, we shall visit what there is to see in Udaipur…” (pp. 171–172).
[4 January 1892, West Bengal]: “Set out this morning from Calcutta for Mutlah or Canning. Arrived at 10 a.m. Found my boats. Crossing a country of rice fields, marshes, palms and coconut trees. The train stops at the end of the track, right on the riverbank. The tide is low and, to reach our boats, I have to be carried by my men, who sink up to their knees in a black, sticky, abominable mud […]. Here and there, some native boats. Few birds. By noon the two chimneys of the station disappear from view; ahead there is only the immense marsh. My men, who are Muslim, raised the anchor with a prayer […]. At 4 p.m. we stop at a cluster of huts unmarked on the map, called Fokai Hâttee. I send two men ashore to look for milk or meat. There is none. Meanwhile I photograph my boats, and a group of natives watching a juggler and a bear…” (pp. 291–292).
[1 March 1892, Brahmaputra Valley, Assam]: “In the afternoon my bullock cart [ox-drawn cart] arrived, along with an additional elephant sent by Mr Gordon. My party now consists definitively of three elephants, one bullock cart, seven men for the elephants, one for the oxen, and two for myself…”
[2 March]: “Departed at six in the morning on the second elephant, which I had yet to ride. We took the road to Kaïmana, then turned left into a jungle of tall burnt grasses, as high as the elephants […]. A very large animal was heard a few hundred paces ahead, crushing the grass. Halt. At the sound my mahout [driver] insisted it was a wild elephant, though the noise was identical to that of ours. The rhino passing below was less noisy. What should be done? The government forbids, under severe penalties, the killing of elephants […]. The undergrowth is so thick one could not see two metres; I cannot even see the head of my own. Moreover, wild elephants attack domestic elephants with fury…” (pp. 540–545).
A hunter and explorer, the Viscount Edmond de Montaigne de Poncins (1866–1937) undertook several journeys in Africa and Asia. After his stay in India (1891–1892), he travelled through Central Asia in 1893: departing from Samarkand (Uzbekistan), he crossed the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains to reach Srinagar (Kashmir); for this journey he was awarded the silver medal of the Geographical Society in 1895. In 1897, he travelled with Prince Henri d’Orléans between Djibouti and Addis Ababa; in 1912, he explored East Africa, from Nairobi to Mount Kenya.
“Poncins is no scholar, but an intrepid traveller and a keen observer […]. Few French explorers have attained such heights in Central Asia…” (Numa Broc, Asie).
He is the author of Chasses et explorations dans la région des Pamirs (1897) and Notes sur le gros gibier de nos colonies (1913).
A precious manuscript, with a fine contemporary binding.
Provenance: Viscount de Poncins, with his engraved bookplate depicting a tent beside a baobab.
First edition of this album of caricatures by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi which he numbered and initialled (copy no. 36, followed by his initial). Printed "in small numbers” (Bartholdi Museum), with only six located in institutions (Colmar Museum, BnF, Harvard, UPenn, NYPL, Rutgers University).
Publisher’s blue cloth binding, smooth spine gilt-lettered along its length, upper board numerously framed in black, anchors and stars stamped in black at the corners, title and date gilt-stamped; lower board numerously framed in black, black stars at the corners and a central anchor, red edges. Slight rubbing to joints, faint mottling to the lower part of the upper board, a few plate tabs slightly split at foot, not affecting the integrity of the binding.
Illustrated with an engraved title-frontispiece, a half-title featuring the head of the Statue of Liberty, and 30 full-page hand-coloured lithographs.
Exceptionally rare copy of Auguste Bartholdi’s caricature album created on board the steamship bound for the United States for the 1876 Philadelphia World’s Fair, where he exhibited part of the Statue of Liberty.
This curious album contains the only caricature of the Statue by Bartholdi ever published: a vignette on the half-title depicting the top of Lady Liberty’s crowned head with her amused eyes emerging above the Atlantic. Moreover, the profits from the album were donated to the Franco-American subscription fund for the statue's construction.
Edition published one year after the original, illustrated with four fine copper-engraved plates by Charles Eisen depicting Nordic types (Icelandic women, a bear hunt, Samoyeds, a Laplander in a sleigh) engraved by Le Mire, one folding map by Bellin, thirteen maps, plans, or views (eight of them folding) engraved by Croissey, as well as a charming engraved title vignette and a headpiece by Le Gouaz.
See Sabin, 37616; Chadenat, 1633; Boucher de la Richarderie, I, 380.
Full mottled calf binding, smooth spine richly gilt in compartments decorated with gilt fleurons and geometric motifs, sometimes slightly rubbed, red morocco label, restorations to spine and joints, gilt roll tooling on the caps, red-speckled citron edges, gilt fillets on the board edges; late eighteenth-century binding.
A tall, wide-margined copy.
Provenance: copy from the Château de Menneval, with an engraved bookplate mounted on the pastedown.
Second edition; the first having been destroyed by the author himself. Cf. Louandre et Bourquelot, III, p. 149: "Il y a eu de cet ouvrage une première édition anéantie par l'auteur avant toute émission, et dont il n'est peut-être pas échappé un exemplaire." "(L'auteur) s'est efforcé de rendre avec fidélité les impressions qu'il a éprouvées, et les renseignemens qu'il a obtenus ont été puisés aux sources les plus respectables."
Half calf bindings in light brown, smooth spines decorated with double gilt fillets, black morocco title and volume labels, a small hole at the foot of the spine of the first volume, marbled paper boards, upper corners slightly rubbed, sprinkled edges, contemporary bindings; the atlas volume is in original wrappers.
Some minor losses and small tears to the corners of the atlas, which also shows light restorations.
The latter is complete with its large folding map with coloured boundaries and its ten lithographed plates: eight views and two hand-coloured costume plates.
The eight picturesque views depict scenes near Jönköping, Stockholm, Rosendal, Drottningholm, Ornös (Arendt Pehrson’s house), Falun (the opening of the mine), Wexiö, and Solfvitsborg; the two remaining plates show Dalarna costumes at Leksand and Småland costumes at Wörend.
Some scattered foxing.
First edition of the French translation prepared by Joseph Lavallée.
The atlas volume is illustrated with 16 plates (portrait, views, birds, insects), 12 engraved music plates (printed on 6 leaves), and a large folding map on thick paper (cf. Quérard, I, 6; British Museum (Natural History), I, 8 for the atlas only; Pritzel, 6 for the original English edition).
Bound in contemporary half calf, smooth spines gilt-tooled with floral ornaments, rolls and motifs, sometimes slightly faded, orange calf title and volume labels, marbled paper boards, a few rubs and minor defects along the joints, sprinkled red edges; the atlas volume in contemporary half brown calf, smooth gilt-tooled spine with a few small losses at foot, some rubbing to joints and boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.
Our copy is complete with the Finnish bath plate, often lacking.
Very rare first edition, with only one copy listed in WorldCat.
Contemporary half vellum binding with small corners, smooth spine, brown morocco title label with losses, marbled paper boards.
Some foxing and light staining to the title page.
The work lists and quantifies commercial exchanges with various regions of Italy, as well as with France, Spain, America, Russia, the Levant, and others.
First edition of the French translation (cf. Gay 368).
Rare copy preserved in its original wrappers, complete with the accompanying atlas volume containing 7 maps, including 2 large folding ones.
Some light foxing, a few marginal tears to the wrappers of the atlas volume.
The English geographer Hugh Murray [1779-1846] devoted many years to enlarging and completing this work begun by the English orientalist John Leyden [1775-1811].
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Magellan and four maps and plans depicting the Strait of Magellan (cf. Sabin, 16765; Leclerc, 1971; Chadenat, 552).
Our copy does not include the appendix published in 1793. "A work difficult to find with the second part" (cf. Chadenat).
Full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt fillets and decorated gilt compartments, gilt rolls on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges, gilt fillets along the edges, modern binding in period style.
An engaging account of this region of South America, containing the following illustrations: Carta Esferica de la parte sur de la America Meridional, año 1788. – Carta reducida des estrecho de Magallanes, año 1788. – Primer plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786. – Segundo plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786.
Fine copy formerly belonging to naval captain Gaston de Rocquemaurel (1804–1878), second-in-command to Dumont d’Urville during the South Pole and Oceania expedition from 1837 to 1840, with his signature on the title page.
Handsome example of a binding executed in imitation of the eighteenth century.
New "À la bannière" edition with bevelled boards, violet on a red background, illustrated with 154 drawings by Férat engraved by Barbant.
Publisher’s decorative cloth binding "à la bannière" of type 6 signed by Lenègre, upper cover plate signed by Souze, lower cover of type e1 with central medallion on a black ground, framed with geometric motifs.
Attractive upper cover, with glossy percaline and sharp gilt, small black spots on the spine, head- and tailcaps collapsed as usual, some occasional foxing, small dark and light stains on the lower cover.
L’Île mystérieuse is linked, though not a sequel, to two other novels by Jules Verne, Vingt mille lieues sous les mers and Les enfants du capitaine Grant.
The author notably drew inspiration from Robinson Crusoe for the castaways’ life on a deserted island.
This work, one of Jules Verne’s most celebrated, was adapted eight times for cinema and television.
First edition, one of 15 numbered copies on Hollande Van Gelder paper and signed with the publisher's initials.
Full green morocco, the spine in five compartments, the first cover inlayed with a large and superb plate by Marguerite Lecreux of a horn sculpted in Cameo, featuring a sailboat with its sails unfurled, on the calm sea appears an engraved silverfish set under the plate of the horn and visible in transparency, pastedown in silk decorated with a submarine pattern (coral, jellyfish, starfishes and algae) framed in morocco embellished with quintuple gilt fillets, endpages of iridescence cloth, the following pages in marbled paper, the headband highlighted with a double gilt fillets, gilt roulette on the spine head, all edges gilt, typical Art Deco binding (circa 1910-1920) by Noulhac together with Marguerite Lecreux.
First edition, large octavo, illustrated with 78 engravings together with 12 chromotypographic plates by George Roux and 2 coloured maps.
Publisher’s binding by Hetzel in full red cloth signed A. Lenègre, with the "portrait collé" design: the upper cover signed Souze, polychrome, depicting various means of transport (balloon, locomotive, ships), with a sepia-toned portrait of the author mounted at the centre, and various navigational instruments highlighted in gilt in the foreground; lower cover of type "e" as recorded by Jauzac; spine decorated with several gilt and coloured illustrations; original blue endpapers; one upper corner slightly crimped; all edges gilt. HF catalogue at the end.
Some light scattered foxing.
A maritime adventure recounting a treasure hunt, leading the hero from Tunisia to the Gulf of Guinea, then to Scotland, the island of Spitzbergen, and finally to Sicily.
First edition, illustrated throughout the text.
Some foxing, light rubbing without consequence to the spines, small losses of green paper on the endpapers.
Contemporary manuscript ex-donos on the endpapers as a gift.
Publisher’s full blue cloth, smooth spines decorated with black Greek key motifs, black Greek key borders on the boards, upper boards adorned with a marine illustration, publisher’s black monograms stamped on the lower boards, green paper endpapers and pastedowns, wrappers preserved.
First edition of this uncommon work, originally written in French.
Illustrated with two engraved frontispieces and two folding maps bound at the end of the first volume.
Bradel binding in bottle-green half cloth, flat spine gilt with a central floral tool and double gilt fillet at foot, marbled paper-covered boards, black morocco title label; modern binding signed Boichot.
Three of the four original wrappers preserved, occasional scattered foxing.
Prince Emmanuel Mikhailovich Galitzine or Golitsyn (1804–1853) was a member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society.
First edition.
Elegant half navy blue morocco over marbled paper boards by Pierre-Lucien Martin, spine in six compartments with gilt fillets to bands and geometric decoration of red morocco onlays, date gilt at foot of spine, gilt fillet to boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle frame to pastedowns, covers and spine preserved, top edge gilt.
A very good copy in a handsome binding.
Exceptional autograph inscription from Claude Farrère : "A Pierre Louÿs son très petit disciple [To Pierre Louÿs, his very humble disciple]", along with Chinese ideograms.
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece, in-text illustrations and maps, and a double-page map at the end.
Literary collaboration by Joseph Sachot.
Drawings, cover design and maps by André Millot.
Contemporary binding in green half shagreen with corners, smooth spine without title, marbled paper boards, illustrated wrappers bound in on tabs and preserved.
A compelling account of the life and conditions of Inuit populations: Father Roger Buliard (1909–1978), an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, served for fifteen years as a missionary in the Arctic before joining the Canadian military chaplaincy.
The book was a great success upon publication and inspired many future explorers.
Our copy includes an autograph note signed by Roger Buliard to a friend nicknamed Titi, written on thin paper and dated March 19, 1950.
Also included:
I. Two handwritten postcards addressed to the recipient of the note, along with newspaper clippings.
II. A small oblong 12mo green cloth album with eyelets and ties, containing 29 original silver print photographs, small in format (from 12 x 7 cm to 4 x 4 cm), mounted on heavy paper, depicting the author and various moments from his 1947 expedition.
A delightful ensemble.
Extremely rare first edition of the French translation prepared by Désiré Mouren.
There appears to have been no Portuguese edition of this pioneering work in the field of oceanography.
Losses to the spine, upper cover starting to detach, small marginal losses to the boards.
Francisco Calheiros da Graça (1849-1906), a Brazilian naval lieutenant, took part in the operations against Paraguay and conducted several scientific studies and hydrographic surveys.
Extremely rare.
Manuscript ex-libris on the upper cover.
First edition.
Each booklet is richly illustrated with in-text and full-page figures or photographs.
Expeditions in the Mediterranean (1952–1964), including the study of the islet of Grand Congloué, campaigns in the northeastern Mediterranean, along the coast of Provence, and in the Gulf of Genoa.
Campaigns in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean (1951–1954), and in the tropical Atlantic (1956–1962), including missions in the Gulf of Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands, and off the Atlantic coasts of South America. General index for volumes I to XI.
Back cover of the first volume soiled; small tear at the top of the front cover of the third booklet.
A rare and appealing complete set in 11 volumes.
First edition (cf. Polak, 9297. Only two copies listed in the CCF, at the BnF and Marseille).
Small loss at foot of spine, covers slightly soiled at the margins, contemporary ownership inscription at head of the front wrapper, some foxing.
Unique edition of this very bleak portrait of the state of the French navy at the end of the July Monarchy ("Tout est à refaire dans la marine, c'est un échaffaudage craquant de tous côtés, il faut y faire une révolution radicale, si l'on veut obtenir un résultat digne de la France ; tous les palliatifs employés jusqu'à présent, pour masquer la décrépitude de l'édifice, ne tendent qu'à inspirer une dangereuse confiance à ceux qui ne voient que la surface des choses"). The attribution comes from a handwritten note on the front cover, and is consistent: the future Admiral Louis-Adolphe Bonard (1805-1867) had just been appointed captain in 1847, and had spent much of his career in Oceania (cf. his chapter VII on the colonies).
First edition of the French translation of the only portion translated (and adapted) from the monumental Geographie der Griechen und Römer, comprising 14 volumes published between 1788 and 1825 in Nuremberg, which at the time constituted the finest synthesis of the Ancients’ geographical understanding of the known world (cf. Brunet 23 388).
First gatherings loosened, angular losses to the spine and boards, a few minor spots of foxing.
Konrad Mannert (1756–1834) was among the foremost Bavarian historians of his time.
Very rare first run of this fascinating maritime periodical, whose publication, under the direction of the renowned Edouard Corbière (1793-1875), continued until 1838 (a total of 18 issues), before the title was absorbed into the Journal de la marine (see Polak, 6955, who only records and knew of the first volume).
The set is illustrated with 15 plates: 4 lithographed plates hors texte, including one folding plate, for the first volume; 2 hors texte plates, one of them lithographed, for the second; 3 lithographed plates for the third volume; a lithographed frontispiece in each of the following volumes: 4, 5, 6 and 7; and 3 lithographed plates, including a frontispiece, for the eighth volume.
Half olive-green calf with corners, spines slightly darkened, with five raised bands tooled in gilt with floral ornaments in blind and gilt fillets, blind rolls along the edges of the marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns in marbled paper, sprinkled edges, romantic bindings of the period.
Joints cracked and fragile, some head- and tailcaps rubbed or trimmed, occasional foxing.
First and only Castilian edition of these navigation tables, which were nonetheless translated into English as early as 1801.
No copy recorded in the CCF.
Contemporary half vellum with corners, smooth spine tooled in blind with Greek key rolls, rubbed cherry shagreen label with losses, marbled paper boards with scratches and losses, sprinkled edges, period binding.
José de Mendoza y Ríos (1761-1816) was a mathematician and astronomer; he specialised in the field of nautical astronomy.
Rare first edition illustrated with 9 plates, including a large folding map.
Publisher’s binding in full havana cloth, smooth spine decorated in black, vignette of a ship within a double black circle on the upper cover, black endpapers and pastedowns, joints split, corners slightly rubbed.
The author was a former officer of the 90th Light Infantry Regiment and wrote several works on various military subjects.
Manuscript ex-libris of R. B. Knight on the half-title, blue ink stains on the edges at the beginning of the volume.
First edition printed in a very small number (cf. Polak 1648-1649).
Collection of two obituary notices published in the days following the death of Auguste-Nicolas Vaillant (1793-1858), the renowned navigator who commanded "La Bonite" during the celebrated scientific voyage of exploration of 1835-1837.
With continuous pagination (26 pp.), two separate title-pages and a general title, they are extracted from the "Moniteur universel" and the "Journal des débats" of 9 November 1858 (Vaillant died on 1 November).
The authors are Frédéric Chassériau and J.-J. Baude (their names appear at the end of each text). Cf. Taillemite 332.
A rare and appealing copy.
First edition (cf. Polak 8547).
Rare copy preserved in its original stitching, in temporary cream paper wrappers.
A few marginal manuscript annotations on page 49.
This publication includes only the decrees issued between 7 Thermidor Year II [25 July 1794] and 9 Fructidor Year II [26 August 1794], although the mission of the Convention member Jeanbon Saint-André (1749–1813) in Toulon continued until March 1795.
An important document on the work of one of the reformers of the French navy during the Revolution.
First edition, printed in a small number, of this offprint from the Bulletin hebdomadaire de l'Association scientifique de France of 16 and 23 December 1883.
Slight losses to the corners of the wrappers, a small stain at the head of the upper cover.
Rare offprint providing the report of the scientific mission of the Talisman [1882-1883] directed by Léon Louis Vaillant, whose results were considerable, particularly regarding the ichthyological fauna of the great depths.
Alphonse Milne-Edwards [1835-1900], professor of zoology at the Muséum and member of the Académie des Sciences, was one of the members of the scientific commission of the Talisman expedition.
Inscribed and signed by A. Milne-Edwards on the upper cover.
Uncommon first edition, cf. Polak 7724 (only three copies recorded in the CCF: Musée de la Marine, Angers, and Caen), illustrated with a portrait frontispiece of Count Martin lithographed on cream paper mounted, together with 6 folding lithographed maps hors texte.
Spine cracked with small losses, some foxing.
Rare copy complete with the extensive printer’s catalogue at the end of the volume.
This account of Admiral Pierre Martin (1752-1820) was published by his grandson, Denis Pouget (1808-1892), through his only daughter Marguerite. It notably discusses the fire-ship affair off the Île d’Aix, a naval battle between the British and the French which took place on 11–12 April 1809 during the Fifth Coalition, and which led to the Admiral’s near-permanent disgrace.
Edition from the year of the original, illustrated with a portrait and 22 plates including 2 maps (cf. Taylor Pacific Bibliography p. 520. Cammack & Saito no. 346. Edridge, Solomon Island Bibliography, p. 250.).
Half purple sheep binding, spine with four raised bands tooled with gilt garlands and decorated double panels, traces of rubbing and restorations to spine and joints, gilt fillet framing the black blind-stamped boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, contemporary binding.
Pleasant internal condition despite occasional foxing.
Rare bilingual edition, in Italian with the Croatian text facing, of this study on the woods of Istria, with at the end of the volume a folding engraved plate on the timbers intended for naval construction "de sorte que les navires dureraient plus longtemps".
Disbound copy, the plate detached.
From the Bibliothèque économique Lasteyrie, with its stamp on the title page.
First edition of the most significant 19th-century scientific expedition to Iceland and Greenland.
A few light spots of foxing, otherwise a very good copy.
The 8 volumes of text include:
- History of the voyage, by Joseph-Paul Gaimard and Eugène Robert: 2 volumes with a portrait.
- History of Iceland, by Xavier Marmier: 1 volume.
- Icelandic Literature, by Xavier Marmier: 1 volume.
- Travel journal, by E. Mecquet: 1 volume.
- Zoology and medicine, by Eugène Robert: 1 volume, with folding table.
- Physics, by V. Lottin: 1 volume.
The 4 atlas volumes comprise:
- Mineralogy and geology, by Eugène Robert: 1 volume. Atlas:
- Mineralogy and geology: 1 volume with 36 black plates, some printed on China paper and mounted.
- Historical: 2 volumes with 150 lithographed plates and views in black, printed on China paper and mounted.
- Zoological, medical, and geographical: 1 volume with 51 plates, 35 of which are finely hand-colored (one plate present in both states: black and colored).
Bound in modern half blond calf, flat spines richly gilt with garlands and gilt and blind-stamped fillets, gilt decorative bands at foot of spines, red and dark green morocco spine labels, marbled paper boards, bindings signed by Laurenchet.
A very rare and attractive uniformly bound complete set.
First and only edition of this beautiful album, illustrated with a double-page map and 12 mounted plates after drawings by the author, including 11 aquatints offering spectacular views of the island.
The half-title page bears the following title: Voyage pittoresque aux îles Hébrides.
Some occasional spotting, otherwise a pleasing copy of this album.
Contemporary full purple shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands, compartments decorated with blind-ruled panels, minor rubbing to spine, covers framed with double blind fillets and scrollwork, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle border on pastedowns, gilt dots along the edges, all edges gilt. Half-title: Voyage pittoresque aux îles Hébrides, title, 32 pp., a double-page map and 12 mounted plates after drawings by the author, including 11 aquatints depicting striking island views.
Publisher Charles-Louis-Fleury Panckoucke (1780–1844), son of the renowned Charles-Joseph, recounts a journey to the islands of Skye, Iona, and Staffa from Glasgow, with particular emphasis on the latter. Staffa is famed for its basalt cave, known as "Fingal's Cave" in homage to Ossian and his pseudo-Gaelic creations, which in the 19th century drew numerous writers and artists enchanted by the wild majesty of its interior.
Second edition of the French translation (Sabin 98442).
Bound in modern pastiche half beige calf, smooth spines ruled in gilt with double fillets, red morocco title labels and brown morocco volume labels, marbled paper boards.
The final two leaves of volume two have been restored, with loss of text: a few letters are missing from page 381, and there is a loss of text on pages 383–384, which comprise the table of contents; occasional light spotting, blind stamps to the lower right corner of title-pages.
Complete set including the atlas, sixth and final volume, illustrated with 17 plates and 9 maps.
A handsome copy of this celebrated voyage of exploration through the Pacific and along the west coast of America.
First edition of this correspondence recounting the journey of Joseph-François Michaud and Jean-Joseph-François Poujoulat through Greece, the Archipelago, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Egypt (cf. Atabey 807. Blackmer 1122. Contominas 465).
Minor losses to corners on some boards and spines, a pleasant set overall.
Our copy retains, at the end of volume II, the extremely rare map that is missing from most other copies.
First edition of this highly important work, presenting the full text of all decrees and ordinances relating to trade with the Americas, primarily the West Indies (cf. Sabin 11812. Leclerc 113. Barbier I, 649 c. Ined 1038, 1783 edition).
Illustrated with two engraved frontispiece titles and ten maps (nine folding), depicting South America, North America (repeated in vol. 2), Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Domingue (2), Cayenne and its surroundings, Louisiana, the Guinea coast, as well as twelve engraved plates showing botanical specimens (sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, cocoa), genre scenes (a Black king dispensing justice, a slave market, turtle fishing), various tools and objects (ventilator, suction pump), industrial activities (plantation layout, sugar mill, indigo workshop), etc.
Bound in modern pastiche bindings: half mottled tan sheep over marbled boards, spine with five raised bands adorned with gilt garlands, double gilt panels, red edges.
Minor black ink stains to the edges of volume one, a pleasant copy overall.
First edition, illustrated in the text and with 7 plates out of text, including two heliogravure views, one black-and-white map, and 4 folding maps in colour.
Contemporary half green morocco binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fleurons, marbled paper boards ("cat's eye" pattern), marbled endpapers and pastedowns, speckled edges. A fine period binding.
A few minor spots, mostly on the endpapers; a handsome copy.
First edition and first issue of the illustrations, without the table of plates which was later printed at the bottom of page XLIII and the beginning of page XLIV of the text volume (cf. Louandre et Bourquelot, I, p. 46. Blackmer, 33, mentions a large folding map bound in the atlas which, in fact, does not belong to the work).
The atlas volume contains the complete set of 10 plates, including 4 lithographs engraved by Faure after drawings by Préaux and lithographed by Langlumé.
Text volume bound in contemporary full tree calf, flat spine gilt with double fillets and naval anchors, red morocco label, gilt roll tooling to head- and tailpieces, gilt rolls framing the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges, gilt fillets on board edges.
Atlas volume bound in contemporary half marbled calf, flat spine with gilt double fillets, red morocco label, marbled paper-covered boards.
Some minor foxing to the atlas, small restoration to the title-page of the text volume.
A rare and appealing set.
First edition of the French translation by Jean Dutourd, one of 86 numbered copies on pur fil, only grand papier (deluxe) copies.
Anthracite morocco binding, gilt title lenghtwise, date at the foot, black stingray boards framed in morocco, gilt decorative paper endleaves, original wrappers preserved, gilt edges, an elegant binding signed Boichot. Like most copies, two sunned spots to head and foot of spine, title-page and half-title slightly shaded due to the paper's acidity.
Rare deluxe-paper copy of one of the most influential texts of 20th-century literature, housed in an uncommon stingray binding recalling the famous fish, "bright in the sun" as Hemingway wrote.
Rare first edition (cf. Polak, 1808; Quérard, II, 133. Not in Crowne Library. Absent from Brunet.)
Contemporary full marbled calf bindings, spines with five raised bands framed in gilt fillets, gilt double compartments with decorative tooling, red morocco title labels, volume label with partly faded gilt on vol. II, some joints restored, gilt roll-tooled caps partially dulled, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelles, red edges.
Some foxing, final leaves in both volumes and endpapers lightly toned in margins.
First edition of this rare album illustrated with 15 line-engraved plates, each protected by a tissue guard and accompanied by a caption leaf, including a reproduction of the author's portrait drawn by Ingres in Rome in 1818.
Publisher's original full grey boards, flat spine without lettering, some rubbing, blind-ruled borders on covers, a scratch to the foot of the upper cover, central title, corners rubbed.
Some foxing.
Inscribed by Antoine-Marie Chenavard to his friend Antonin L., with the author's signed presentation note.
First quarto edition, third issue (distinguished by the absence of the table of contents at the end; the other two issues present this table as 28 unnumbered leaves or 42 pages), cf. Polak 7161.
Each of the 23 books comprising the ordinance is separated from the preceding one by 8 blank leaves, likely intended for handwritten supplements or annotations, though these remain unused.
Full tan calf binding, spine with five raised bands, gilt compartments and tooling, tan leather title label, gilt rolls on the somewhat faded caps, name of a former owner gilt-stamped on upper board, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets partially faded along the edges, red edges. Contemporary binding.
Scuffing to the boards, joints restored, small tear on pages 167–68 without loss of text.
First edition of the French translation by Philippe Florent de Puisieux (see Chadenat 1412 and 6038; Brunet 27050; Polak 5580; and Sabin 3968 for the English edition).
The first volume retains its engraved frontispiece.
Contemporary full calf bindings, spines with five raised bands decorated with double gilt panels and ornamental tooling, red morocco labels for title and volume number, gilt roll tooling on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, partially faded gilt fillets on board edges, red edges.
Two scratches and two small losses to the upper covers of the first two volumes.
A handsome copy, attractively bound, from the library of Darest de Saconay, with his armorial bookplate pasted on the inside covers.
First edition, printed in a very small number of copies, of this extremely rare offprint (cf. Tardy 338 for the complete edition. Not listed by Polak.)
Some minor foxing, a handwritten letter "R" in ink at the upper right corner of the front wrapper.
A pleasant copy.
Three-and-a-quarter-page manuscript written in black ink on a bifolium.
One vertical fold.
Manuscript detailing the nominal roster of the Spanish squadron that set sail under the command of Don Luis de Cordova, Don Antonio de Ulloa, and Don Miguel Gastón.
First edition, illustrated with 27 engraved plates (13 in the first volume and 14 in the second – plates 1–7 mistakenly bound after plates 8–14), cf. Ryckebusch 4989. Toussaint et Adolphe D 903. Gay 3239. Robertson 129.
Full mottled fawn calf bindings, flat spines gilt with triple fillets and floral tools (gilding partly faded), gilt roll tooling to headcaps, cherry morocco title and volume labels, plain endpapers with some usual marginal soiling, marbled edges. 19th-century bindings presented in two modern custom slipcases.
Joints restored, internally clean and well-preserved.
The astronomer Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean-Baptiste Le Gentil de La Galaisière (1725–1792), a student of Jean-Dominique Cassini, spent nearly ten years in India and travelling through the Indian Ocean region.
"His work contains valuable information on currents, tides, monsoons, etc. He introduced knowledge of the Hindu zodiac and Brahmanic astronomy, and noted its concordance with Chaldean science" (Hoefer).
The second volume is entirely devoted to the Philippines (pp. 1–366, plates 1–5), Madagascar (pp. 367–628, plates 6–10), and the islands of France and Bourbon (pp. 629–844, plates 11–14).
First edition of this significant travel account, which retraces a major circumnavigation with key stopovers including Île Bourbon, Pondicherry, Singapore, Manila, Macao, Tourane, the Anambas Islands, Java, Surabaya, Port Jackson, Santiago, Valparaíso, and Rio de Janeiro.
The atlas volume contains 56 plates and maps, 13 of which are hand-colored (cf. Sabin 6875; Borba de Moraes I, 115; Ferguson 2236; Nissen ZBI, 483; British Museum (Natural History) II, 605).
The text volumes are bound in contemporary navy blue half calf, flat spines faded and decorated with gilt and blind-ruled fillets, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailpieces, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some rubbing to joints, edges and corners. Contemporary bindings.
The atlas volume is bound in contemporary violet half calf over marbled boards, flat spine with gilt and blind fillets, joints split at head and foot, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailpieces, marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Contemporary binding.
Some foxing, mainly affecting the text volumes; corners of the atlas worn; small tear without loss on p. 81 of vol. I.
First edition (cf. Polak 2791).
Contemporary half purple calf binding, smooth spine darkened and decorated with gilt fillets, garlands and fleurons, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges. Corners rubbed. Period binding.
Small restored loss to the title page, two scuffs to the foot of the upper board.
The author, a former graduate of the École Polytechnique, was a professor of navigation.
Very rare first edition.
No copies listed in the CCF or WorldCat.
Official recognition by the Peruvian Senate of the rank of Rear Admiral granted to Antonio Ambrosio de La Haza Rodriguez (1825–1891), one of the most distinguished naval officers of the Andean Republic.
He served as Minister of War in 1877 and as Commander-in-Chief of the naval forces in 1878–1879.
A handsome copy.
First edition.
Bound in full cherry red morocco, smooth spine richly gilt with romantic typographic ornaments, gilt roll tooling on the caps, boards framed with double gilt fillets and interlaced motifs with gilt corner fleurons, gilt AO monogram stamped at the center of the boards, gilt garland border on the pastedowns, moiré sky-blue silk endpapers and pastedowns, trace of a removed bookplate on one pastedown, gilt fillets on the edges, all edges gilt, contemporary binding.
The sections relating to the colonies are as follows: Martinique, pp. 199–203; Guadeloupe and dependencies, pp. 204–209; French Guiana, pp. 210–212; Bourbon, pp. 216–220; French settlements in Oceania, pp. 223–224.
Copy from the library of Antoine-Marie-Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier (1824–1890), youngest son of Louis-Philippe, with his gilt AO monogram stamped at the center of the boards. OHR 2590 (tool not listed).
A very handsome copy, finely bound in a period romantic binding with the Duke of Montpensier's monogram.
First edition of the French translation of this celebrated travel account.
Our copy is complete with the accompanying atlas volume, which includes 19 plates and maps.
The three text volumes are bound in bottle-green half shagreen, smooth spines with gilt fillets and broad black rules, gilt ornamental rolls at head and foot of spines, minor rubbing to the spine of the first volume, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, original wrappers preserved, edges untrimmed.
The atlas volume, also preserving its original wrappers, is bound in a modern pastiche binding in the style of the text volumes.
Some foxing; joints of the first volume are split at head and tail of upper board.
The plates depict indigenous peoples, landscapes, weapons, utensils, and more.
First edition, illustrated with 69 full-page color plates.
Published under the authority of the Governor General of French West Africa, Mr. W. Ponty.
Includes a double-page general map of the buoyed section of the Senegal River, plans of the ports of Saint-Louis and Kayes, four signaling plates, examples of river marking, a flood gauge, and a detailed chart of the buoyage system across 57 plates, all in color.
Spine warped with black stains at midsection, a few small spots of foxing, black stains along the left margin of the lower cover with minor corner losses.
First edition, illustrated with 6 folding plates at the end of the volume (cf. Polak 5375).
Contemporary Bradel binding in full red boards, flat spine, black shagreen label with gilt lettering, the upper cover stamped in gilt with the monogram of Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, stepson of Napoleon. Lower corners a bit rubbed. Period binding.
A few minor spots, not affecting legibility.
Only two copies listed in the CCF (BnF and École Polytechnique).
The only edition of this insightful analysis of French naval doctrine at the close of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, significantly bearing the motto on the title page: Delenda est Britannia. Charles-Louis-Victor de La Rouvraye (1783–1850) joined the navy in June 1799; he served in the Boulogne flotilla and later in the Indian Ocean, where he was taken prisoner by the British (1806–1811).
Provenance: A distinguished copy from the library of Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, stepson of Napoleon, then Duke of Leuchtenberg, bearing his gilt cipher and that of his wife Augusta Amélie of Bavaria.
Later owned by a member of the Montboissier de Canilliac family, with an armorial bookplate mounted on the pastedown, most likely that of Charles de Montboissier-Beaufort-Canilliac (1753–1836), maritime prefect of Cherbourg from 1816 to 1826.
First edition, with a photographic portrait of H.G. Wells as frontispiece to the first volume.
Illustrated throughout.
Some minor foxing, mostly to the edges.
Contemporary black half-shagreen bindings with cornerpieces, spines with three raised bands, gilt-stamped marine anchors at the foot (a few showing some loss), and gilt medallions on the upper boards featuring the ocean liner Normandie with three inlaid red and black shagreen pieces representing its smokestacks; marbled endpapers and pastedowns, with small red dots in the upper corners of the first flyleaves. Bound at the time for the Normandie.
A handsome copy with distinguished provenance.
Uncommon first edition (cf. Polak 8200).
Modern binding in light blue cloth, smooth spine, speckled edges, original wrappers preserved and mounted on tabs.
The work was written at a time when the abolition of privateering was increasingly being discussed—a measure that would later be enacted in the Treaty of Paris of 1856.
