LA PEROUSE (Jean-François Galaup, comte de). - Lot 85

Lot n° 85
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12000 - 15000 EUR
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Result : 11 374EUR
LA PEROUSE (Jean-François Galaup, comte de). - Lot 85
LA PEROUSE (Jean-François Galaup, comte de). Travel from Perugia around the world. Paris, Imprimerie de la République, year V (1797). Four volumes in-4 of: a portrait, (2) ff, LXXII, 346, (1) pp.; (2) ff, 398, (1) pp.; (2) ff, 309 pp., and an atlas in-folio, volumes of text bound at the time in porphyry calf, gilt fillets and garlands on the plates, smooth decorated spines, jaspered edges, atlas in modern fawn half calf. First edition. The atlas contains a title-frontispiece by Moreau-le-Jeune, a portrait and 69 single, double or folded plates, including 31 maps, 4 costume plates, 11 of natural history, 6 of boats and 17 miscellaneous views, the whole here mounted on tabs. The two frigates L'Astrolabe and La Boussole, commanded by La Pérouse, left France in 1785 with a mission to explore areas not visited by Cook, to seek a passage to the northwest of America and to obtain scientific and commercial information. Louis XVI himself had made plans for the trip. Alaska was approached for the first time by a French expedition and California for the first time by others than the Spanish. The description given here of these regions is of primary importance. Perugia then visited the Sandwich Islands, Hawaii, Macau, Formosa, the China and Japan Seas, making remarkable maps of the Pacific coast of Asia. All traces of the expedition were lost after its departure from Australia in March 1788, but much of its achievements were preserved, having been shipped to Europe from Macau and Kamchatka. It was not until 1826 that the wrecks of the ships were found by Captain Dillon in the Santa Cruz archipelago. The atlas of this famous voyage offers views of particular beauty. It is a beautiful copy whose text volumes, printed on blue paper, were covered at the time with superb bindings decorated in the style of Bozerian. Rare in this condition. Some rubbing marks and small snags on the bindings. Ferguson, 268; Sabin, 38960.
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