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PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION
HUMBOLDT, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander, Baron von (1769-1859) and Aim Jacques Alexandre BONPLAND (1773-1858). Voyage aux Régions Équinoctiales du Nouveau Continent fait en 1799-1804. Paris: 1807-25. 23 volumes only, comprising 14 volumes large 2o (560 x 395 mm), and 9 volumes 4o (340 x 245 mm). 1167 plates and maps including 942 colored. Near-uniform contemporary russia, gilt, covers with broad gilt and blind roll-tools and fillets, spines in six or seven compartments, raised bands, tooled and lettered in gilt, gilt inner dentelles, edges gilt, later gilt-blocked Botfield arms, by L. Staggemeier (17 volumes, binders ticket in volume I of the Nova Genera) and completed probably by J. Mackenzie (the 6 volumes published after 1819 bound in companion style with almost identical tools),(a few corners and joints very lightly rubbed, several spines slightly faded, spine of volume II of the Astronomie neatly rebacked with the old spine skilfully laid down). Provenance: Beriah Botfield (1807-1863; his sale, Christie's London, 30 March 1994, lot 67).
This set comprises:
Première Partie:
Relation Historique. Paris: F.Schoell and N.Maze, 1814-19. Volumes I and II only (of 3), 4o. Half-titles to general and section titles in volume I, errata and one engraved plate (in smaller format) bound in at the end of volume I, second volume with 8 additional double-page and folding engraved maps and sections of Mexico, dated 1813-20, bound in (these were later to form part of the Atlas Géographique et Physique. (Volume II lacking half-titles, occasional light spotting.)
Atlas Pittoresque. Vues des Cordillères, et monumens des peuples de l'Amérique. Paris: F.Schoell, 1810. Large 2o. Half-titles to general and section title, engraved dedication to Visconti, 16pp introduction dated 1813, 69 engraved, etched and aquatint plates on 68 leaves by Bouquet and others, several printed in sepia, 26 hand-colored, one double-page. (Occasional very light spotting, principally to margins, upper joints of binding slightly cracked).
Seconde Partie:
Recueil d'Observations de Zoologie et d'Anatomie comparée. Paris: F.Schoell and G.Dufour, 1811. Volume I only (of 2), 4o. Half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to George Cuvier, 30 engraved plates by Bouquet, 19 printed in colors and finished by hand. (Several plates shaved at outer margins, light spotting of early leaves and several plates.)
Troisième partie:
Essai Politique sue le Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne with Atlas Géographique du Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne. Paris: F.Schoell, 1811. 3 volumes, text 2 volumes 4o, and atlas, large 2o. Half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to Charles IV of Spain, atlas volume with 20 engraved maps and plans on 12 leaves, 4 hand-colored engraved cross-sections, all folding or double-page, 3 engraved views, several of the views and cross-sections in aquatint, 2 in sepia. (Light spotting to the beginning and end of the text volumes.)
Quatriéme partie:
Recueil d'Observations Astronomiques, d'Opérations Trigonométriques et de Mesures Barométriques...rédigées et calculées...par Jabbo Oltmanns. Paris: F.Schoell, 1808-10. 2 volumes in 3, 4o, half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to Delambre, introduction dated 1811, 2 engraved plates. (Light spotting to early and later leaves, volume II neatly rebacked, old spine laid down.)
Cinquième partie:
Physique Générale, et Relation Historique du Voyage...contenant un Essai sur la Géographie des plantes. Paris: F.Schoell, 1807. 4o. Half-titles to general and section title, title lettered "premiere partie," engraved dedication to Antoine Laurent de Jussien and Rene Desfontaines. (Misplaced printed half-title and title for the text to Essai Politique bound in before title, lacking the folding map of the Andes.) As the first published part of the series the spine has been lettered "Premiere partie. Physique Generale Tom. I," an indication of an intent to publish further volumes in this part; these were however never accomplished.
Sixième partie: Botanique.
1. Plantes Équinoxiales recueillies au Mexique, dans l'le de Cuba, dans les provinces de Caracas...et de la rivière des Amazones. Paris: F.Schoell, 1808-1809 [-1817]. 2 volumes, large 2o. Engraved portrait frontispiece of Don Jose Celestino Mutis of Bogota, half-titles to general titles of each volume, section titles in Latin and French, 143 engraved plates by Sellier after Turpin and Poiteau, plate 98 with the "8" added in pencil. (Occasional light spotting of tissue guards and outer margins.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
2. Monographie des Melastomacées Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande and Gide Fils, 1816-23. 2 volumes, large 2o. 2 half-titles to volume I, three section titles in Latin and French in each volume, 120 fine stipple-engraved plates by Bouquet after Turpin and Poiteau, printed in colors and finished by hand, volume I comprising plates of Melastomes, volume II of Rhexies, 3 leaves of index. (Lacking half-title to volume II, occasional light spotting, mostly to margins but affecting several plates at the end of volume II, additional replacement text leaf tipped in for plate 40 in volume II.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
3. Nova Genera et Species plantarum. Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande, N.Maze, and Gide Fils, 1815-25. 7 volumes, large 2o. Half-titles to general and section titles of volumes I and VII, dedication to Nicolaus Jacquin, frontispiece diagram of the vegetation zones of mountains, printed in colors and finished by hand, 715 engraved plates by Turpin, all but two (3 and 96) hand-colored, including 2 of the 3 cancelled plates (479 and 480), the plates numbered to 700 with bis or a/b plates 332, 481, 483, 499, 514, 532, 547, 548, 562, 645, 647, 659, 660, 688. (Lacking half-titles to volumes II-VI, occasional light spotting to margins, some plates with light offsetting from text, a few more heavily offset, 2pp text for plate 655 in volume VII misbound, plate 655 lacking and substituted by a blank leaf titled "plate 655 wanted," spine of volume VII mislettered septieme partie.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
4. Mimoses et autres Plantes Légumineuses du Nouveau Continent...décrites et publiées par Charles-Sigismond Kunth. Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande, 1819 [-1824]. Large 2o. Half-titles to general and section title, dedication to Frederick III of Prussia, 60 fine stipple engraved plates after Turpin, printed in colors and finished by hand. (Occasional light spotting and light offsetting onto plates.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
A FINE SET OF HUMBOLDT AND BONPLAND'S MONUMENTAL WORK ON CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, COMPLETE UP TO 1825, IN A CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH BINDING. Humboldt and Bonpland's journey through Central and South America is one of the great explorations of the American continent, and opened up the South American Continent to the scientific explorers of the 19th Century. However, this great scientific venture occured by chance. Humboldt, biologist, geographer and cosmic scientist, was born in Berlin, and after studies at the Universities of Frankfurt and Goettingen, and under George Forster in England, joined the famous Freiburg school of mines and in 1792 became director general of mines at Anspach and Bayreuth. On the death of his mother in 1796 he planned to travel, and whilst in Paris in 1798 met the botanist Bonpland who persuaded him to undertake an expedition to Egypt and North Africa. In Marseilles their vessel to take them to Tunis was delayed, and they travelled to Spain hoping to find another passage. To obtain further finance for his expenses, Humboldt approached the Berlin bankers Mendelssohn and Friedländer, who out of a sense of cultural responsibility, granted him unlimited funds in Madrid. At this point Humboldt decided to pursue his great ambition, using these funds. He managed to obtain two audiences with King Charles IV, who was impressed by his knowledge of geology and minerals, and soon they received a special passport from the Spanish government, stating that he had been requested to collect minerals and plants on a journey to Cuba, Mexico,New Granada (Colombia), Peru, Chile and Buenos Aires, permitting him to use any Spanish ship; Bonpland was declared to be his secretary. The two scientists embarked in the frigate Pizarro from Corunna for the New World in June 1799, arriving at Cumaná in Venezuela the following month, and at Caracas in February 1800. Humboldt and Bonpland's explorations in the Americas lasted 5 years and covered three regions. The first journey began at Caracas where the party spent 4 months travelling south to the river Orinoco, and from there down the river to its source, a plateau watershed, where the Casaquaire river meets the Orinoco, and goes on to join the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon on the border with Brazil, thus forming a continuous waterway, a unique example of the confluence of two vast river basins in the center of a continent. The party collected numerous botanical specimens on the trip, many of which failed to survive the damp and the insects. However on their return down the Orinocco they set off for Cuba, where two plant collections were despatched to the Natural Science Museum in Madrid, and a collection of exotic animals from the rainforest to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Whilst at sea numerous astronomical observations were carried out. Humboldt had planned to travel via Mexico to the Phillippines, but on hearing the news that Baudin with his two ships was planning to round the Horn and stop off at Lima, Peru, the expedition set off in 1801 to meet Baudin, sailing to Cartegena in Colombia. Their instruments were sent by ship around the Horn, and they set off overland, travelling up the Magdelena river, to Bogota crossing the Cordilleras and exploring the northern Andes. They reached Quito on 6th January 1802, ascended Chimborazo (18,000 feet high) and investigated the headstream of the Amazon, descending to Lima, where they hoped to meet Baudin. Baudin however had turned back from the Horn and sailed to the Pacific via the Cape. Humboldt therefore sailed from Lima via Guayaquil to Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico arriving in March 1803. The expedition made its headquarters in Mexico City, travelling around Mexico and gathering information for almost a year. In March 1804 they departed for Cuba, returning to Bordeaux via Philadelphia where Humboldt met Jefferson, arriving back in France in August. Immediately after his return to Paris, Humboldt commenced work on his account and results of his travels.
The publishing history is bibliographically quite complicated. The set in its full form published under Humboldt's direction totaled 30 volumes, 20 in folio, 10 in large quarto, to which should be added five supplementary volumes by other authors. Publication was in fascicules by a consortium of publishers: Gide, Schoell, Dufour and Maze, and later Fuchs, Gide Fils, Gide & Band, and Levrault. It is unfortunately impossible to tell from the titles of the bound volumes the publishers and dates of publication of the fascicules. The project was fantastically expensive and involved approximately 50 artists, engravers, cartographers and scientists, whose fees were all paid by Humboldt himself, although he did receive some subventions from the French and Prussian governments. The work is reputed to have cost twice as much as the official Description de l'Egypte published by the French government in 20 volumes at a cost of 3 million francs. Alone the 1300 folio copperplates are said to have cost 840,000 francs. The important text and scientific volumes had been completed by 1815, while the remaining texts and botanical volumes were mainly available by 1828. An uncolored set in 30 volumes, unbound in sheets, cost 9,574 francs. The edition was small and the French, Russian, Prussian and Austrian governments all subscribed to a number of copies for distribution to university and school libraries. Only a very few large paper colored copies of the Botanique were produced (once reputed to have been 6), and they were extremely expensive. Even during the course of the publication, some volumes went out-of-print and it was difficult to complete sets. Amongst other contributors Humboldt received important help from the German botanist Carl Sigismund Kunth (1788-1850), who joined him in Paris in 1813, to assist with the final preparation of the Botanical volumes. Bonpland had became more involved with his work at Empress Josephine's gardens at Malmaison and after her death, decided to return to South America, setting off for Buenos Aires in 1816, and travelled around Argentina and Bolivia in his search for plants.
Beck, Alexander von Humboldt, Wiesbaden, 1959-61, for a complete discussion of this work; Palau 117013; Brunet 373-4. For the botanical works: Nissen BBI 954; Great Flower Books 50, 63; Stafleu TL2 3139, 3141-3, 3996 (Stafleu does not note large paper issues of the Melastomacées and Mimoses). (23)
细节
HUMBOLDT, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander, Baron von (1769-1859) and Aim Jacques Alexandre BONPLAND (1773-1858). Voyage aux Régions Équinoctiales du Nouveau Continent fait en 1799-1804. Paris: 1807-25. 23 volumes only, comprising 14 volumes large 2o (560 x 395 mm), and 9 volumes 4o (340 x 245 mm). 1167 plates and maps including 942 colored. Near-uniform contemporary russia, gilt, covers with broad gilt and blind roll-tools and fillets, spines in six or seven compartments, raised bands, tooled and lettered in gilt, gilt inner dentelles, edges gilt, later gilt-blocked Botfield arms, by L. Staggemeier (17 volumes, binders ticket in volume I of the Nova Genera) and completed probably by J. Mackenzie (the 6 volumes published after 1819 bound in companion style with almost identical tools),(a few corners and joints very lightly rubbed, several spines slightly faded, spine of volume II of the Astronomie neatly rebacked with the old spine skilfully laid down). Provenance: Beriah Botfield (1807-1863; his sale, Christie's London, 30 March 1994, lot 67).
This set comprises:
Première Partie:
Relation Historique. Paris: F.Schoell and N.Maze, 1814-19. Volumes I and II only (of 3), 4o. Half-titles to general and section titles in volume I, errata and one engraved plate (in smaller format) bound in at the end of volume I, second volume with 8 additional double-page and folding engraved maps and sections of Mexico, dated 1813-20, bound in (these were later to form part of the Atlas Géographique et Physique. (Volume II lacking half-titles, occasional light spotting.)
Atlas Pittoresque. Vues des Cordillères, et monumens des peuples de l'Amérique. Paris: F.Schoell, 1810. Large 2o. Half-titles to general and section title, engraved dedication to Visconti, 16pp introduction dated 1813, 69 engraved, etched and aquatint plates on 68 leaves by Bouquet and others, several printed in sepia, 26 hand-colored, one double-page. (Occasional very light spotting, principally to margins, upper joints of binding slightly cracked).
Seconde Partie:
Recueil d'Observations de Zoologie et d'Anatomie comparée. Paris: F.Schoell and G.Dufour, 1811. Volume I only (of 2), 4o. Half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to George Cuvier, 30 engraved plates by Bouquet, 19 printed in colors and finished by hand. (Several plates shaved at outer margins, light spotting of early leaves and several plates.)
Troisième partie:
Essai Politique sue le Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne with Atlas Géographique du Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne. Paris: F.Schoell, 1811. 3 volumes, text 2 volumes 4o, and atlas, large 2o. Half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to Charles IV of Spain, atlas volume with 20 engraved maps and plans on 12 leaves, 4 hand-colored engraved cross-sections, all folding or double-page, 3 engraved views, several of the views and cross-sections in aquatint, 2 in sepia. (Light spotting to the beginning and end of the text volumes.)
Quatriéme partie:
Recueil d'Observations Astronomiques, d'Opérations Trigonométriques et de Mesures Barométriques...rédigées et calculées...par Jabbo Oltmanns. Paris: F.Schoell, 1808-10. 2 volumes in 3, 4o, half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to Delambre, introduction dated 1811, 2 engraved plates. (Light spotting to early and later leaves, volume II neatly rebacked, old spine laid down.)
Cinquième partie:
Physique Générale, et Relation Historique du Voyage...contenant un Essai sur la Géographie des plantes. Paris: F.Schoell, 1807. 4o. Half-titles to general and section title, title lettered "premiere partie," engraved dedication to Antoine Laurent de Jussien and Rene Desfontaines. (Misplaced printed half-title and title for the text to Essai Politique bound in before title, lacking the folding map of the Andes.) As the first published part of the series the spine has been lettered "Premiere partie. Physique Generale Tom. I," an indication of an intent to publish further volumes in this part; these were however never accomplished.
Sixième partie: Botanique.
1. Plantes Équinoxiales recueillies au Mexique, dans l'le de Cuba, dans les provinces de Caracas...et de la rivière des Amazones. Paris: F.Schoell, 1808-1809 [-1817]. 2 volumes, large 2o. Engraved portrait frontispiece of Don Jose Celestino Mutis of Bogota, half-titles to general titles of each volume, section titles in Latin and French, 143 engraved plates by Sellier after Turpin and Poiteau, plate 98 with the "8" added in pencil. (Occasional light spotting of tissue guards and outer margins.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
2. Monographie des Melastomacées Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande and Gide Fils, 1816-23. 2 volumes, large 2o. 2 half-titles to volume I, three section titles in Latin and French in each volume, 120 fine stipple-engraved plates by Bouquet after Turpin and Poiteau, printed in colors and finished by hand, volume I comprising plates of Melastomes, volume II of Rhexies, 3 leaves of index. (Lacking half-title to volume II, occasional light spotting, mostly to margins but affecting several plates at the end of volume II, additional replacement text leaf tipped in for plate 40 in volume II.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
3. Nova Genera et Species plantarum. Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande, N.Maze, and Gide Fils, 1815-25. 7 volumes, large 2o. Half-titles to general and section titles of volumes I and VII, dedication to Nicolaus Jacquin, frontispiece diagram of the vegetation zones of mountains, printed in colors and finished by hand, 715 engraved plates by Turpin, all but two (3 and 96) hand-colored, including 2 of the 3 cancelled plates (479 and 480), the plates numbered to 700 with bis or a/b plates 332, 481, 483, 499, 514, 532, 547, 548, 562, 645, 647, 659, 660, 688. (Lacking half-titles to volumes II-VI, occasional light spotting to margins, some plates with light offsetting from text, a few more heavily offset, 2pp text for plate 655 in volume VII misbound, plate 655 lacking and substituted by a blank leaf titled "plate 655 wanted," spine of volume VII mislettered septieme partie.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
4. Mimoses et autres Plantes Légumineuses du Nouveau Continent...décrites et publiées par Charles-Sigismond Kunth. Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande, 1819 [-1824]. Large 2o. Half-titles to general and section title, dedication to Frederick III of Prussia, 60 fine stipple engraved plates after Turpin, printed in colors and finished by hand. (Occasional light spotting and light offsetting onto plates.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
A FINE SET OF HUMBOLDT AND BONPLAND'S MONUMENTAL WORK ON CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, COMPLETE UP TO 1825, IN A CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH BINDING. Humboldt and Bonpland's journey through Central and South America is one of the great explorations of the American continent, and opened up the South American Continent to the scientific explorers of the 19th Century. However, this great scientific venture occured by chance. Humboldt, biologist, geographer and cosmic scientist, was born in Berlin, and after studies at the Universities of Frankfurt and Goettingen, and under George Forster in England, joined the famous Freiburg school of mines and in 1792 became director general of mines at Anspach and Bayreuth. On the death of his mother in 1796 he planned to travel, and whilst in Paris in 1798 met the botanist Bonpland who persuaded him to undertake an expedition to Egypt and North Africa. In Marseilles their vessel to take them to Tunis was delayed, and they travelled to Spain hoping to find another passage. To obtain further finance for his expenses, Humboldt approached the Berlin bankers Mendelssohn and Friedländer, who out of a sense of cultural responsibility, granted him unlimited funds in Madrid. At this point Humboldt decided to pursue his great ambition, using these funds. He managed to obtain two audiences with King Charles IV, who was impressed by his knowledge of geology and minerals, and soon they received a special passport from the Spanish government, stating that he had been requested to collect minerals and plants on a journey to Cuba, Mexico,New Granada (Colombia), Peru, Chile and Buenos Aires, permitting him to use any Spanish ship; Bonpland was declared to be his secretary. The two scientists embarked in the frigate Pizarro from Corunna for the New World in June 1799, arriving at Cumaná in Venezuela the following month, and at Caracas in February 1800. Humboldt and Bonpland's explorations in the Americas lasted 5 years and covered three regions. The first journey began at Caracas where the party spent 4 months travelling south to the river Orinoco, and from there down the river to its source, a plateau watershed, where the Casaquaire river meets the Orinoco, and goes on to join the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon on the border with Brazil, thus forming a continuous waterway, a unique example of the confluence of two vast river basins in the center of a continent. The party collected numerous botanical specimens on the trip, many of which failed to survive the damp and the insects. However on their return down the Orinocco they set off for Cuba, where two plant collections were despatched to the Natural Science Museum in Madrid, and a collection of exotic animals from the rainforest to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Whilst at sea numerous astronomical observations were carried out. Humboldt had planned to travel via Mexico to the Phillippines, but on hearing the news that Baudin with his two ships was planning to round the Horn and stop off at Lima, Peru, the expedition set off in 1801 to meet Baudin, sailing to Cartegena in Colombia. Their instruments were sent by ship around the Horn, and they set off overland, travelling up the Magdelena river, to Bogota crossing the Cordilleras and exploring the northern Andes. They reached Quito on 6th January 1802, ascended Chimborazo (18,000 feet high) and investigated the headstream of the Amazon, descending to Lima, where they hoped to meet Baudin. Baudin however had turned back from the Horn and sailed to the Pacific via the Cape. Humboldt therefore sailed from Lima via Guayaquil to Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico arriving in March 1803. The expedition made its headquarters in Mexico City, travelling around Mexico and gathering information for almost a year. In March 1804 they departed for Cuba, returning to Bordeaux via Philadelphia where Humboldt met Jefferson, arriving back in France in August. Immediately after his return to Paris, Humboldt commenced work on his account and results of his travels.
The publishing history is bibliographically quite complicated. The set in its full form published under Humboldt's direction totaled 30 volumes, 20 in folio, 10 in large quarto, to which should be added five supplementary volumes by other authors. Publication was in fascicules by a consortium of publishers: Gide, Schoell, Dufour and Maze, and later Fuchs, Gide Fils, Gide & Band, and Levrault. It is unfortunately impossible to tell from the titles of the bound volumes the publishers and dates of publication of the fascicules. The project was fantastically expensive and involved approximately 50 artists, engravers, cartographers and scientists, whose fees were all paid by Humboldt himself, although he did receive some subventions from the French and Prussian governments. The work is reputed to have cost twice as much as the official Description de l'Egypte published by the French government in 20 volumes at a cost of 3 million francs. Alone the 1300 folio copperplates are said to have cost 840,000 francs. The important text and scientific volumes had been completed by 1815, while the remaining texts and botanical volumes were mainly available by 1828. An uncolored set in 30 volumes, unbound in sheets, cost 9,574 francs. The edition was small and the French, Russian, Prussian and Austrian governments all subscribed to a number of copies for distribution to university and school libraries. Only a very few large paper colored copies of the Botanique were produced (once reputed to have been 6), and they were extremely expensive. Even during the course of the publication, some volumes went out-of-print and it was difficult to complete sets. Amongst other contributors Humboldt received important help from the German botanist Carl Sigismund Kunth (1788-1850), who joined him in Paris in 1813, to assist with the final preparation of the Botanical volumes. Bonpland had became more involved with his work at Empress Josephine's gardens at Malmaison and after her death, decided to return to South America, setting off for Buenos Aires in 1816, and travelled around Argentina and Bolivia in his search for plants.
Beck, Alexander von Humboldt, Wiesbaden, 1959-61, for a complete discussion of this work; Palau 117013; Brunet 373-4. For the botanical works: Nissen BBI 954; Great Flower Books 50, 63; Stafleu TL2 3139, 3141-3, 3996 (Stafleu does not note large paper issues of the Melastomacées and Mimoses). (23)
This set comprises:
Première Partie:
Relation Historique. Paris: F.Schoell and N.Maze, 1814-19. Volumes I and II only (of 3), 4o. Half-titles to general and section titles in volume I, errata and one engraved plate (in smaller format) bound in at the end of volume I, second volume with 8 additional double-page and folding engraved maps and sections of Mexico, dated 1813-20, bound in (these were later to form part of the Atlas Géographique et Physique. (Volume II lacking half-titles, occasional light spotting.)
Atlas Pittoresque. Vues des Cordillères, et monumens des peuples de l'Amérique. Paris: F.Schoell, 1810. Large 2o. Half-titles to general and section title, engraved dedication to Visconti, 16pp introduction dated 1813, 69 engraved, etched and aquatint plates on 68 leaves by Bouquet and others, several printed in sepia, 26 hand-colored, one double-page. (Occasional very light spotting, principally to margins, upper joints of binding slightly cracked).
Seconde Partie:
Recueil d'Observations de Zoologie et d'Anatomie comparée. Paris: F.Schoell and G.Dufour, 1811. Volume I only (of 2), 4o. Half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to George Cuvier, 30 engraved plates by Bouquet, 19 printed in colors and finished by hand. (Several plates shaved at outer margins, light spotting of early leaves and several plates.)
Troisième partie:
Essai Politique sue le Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne with Atlas Géographique du Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne. Paris: F.Schoell, 1811. 3 volumes, text 2 volumes 4o, and atlas, large 2o. Half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to Charles IV of Spain, atlas volume with 20 engraved maps and plans on 12 leaves, 4 hand-colored engraved cross-sections, all folding or double-page, 3 engraved views, several of the views and cross-sections in aquatint, 2 in sepia. (Light spotting to the beginning and end of the text volumes.)
Quatriéme partie:
Recueil d'Observations Astronomiques, d'Opérations Trigonométriques et de Mesures Barométriques...rédigées et calculées...par Jabbo Oltmanns. Paris: F.Schoell, 1808-10. 2 volumes in 3, 4o, half-titles to general and section titles, dedication to Delambre, introduction dated 1811, 2 engraved plates. (Light spotting to early and later leaves, volume II neatly rebacked, old spine laid down.)
Cinquième partie:
Physique Générale, et Relation Historique du Voyage...contenant un Essai sur la Géographie des plantes. Paris: F.Schoell, 1807. 4o. Half-titles to general and section title, title lettered "premiere partie," engraved dedication to Antoine Laurent de Jussien and Rene Desfontaines. (Misplaced printed half-title and title for the text to Essai Politique bound in before title, lacking the folding map of the Andes.) As the first published part of the series the spine has been lettered "Premiere partie. Physique Generale Tom. I," an indication of an intent to publish further volumes in this part; these were however never accomplished.
Sixième partie: Botanique.
1. Plantes Équinoxiales recueillies au Mexique, dans l'le de Cuba, dans les provinces de Caracas...et de la rivière des Amazones. Paris: F.Schoell, 1808-1809 [-1817]. 2 volumes, large 2o. Engraved portrait frontispiece of Don Jose Celestino Mutis of Bogota, half-titles to general titles of each volume, section titles in Latin and French, 143 engraved plates by Sellier after Turpin and Poiteau, plate 98 with the "8" added in pencil. (Occasional light spotting of tissue guards and outer margins.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
2. Monographie des Melastomacées Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande and Gide Fils, 1816-23. 2 volumes, large 2o. 2 half-titles to volume I, three section titles in Latin and French in each volume, 120 fine stipple-engraved plates by Bouquet after Turpin and Poiteau, printed in colors and finished by hand, volume I comprising plates of Melastomes, volume II of Rhexies, 3 leaves of index. (Lacking half-title to volume II, occasional light spotting, mostly to margins but affecting several plates at the end of volume II, additional replacement text leaf tipped in for plate 40 in volume II.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
3. Nova Genera et Species plantarum. Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande, N.Maze, and Gide Fils, 1815-25. 7 volumes, large 2o. Half-titles to general and section titles of volumes I and VII, dedication to Nicolaus Jacquin, frontispiece diagram of the vegetation zones of mountains, printed in colors and finished by hand, 715 engraved plates by Turpin, all but two (3 and 96) hand-colored, including 2 of the 3 cancelled plates (479 and 480), the plates numbered to 700 with bis or a/b plates 332, 481, 483, 499, 514, 532, 547, 548, 562, 645, 647, 659, 660, 688. (Lacking half-titles to volumes II-VI, occasional light spotting to margins, some plates with light offsetting from text, a few more heavily offset, 2pp text for plate 655 in volume VII misbound, plate 655 lacking and substituted by a blank leaf titled "plate 655 wanted," spine of volume VII mislettered septieme partie.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
4. Mimoses et autres Plantes Légumineuses du Nouveau Continent...décrites et publiées par Charles-Sigismond Kunth. Paris: Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande, 1819 [-1824]. Large 2o. Half-titles to general and section title, dedication to Frederick III of Prussia, 60 fine stipple engraved plates after Turpin, printed in colors and finished by hand. (Occasional light spotting and light offsetting onto plates.) LARGE PAPER COPY.
A FINE SET OF HUMBOLDT AND BONPLAND'S MONUMENTAL WORK ON CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, COMPLETE UP TO 1825, IN A CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH BINDING. Humboldt and Bonpland's journey through Central and South America is one of the great explorations of the American continent, and opened up the South American Continent to the scientific explorers of the 19th Century. However, this great scientific venture occured by chance. Humboldt, biologist, geographer and cosmic scientist, was born in Berlin, and after studies at the Universities of Frankfurt and Goettingen, and under George Forster in England, joined the famous Freiburg school of mines and in 1792 became director general of mines at Anspach and Bayreuth. On the death of his mother in 1796 he planned to travel, and whilst in Paris in 1798 met the botanist Bonpland who persuaded him to undertake an expedition to Egypt and North Africa. In Marseilles their vessel to take them to Tunis was delayed, and they travelled to Spain hoping to find another passage. To obtain further finance for his expenses, Humboldt approached the Berlin bankers Mendelssohn and Friedländer, who out of a sense of cultural responsibility, granted him unlimited funds in Madrid. At this point Humboldt decided to pursue his great ambition, using these funds. He managed to obtain two audiences with King Charles IV, who was impressed by his knowledge of geology and minerals, and soon they received a special passport from the Spanish government, stating that he had been requested to collect minerals and plants on a journey to Cuba, Mexico,New Granada (Colombia), Peru, Chile and Buenos Aires, permitting him to use any Spanish ship; Bonpland was declared to be his secretary. The two scientists embarked in the frigate Pizarro from Corunna for the New World in June 1799, arriving at Cumaná in Venezuela the following month, and at Caracas in February 1800. Humboldt and Bonpland's explorations in the Americas lasted 5 years and covered three regions. The first journey began at Caracas where the party spent 4 months travelling south to the river Orinoco, and from there down the river to its source, a plateau watershed, where the Casaquaire river meets the Orinoco, and goes on to join the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon on the border with Brazil, thus forming a continuous waterway, a unique example of the confluence of two vast river basins in the center of a continent. The party collected numerous botanical specimens on the trip, many of which failed to survive the damp and the insects. However on their return down the Orinocco they set off for Cuba, where two plant collections were despatched to the Natural Science Museum in Madrid, and a collection of exotic animals from the rainforest to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Whilst at sea numerous astronomical observations were carried out. Humboldt had planned to travel via Mexico to the Phillippines, but on hearing the news that Baudin with his two ships was planning to round the Horn and stop off at Lima, Peru, the expedition set off in 1801 to meet Baudin, sailing to Cartegena in Colombia. Their instruments were sent by ship around the Horn, and they set off overland, travelling up the Magdelena river, to Bogota crossing the Cordilleras and exploring the northern Andes. They reached Quito on 6th January 1802, ascended Chimborazo (18,000 feet high) and investigated the headstream of the Amazon, descending to Lima, where they hoped to meet Baudin. Baudin however had turned back from the Horn and sailed to the Pacific via the Cape. Humboldt therefore sailed from Lima via Guayaquil to Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico arriving in March 1803. The expedition made its headquarters in Mexico City, travelling around Mexico and gathering information for almost a year. In March 1804 they departed for Cuba, returning to Bordeaux via Philadelphia where Humboldt met Jefferson, arriving back in France in August. Immediately after his return to Paris, Humboldt commenced work on his account and results of his travels.
The publishing history is bibliographically quite complicated. The set in its full form published under Humboldt's direction totaled 30 volumes, 20 in folio, 10 in large quarto, to which should be added five supplementary volumes by other authors. Publication was in fascicules by a consortium of publishers: Gide, Schoell, Dufour and Maze, and later Fuchs, Gide Fils, Gide & Band, and Levrault. It is unfortunately impossible to tell from the titles of the bound volumes the publishers and dates of publication of the fascicules. The project was fantastically expensive and involved approximately 50 artists, engravers, cartographers and scientists, whose fees were all paid by Humboldt himself, although he did receive some subventions from the French and Prussian governments. The work is reputed to have cost twice as much as the official Description de l'Egypte published by the French government in 20 volumes at a cost of 3 million francs. Alone the 1300 folio copperplates are said to have cost 840,000 francs. The important text and scientific volumes had been completed by 1815, while the remaining texts and botanical volumes were mainly available by 1828. An uncolored set in 30 volumes, unbound in sheets, cost 9,574 francs. The edition was small and the French, Russian, Prussian and Austrian governments all subscribed to a number of copies for distribution to university and school libraries. Only a very few large paper colored copies of the Botanique were produced (once reputed to have been 6), and they were extremely expensive. Even during the course of the publication, some volumes went out-of-print and it was difficult to complete sets. Amongst other contributors Humboldt received important help from the German botanist Carl Sigismund Kunth (1788-1850), who joined him in Paris in 1813, to assist with the final preparation of the Botanical volumes. Bonpland had became more involved with his work at Empress Josephine's gardens at Malmaison and after her death, decided to return to South America, setting off for Buenos Aires in 1816, and travelled around Argentina and Bolivia in his search for plants.
Beck, Alexander von Humboldt, Wiesbaden, 1959-61, for a complete discussion of this work; Palau 117013; Brunet 373-4. For the botanical works: Nissen BBI 954; Great Flower Books 50, 63; Stafleu TL2 3139, 3141-3, 3996 (Stafleu does not note large paper issues of the Melastomacées and Mimoses). (23)