Important scientific and hydrographic research. A complete set of a work whose publication was never completed. One of the rarest and most beautiful of the Grands Voyages.

Ornithologically, this was a very important voyage. René-Primevère Lesson and Prosper Garnot (who had to leave the ship at Sydney on account of illness), were medical officers but were entrusted with recording the zoology discovered on the expedition. Lesson recorded a number of bird species – many for the first time. Of the 60 birds illustrated on 44 of the Atlas' 53 plates, 4 are from New Zealand.For a detailed account of the New Zealand birds found, see Notornis, 2016, Vol. 63: 173-175 (Ornithological Society of New Zealand).

The voyage, led by Duperrey, concentrated on the exploration of the Pacific. The Coquille 'called at Brazil, the Falkland Islands, Concepcion, Callao, and Payta. The Pacific islands visited were the Tuamotu Archipelago, Tahiti and the Society Islands, Tonga, Rotuma, the Gilbert and Caroline Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago. Australia was visited twice, and explorations made of New Zealand and of the Maoris were of particular significance. Vast quantities of ethnographic and scientific data, were collected, Before returning to Marseilles, Java, Mauritius, and Ascension were visited' (Hill, p90). The scientific data included much on the botany, including plates of seaweed, perhaps the earliest of their kind, and zoology.

First edition. Complete set in 10 volumes, comprising 6 volumes 4to text and 4 large folio atlas volumes, with 4 engraved titles and 376 engraved plates and maps, including portraits, views, and natural history plates, many hand-coloured. Comprising:
DUPERREY, L.-I. Histoire du Voyage. [1826]. Text 4to (282 x 222mm), i-xlvi, 1-202 pp. (all published, title lacking as usual); folio atlas (485 x 313mm) with engraved title, 60 engraved plates, of which 59 hand-coloured, by Ambroise Tardieu after Duperrey, Lejeune and Chazal; title lightly foxed, a little spotting and browning.

LESSON, R.P. & GARNOT, P. Zoologie. 1826-1830. 4 vols, comprising 3 vols 4to text (294 x 228mm) and one large folio atlas (487 x 334mm) in 27 parts. Text with half-titles and titles with engraved vignettes. Atlas with engraved title, small inserted letterpress Avis slip, 155 engraved plates of mammals, marsupials, birds, molluscs, reptiles, and insects, of which 153 hand-coloured, after Lesson, L. Prevost, Pretre, Guerin, Vauthier and others; 19 plates browned, two slightly damp-stained, title and two lightly soiled, title foxed, light browning and spotting. The plates include 37 of fish, 9 of mammals and marsupials, 44 of birds, 16 of molluscs, 5 of crustaceans, 22 of insects, and 7 of reptiles.

DUMONT D'URVILLE; BRONGNIART, A. & BORY DE ST. VINCENT. Botanique. 1826-1829. 3 vols, comprising 2 vols 4to text in one (294 x 228mm) and large folio atlas (485 x 313 mm). Text: half-titles, titles with engraved vignettes. Atlas with engraved title, 106 engraved plates including 25 hand-coloured plates of seaweeds, by Barrois, Dusmenil, and others after P. Bessa, Borg de St. Vincent, and others; title foxed, plate I browned, some spotting to plate II. The work was apparently overseen by Dumont d'Urville: first volume on Cryptogamie by Bory de St. Vincent, the second on Phanerogamie by Bronginart. The coloured plates are all of sea-weeds (11 plates were omitted).
DUPERREY, L.-I. Hydrographie. 1829. 2 vols, comprising one vol. 4to text (294 x 228mm) in 3 parts (Hydrographie, Hydrographie et Physique and Physique) and one vol. atlas (574 x 430 mm). Text with 9 plates (of which 6 folding). Atlas with engraved title, 12 leaves letterpress text, 49 engraved maps by Ambroise Tardieu after Duperray and others (of which 19 double-page), and 4 engraved plates of various native sailing vessels by Berard after Duperrey and others.

Anker 288; Borba de Moraes p276; Ferguson 941; Fine Bird Books p73; Hill p90; Hocken 42; Nissen (BBI), 560; IVB 280; ZBI 1210; Whittel p218.