A splendid set. A splendid set of the most celebrated of the Grands Voyages de Circumnavigation. This important scientific expedition includes a fine suite of 37 ornithology plates (36 in colour), mostly after drawings by Paul Louis Oudart (1796-1850), including penguins. These appear in the third volume, 1853, of the zoological portion of the complete report.

The work covers every aspect of the expedition, including reports on the Zoology, Botany, Anthropology, Geography, and Geology, as well as descriptions of the progress of the voyage itself. The expedition, under the overall command of Dumont d'Urville, with the Zelée commanded by Charles-Hector Jacquinot, left Toulon in 1837. 'The aims of this expedition were to explore the south polar regions and various island groups in the Pacific. The expedition reached the ice pack in January 1838 but failed to penetrate it or get south of the 64th parallel. Returning eastward they visited the South Orkney and South Shetland Islands and discovered Joinville Island and Louis Philippe Land. Then they proceeded to Valparaiso and Juan Fernandez Island and landed at Mangareva, the Marquesas, Tahiti, Samoa, and Tonga. Proceeding to Fiji, Guam, and Palau, the ships afterwards coasted along New Guinea and circumnavigated Borneo. In 1840, from Tasmania, they returned to the Antarctic region where Adele Land was discovered. An extensive visit was made to New Zealand. The return voyage took them through Torres Strait to Timor, La Reunion, and St. Helena' (Hill, Pacific Voyages, p89).

Dumont D'Urville had originally planned a voyage whose primary aim was to study the peoples and habitats of the Pacific Islands. The ships had been designed and outfitted for the tropics, and he had no plans to visit the Antarctic. However, at a relatively late stage in the preparations for the expedition, King Louis-Philippe, who had become aware of British plans to despatch James Clark Ross on a voyage to discover the south magnetic pole, commissioned Dumont d'Urville to explore the Antarctic regions for 'the glory of France'. The title of the work therefore stakes France's claim to this new region of exploration, whilst the contents reflect Dumont d'Urville's original intentions and include a great deal on the tropical regions, peoples, flora and fauna.

First edition. A fine set in 30 volumes, comprising 23 volumes 8vo text and 7 large folio atlas volumes (of 8, lacks atlas Physique). The atlases with two additional tinted lithographic titles and 534 engraved or lithographic views, portraits, natural history plates, plans, and maps, some hand-coloured. Text in publisher's blue printed paper boards, five with short tears at head of spine, atlases in French red half-morocco with marbled sides, top-edges gilt, Atlas Hydrographie bound to match. Generally, in fine, fresh condition, comprising:

DUMONT D'URVILLE, J.-S.-C. Histoire du Voyage. 12 vols, comprising 10 vols 8vo text and 2 vols large folio Atlas Pittoresque (63 x 48.5 cms approx.) Atlas: 2 letterpress titles, 2 plate lists, 2 tinted lithographed additional titles, 9 double-page engraved maps after Vincedon-Dumoulin, and 198 tinted lithographic plates after E. Goupil and L. Le Breton by Bayot, Bichebois, Blanchard, Duzats, Mayer, Sabatier and others, printed by Lemercier and others, numbered 1-192 with 6 bis plates, of which 52 on India paper mounted; plate 117 correctly bound between plates 87 & 88, plates 3, 33 bis, 110, 182, & 185 with tears repaired, all marginal except for 182 where there are 2 tears, one of which just goes into the image, some scattered light foxing, a couple of plates slightly more so.

VINCEDON-DUMOULIN, C.-A. Hydrographie. 1843-1851 [Atlas au Depot-general de la Marine, 1847]. 3 vols, comprising 2 vols 8vo text and large folio Atlas Hydrographique (69 x 51 cms approx.) Text with 2 folding plates in vol. I. Atlas: engraved throughout, title, table of contents, 57 maps (of which 39 double-page) after Vincedon-Dumoulin, Duroch, Tardy de Montravel, and others by Chassant, Jacobs, and others; map 41 with fore-margins reinforced from verso, minor toning and offsetting.

HOMBRON, J.B., JACQUINOT, Honoré; MONTAGNE, Camille; DESCAINE, J. Botanique, 1845-1853. 3 vols, comprising 2 vols 8vo text and large folio Atlas Botanique. Atlas: Letterpress half-title, title, plate list, 66 engraved plates (including 20 hand-coloured and/or colour printed), after A. Riocreux, Borromee, and others by A. Dusmenil, J. Thomas, and others; a little spotting.

HOMBRON, J.B.; JACQUINOT, Honoré. Zoologie, 1846-54. 6 vols, comprising 5 vols 8vo text and 2 vols large folio Atlas Zoologique. Atlas: half-title, title, plate list, 140 engraved plates (of which 138 hand-coloured) after Oudart, A. Provost, Werner, Blanchard, and others by Dumenil, Ouder, Giraud, Coupe, and others, including a fine section of 37 ornithological plates, most after Oudart; a few plates spotted or browned.

GRANGE, J. Geologique, Mineralogie et Geographie Physique. 3 vols, comprising 2 vols 8vo text and large folio Atlas Geologie. Text with one folding engraved table. Atlas: letterpress half-title, title, plate list, 4 hand-coloured engraved maps (of which 2 double-page), 9 lithographic plates; [with] Atlas Anthropologie: half-title, title, avertissement, list of plates, 51 lithographic plates; a little spotting.

DUMOUTIER & BLANCHARD, Emile. Anthropologie. 2 vols, comprising 1 vol. 8vo text and large folio Atlas (bound and described with Geologique atlas).



Ayer/Zimmer p185; Ellis/Mengel 727; Fine Bird Books pp92-93; Hill 89; Nissen (BBI), 556; Nissen (IVB), 449; Nissen (ZBI), 1200; Ronsil 940; Whittell p373.