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A milestone in neotropical botany 12. Descourtilz, M. E. Flore pittoresque et médicale des Antilles, ou histoire naturelle des plantes usuelles des colonies Françaises, Anglaises, Espagnoles et Portugaises; Peinte d’après les dessins faits sur les lieux par M. J. Th. Descourtilz. Paris, privately published by Descourtilz (1827-1829, 1833). 8vo, 8 vols. with 600 hand-coloured engraved plates. Beautiful, in contemporary style, uniform black grained h. calf with gilt ornaments and titles on spines $ 33,500 = The magnum opus of Michel Etienne Descourtilz (1775-1835), who was a medical doctor and botanist from France. He travelled widely in the Caribbean and northern South America. In his Voyage d’un naturaliste et ses observations faites sur les trois règnes de la nature (1809) he collected many of his observations, made in Cuba, Haiti, and Santo Domingo where he observed a slave uprising, became shortly imprisoned and subsequently joined Toussaint Louverture’s army as a doctor. In his Flora pittoresque he accurately described many new and rare plants and added important notes on their chemistry and medical properties. The illustrator, Jean-Théodore Descourtilz, was one of the eight sons of Michel Etienne. He not only supplied the illustrations to the Flore pittoresque, but also illustrated his own works on natural history, for instance his Oiseaux brillans de Brésil (1834). All volumes with the small, inoffensive stamp of E. A. Del Camino on title pages, otherwise clean and bright, the colouring vivid and bright. Some plates however, are a bit wrinkled. Vol. 1 is from the second printing, vol. 2 is not dated and may be either the first or second printing (which is identical to the first). Most sets offered are mixed. Unique proofplate in a coloured state 13. Ehrenberg, C. and F. Hemprich. Symbolae Physicae seu Icones et Descriptiones qui ex itinere per Africam Borealem et Asiam occidentalem. Decas prima: Mollusca. Berlin, Officina Academica, 1828. Folio. Two nicely hand-coloured lithographs (proofs) of the Mollusca section on large paper and uncut. $ 3750 = Included are Plate I (484 x 344 mm), showing colourful nudibranchs, newly described and painted by Ehrenberg after living specimens, with the note “Probeblatt” added in pencil, and a proof plate of plate III “Ostrea” (465 x 331 mm). This plate probably was not published until 1899, when the species figured were formally described by Eduard von Martens. According to Junk “Rara” the third plate is not coloured, however, this one is very delicately coloured by hand. The titles “Mollusca”, “III”, and “Ostrea” are added in ink at their appropriate places; the names of the species, of which 4 were new, are added in a similar way, but in pencil, as are the figure numbers. A copy of this work in the “Artis” Library (Amsterdam) shows that there is no reference in the original text to the third plate (which is absent in their copy). In fact, the references to the 1st plate are wrong, and there is a reference to a plate VI. It seems that originally only two plates were issued, and that no other coloured plates were issued. Nissen ZBI 1247; Junk “Rara” 138.
no 13 14. (Ehrenberg, C.) and Müller C. L. Original pencil drawing for plate XII of Ehrenberg & Hemprich’s “Symbolae Physica ... Avium decas II”. Fine pencil drawn study for one of the bird plates of Ehrenberg & Hemprich’s famous expedition work. Folio size (447 x 326 mm). On thick paper, with with ink title at bottom. No signature, but this plate comes from a collection of plates that were all drawn, and some signed, by Chistian Leopold Müller (1800-1852) - one of the artists who worked on the publication of the results of the expedition. $ 2000 = A unique insight in the publication history of this important work. Ehrenberg and Hemprich travelled in the Libyan Desert and the countries around the Red Sea to collect specimen. It was not without danger: most expedition members died, including Hemprich. Ehrenberg returned to become a professor in Berlin, and spent years on publishing the expedition results. These were accompanied by fabulous plates, absolute highlights in zoological illustration. This drawing is a final study for one of the plates in the bird section. We also hold a portfolio of the published version, for comparison.
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Page 5 and 6: = An almost unique find: a set like
Page 7 and 8: 5. Buchwald, De, J. Specimen Medico
Page 9 and 10: = One of the finest books on Americ
Page 11: 9. Corda, A. C. J. Flore illustrée
Page 15 and 16: 18. Flamsteed, J. An Exact Account
Page 17 and 18: 23. Haeckel, E. Kunstformen der Nat
Page 19 and 20: 26. Herbarium of the Spindle Tree.
Page 21 and 22: 42p., 2 pls; Crustacés, 76 p., 8 p
Page 23 and 24: = Historians of mediaeval mathemati
Page 25 and 26: underneath the plate number. Dibner
Page 27 and 28: 39. Milne-Edwards, H. (Cuvier, G.)
Page 29 and 30: Willemoes-Suhm’s copy bought by h
Page 31 and 32: no. 44
Page 33 and 34: 49. Rothschild, J. Musée Entomolog
Page 35 and 36: Absolutely fantastic Art Nouveau pl
Page 37 and 38: 56. Val, P. du Les Tables de Geogra
Page 39 and 40: other few copies recorded all lack
Page 41 and 42: Illustrated items outside our usual
Page 43 and 44: 66. Japanese pattern sample books.
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