Antique Prints, Maps, & Books of Natural History, Botanicals, & More
Lot 6663:
Description
This is the Atlas volume of Jacques Arago’s
Promenade autour du monde, pendant les années 1817, 1818, 1819 et 1820, sur les corvettes du roi l’Uranie et la Physicienne commandées par M. Freycinet. The work was published in Paris in 1822 by Leblanc.
The volume is bound in contemporary half-green calf, smooth spine decorated with a romantic design of gilt palettes and friezes, title lettered vertically. It includes 25 lithographs by Langlume and a map of the expedition’s route by Desmadryl brothers & Joumar.
The work includes plates that depict Rio de Janeiro, inhabitants of the island of Timor, cannibals of Ombay, tiger hunting in Paraguay, the corvette Uranie near the coast of New Guinea, and native people of the Mariana, Caroline, and Sandwich Islands. Arago’s illstrations were known for their character and liveliness.
Jacques Etienne Victor Arago (1790-1854) was a French artist, writer, and explorer. He served as the artist on Freycinet’s voyage of scientific exploration and circumnavigation of the globe.
"The Uranie, with a crew of 125 men, entered the Pacific from the West to make scientific observations on geography, magnetism, and meteorology. Arago was the artist of the expedition which visited most notably Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, Tonga, and Tierra del Fuego. The original ship, wrecked off the Falkland Islands, was replaced by the Physicienne which visited Rio de Janeiro. Captain Louis Freycinet’s wife, Rose, was smuggled on board at the advent of the voyage and made the complete journey, causing a great deal of discord among the crew. Freycinet named the island he discovered after her – Rose Island, among the Samoa Islands." (Hill pp.9-10)
"This later circumnavigation by Captain Freycinet was organized by the French government, under the recently restored Bourbon Dynasty, to show the flag around the world and to make scientific observations on geography, magnetism, and meteorology. It was one of the important voyages of exploration of the early nineteenth century. The URANIE sailed from Toulon to Gibraltar, Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, Cape of Good Hope, Mascarene Islands, Western Australia, Timor, New Guinea, the Mariana Islands, Caroline Islands, Sandwich Islands, New South Wales, New Zealand, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands, where the URANIE was shipwrecked in French Bay….The ship’s doctors, Quoy and Gaimard, and the pharmacist Gaudichaud served as the naturalists, collected specimens, and published separate volumes on zoology and botany. Freycinet was clandestinely accompanied by his wife, Rose, after whom he named an island in the Samoan chain….The scientific results of Freycinet’s explorations in Timor, the islands off New Guinea, the Marianas, and Hawaii were particularly significant and added greatly to the fund of knowledge that the Europeans had of the geography, cultures, and histories of these areas. The writings on the penal colony of Port Jackson, Australia, are of special historic importance" – Hill. The voyage included a one-month visit in the Sandwich Islands, with time spent in Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu, as well as visits to Rio de Janeiro, Cape of Good Hope, Montevideo, Mauritius, New South Wales, and the Caroline Islands. The handsome plates in the atlases, many of which are colored, add greatly to the ethnographic and natural historical aspect of the work." (Ferguson 941, Hill 649, Sabin 25916, Forbes 602)
Paper Size: ~ 13 1/4" by 10 1/8"
Paper Type or Special Features: Atlas Volume with 25 Lithographs
Condition report:
The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections or faint marks to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
Share this lot:
