SAULCES DE FREYCINET (Louis Claude de). Exceptional French h - Lot 199

SAULCES DE FREYCINET (Louis Claude de). Exceptional French herbarium created by an enlightened amateur in the 19th century, established according to the rules of the art and containing more than 1000 specimens, most of them perfectly preserved. 5 vol. in-folio (41 × 30 cm), [2ff.68ff. (233sp.) [3ff.] ; [2ff.] 68ff. (190sp.) [2ff] ; [2ff.] 68ff. (188sp.)[3ff.] ; [2ff.] 64ff. (198sp.) [3ff.] ; [2ff.] 64ff. (206sp.) [5ff.], half gray cloth with corners, brown leather title-piece pastedown with gilt lettering. Each volume is structured as follows: 2ff. laid paper alphabetical table of genera, species and synonyms of the specimens contained in the volume, together with their reference numbers; X sheets of orange strong paper on which the specimens are glued with thin adhesive strips, on the recto side of each sheet only, together with their numbers as recorded in the table; 2 or 3ff. of "table of families, genera and species with their synonyms according to the natural classification followed by Grenier and Godron". Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet (1779-1842) was a French geologist and geographer; a navigator and explorer, he was the first cartographer of Timor and Tasmania. Under Louis XVIII, he was commander of the gabare "Uranie", which set off in 1817 on a round-the-world voyage with more than 120 men on board, including the famous Jacques Arago (whose lot we are presenting n°174), as well as his own wife Rose, who disguised herself as a sailor until she reached the Strait of Gibraltar. His logbook was published in 1927. The voyage was a huge scientific success, thanks in particular to experiments and samples taken in Mauritius, New Guinea, the Mariana Islands and the Hawaiian archipelago. Elected a member of the Académie des Sciences in 1825, he helped found the Société de Géographie. The care taken in compiling these albums, in writing the tables and in laying out the specimens - which follows a perfectly scientific method (preservation of most of the roots, spreading of the leaves, position of the maintenance strips) - is exceptional. There are only a few detachments and accidents due to the passage of time and the fragility of the dried plants, and the whole is in a remarkable state of preservation and consultation. The 5 volumes together contain 1,015 plant specimens. Provenance: Château de Freycinet, Saulces-sur-Rhone.