[PYRÉNÉES] - DRALET (Etienne-François). Description of the P - Lot 65

[PYRÉNÉES] - DRALET (Etienne-François). Description of the Pyrenees, considered mainly in terms of geology, political, rural and forestry economy, industry and commerce. Rare first edition of one of the first works devoted to the entire Pyrenean range, illustrated with two fold-out maps after Ramond, one of which engraved by Tardieu. Paris, Arthus Bertrand, 1813. 2 volumes in-8, half havana basane with corners, smooth spines decorated with gilt irons with black title page and havana tomaison, yellow edges speckled with blue. XXIV (fx-t., t., introduction), 262 pp. 2 ff (table, errata), one table and two folding maps; fx-t., t., 292 pp. 2 ff (table, errata), 7 folding tables. Spines damaged, first spine split. Corners worn. Some scattered foxing. Étienne-François Dralet (1760-1844), whose grandfather was a forestry officer and whose father was a surveyor for the Eaux et Forets, was appointed conservator of the Eaux et Forêts in Toulouse in 1801, at a time when the Consulate was overhauling the forestry administration. He devoted much of his career to the restitution of forests usurped during the Revolution, returning 53,000 hectares to the State. As an explorer, he accompanied Louis Ramond de Carbonnières (1755-1827) on his ascent of Mont Perdu in 1797, establishing himself at his side as a pioneer of Pyrenean mountaineering. Dralet provides a vast geological, political, botanical and economic description of the Pyrenees, including observations on the customs of the Basque people. [Beard 271] A perfect and comprehensive overview of the Pyrenees in the early 19th century.