PALLAS Peter Simon Voyages… en differentes provinces de l’empire de Russie, et dans l’Asie Septentrionale; Traduits de l’Allemand, par M. Gauthier de la Peyronie, Commis des Affaires Etrangères.

VENDU

Paris, Lagrange, 1788-1793

5 text volumes, 4to (249 x 189 mm) and one atlas, small-folio (331 x 240 mm). Text: 2 nn.ll., XXXII, 773 pp., 1 nn.l. (errata) for volume I; 2 nn.ll., 550 pp., 1 nn.l. (errata) for volume II; 2 nn.ll., 491 pp. for volume III; 2 nn.ll., 722 pp., 1 nn.l. (errata) for volume IV; 2 nn.ll., 559 pp. for volume V. Atlas: 2 nn.ll., 125 plates and maps printed on 108 sheets (volume I: 29 plates and maps printed on 28 sheets of which 4 folding, including the large map of Russia, pl. 4/5 on 1 leaf; volume II: 17 plates and maps printed on 14 sheets including 2 folding, pl. 1/2, 5/6, 7/8 on 1 leaf respectively; volume III: 22 plates and maps printed on 19 sheets including 6 folding, pl. 8/9, 10/11, 21/22 on 1 sheet respectively; volume IV: 36 plates (numbered 1-35, and numbering plate 9 repeated but with different image) printed on 29 sheets including 13 folding, pl. 1/2, 8/9, 9/10, 15/16, 20/21, 24/25, 32/33 on 1 sheet respectively; volume V: 21 plates and maps printed on 18 sheets including 5 folding, pl. 2/3, 4/5, 6/7 on 1 sheet respectively). Contemporary tree-calf, spine gilt with raised bands, yellow edges (atlas expertly rebacked in matching style).

Catégories:
Original price was: 4500,00 €.Current price is: 2700,00 €.

1 in stock

Atabey, 918; Stafleu, 7224; Nissen ZBI, 3076; Brunet IV, 325; DSB, X, 284.

First edition of the French translation.

The first German edition was published between 1771 and 1776. The Berlin naturalist Peter Simon Pallas (1741-1811) took part in the scientific expedition sent to Siberia in order to observe the passage of the planet Venus on the sun disk. During his journey, he explored the Ural Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the Altai, the vicinity of Lake Baikal up to the Chinese border, the Caucasus and various parts of southern Russia.

“In 1767 Pallas was invited to work at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He was elected ordinary academician and had the rank of acting state councilor. For more than forty years Pallas was associated exclusively with the development of Russian science. During his first years there he studied nature and the peoples of the Russian empire, participating in the ‘Academic expeditions’ of 1768-1774. His research as leader of the first Orenburg detachment of the expeditions covered both European Russia and Asia… Pallas’ writings and the other materials of the “Academic expeditions” enriched natural history by providing massive amounts of empirical data which made it possible to generalize on the geographical distribution of plants and animals and to gain knowledge about the orography, climate, population, and economy of varied and little-studied regions of Russia” (DSB).

The 125 numbered plates printed on 108 sheets include the large folding map of the Russian Empire (volume I, plate 1) and 107 full page or folding plates depicting maps, plans, views, costumes, flora and fauna of Russia.

Good copy, complet with all plates called for (Atabey gives erroneous details).

SKU 14374 Category Tags ,