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FIRST EDITION. One of 500 copies, a typically-French literary celebration of progress, technology and telecommunications, commissioned by the Société anonyme de Télécommunications (established 1924). Sorel’s contribution is entitled, ‘La diplomatie et le progrès’. Demeurisse’s fine plates are twentieth-century emblems of technology and progress.

First edition, number 20 of 25 copies on japon of a total edition of 300. One of Mariani’s annuals extolling the virtues of his coca wine. This one is interesting for being lavishly illustrated by Albert Robida’s daughter, Émilie (born 1882). The final pages give a bibliographically-useful account of Mariani’s other publications.

First editions of two very scare annuals printed for Angelo Mariani, novelettes with a partially graphic narrative extolling the virtues of his wildly popular coca wine (Vin Mariani). Each copy here is number 38 of 50 copies on japon (of total editions of 500 copies). Mariani commissioned numerous bibliophilic productions from leading publishers and illustrators to promote his product. He had created his coca wine in 1863 and with an active content of around 6 milligrams per ounce it found enthusiastic drinkers all over the world, including Queen Victoria and Pope Leo XIII.

First edition. An elegant new year gift book, comprising an illustrated survey of the popular French rose varieties, notes on culture and cultivation and a collection of rose poetry, completed with a calendar for the year 1819. The finely engraved plates are after Pancrace Bessa, a pupil and collaborator of Henri Redouté, painting tutor to the duchesse de Berry, and from 1823, replacing Redouté as official painter at the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle. The book was reissued several times with added calendars for successive years. The varieties illustrated include: Grand cuisse de nymphe, Rose de Portland, Damas simple, Manteau d’Evêque and Rose Bichonne. Nissen 1266; Pritzel 6445.

First edition, rare, in its original gilt and glazed paper pictorial binding. Part of the Bibliothèque des Écoles Chrétiennes series, this copy from the celebrated collection of Colonel Milon (dispersed 1991). Cf. Tissandier 28 (second edition only). OCLC lists a single copy of any edition, the 1894 ‘nouvelle édition’ (Harvard).

FIRST ISSUE WITH THE PREFACE BY GEORGE SAND, ONE OF THE FEW COPIES ON HOLLANDE; A PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed to Louis Grandeau French chemist and professor at Nancy University. Le Droit au vol is Nadar’s important polemic advocating the development of heavier-than-air flight. Two years before, Nadar had commissioned and experimented with the balloon Géant, whose maiden flight had carried Jules Verne (among others) but whose alarming crash landing on a subsequent flight inspired Nadar to look towards aircraft other than balloons. He founded the Société d’encouragement de la navigation aérienne au moyen du plus lourd que l’air. The relationship between Dadar and Sand was longstanding: he had dedicated his collection Quand j’étais étudiant to her in 1856, and all the well-known images of her were taken by him. She was an enthusiastic supporter of his aerial endeavours.

This is the third of three issues appearing in 1865: the first two have only Nadar’s preface, while the third also contains an enthusiastic Preface by Sand. Though the publisher referred to these as distinct editions, it is more likely that they were simply re-issues of the same sheets with modified preliminaries.

First edition, one of the few copies on chine, of Nadar’s own account of his famous experiments with a Géant balloon, with author’s inscription. The Géant was the most ambitious balloon ever attempted, with 220 yards of silk used in its envelope and a two-story gondola housing two cabins, a photographic studio, a print room, a lavatory and a storeroom.

First edition, first issue (before the addition of the preface by George Sand), presentation copy, Le Droit au vol is Nadar’s important polemic advocating the development of heavier-than-air flight. Two years before, Nadar had commissioned and experimented with the balloon Géant, whose maiden flight had carried Jules Verne (among others) but whose alarming crash landing on a subsequent flight inspired Nadar to look towards aircraft other than balloons. He founded the Société d’encouragement de la navigation aérienne au moyen du plus lourd que l’air.

First edition. A refutation of the possibility of heavier-than-air flight as proposed by Nadar and his colleagues.

First edition, very rare, an early survey of the technology of flight before the advances of Godard, Nadar et al. Tissandier, p. 11. No copy located in OCLC.

Four rare perfume labels, colour printed ‘à la poupée’ with floral designs: Extrait de Rose et de Pois de senteur, Extrait de Jonquille, Extrait d’Oranges de Portugal, Extrait suave. The largest (Extrait de Rose includes a space below for a text or legend, uninked in this example, but with traces of the engraved text visible. A charming and rare example of this colour printing technique in which each impression contains all the colours at once, with inks carefully applied to the plate with a cushion-headed tool (the ‘poupée’ or doll). The technique is immediately recognisable from the gentle gradations between the various colours of the resulting imprint.

First edition (a second appeared in 1788). ‘The book is a survey of existing information concerning various kinds of airs and the experiments and discoveries of Lavoisier, Priestley, Scheele and others.The author presents his ideas concerning the nature of gases (pure air, oxygen is the basis of all), phlogiston, heat, combustion, acidity (oxygen not the necessary constituent), etc.’ (Cole). ‘..all combustibles (including perhaps diamond) contain inflammable air, which he identified with phlogiston and thought it is contained in metals...He called oxygen ‘pure air’ and nitrogen (phlogisticated air) ‘impure air’. Pure air consists of vesicles inflated by the principle of heat. Nitrous air (nitrous oxide) is a compound of nitric acid and inflammable air or phlogiston. Fixed air, which he called ‘acid air’, can be converted into phlogisticated air or into pure air.’ (Partington). Cole, Chemical Literature 742; Partington, III, pp. 494-95; WEllcome III, 438a.

An idiosyncratic personal index of useful and curious facts, mainly geographical, in part forming an index to the Encyclopédie Méthodique (which had been issued in print without an index), a gazetteer to its Atlas, and an index to various other books, such as Valmont de Bomare’s Histoire Naturelle and Lacroix’s Géographie. A homespun affair, the volume is rather haphazardly arranged and presented in homemade boards covered in rather fine contemporary wallpaper. It includes references to regions, cities and landmarks in Europe, Asia, Africa and America (the latter including mentions of Cabot, Columbus and Penn) and several ingenious diagrams of the rivers of France.

First edition of this comprehensive study of human fertility, infertility and artificial insemination. ‘Notre livre est surtout destiné aux familles qui sont désolées de rester sans enfants.’ A practical and populist approach to the scientific facts with an extraordinary sequence of vignettes by José Roy.

An excellent French herbier, the typical means of record for amateur naturalists in France, who seem to have preferred the specimen itself over a painted or drawn representation. Each plant is captioned with name, location and (sometimes) year of collection.

The naive but elegant watercolours here include ginger, eggplant, hot pepper, strawberry, mulberry, lily, carnation, marigold, vetch, hypericum and orchid.

Two provincial handbills, from Bedford and Sleaford, advertising ascents by pioneering balloonist Richard Gypson, who toured Britain and the Europe with his balloon.

Charles Green was the most celebrated British balloonist of the nineteenth century. In 1836 he made a record-breaking flight from London’s Vauxhall Gardens, across the English Channel, landing at Weilburg in Nassau, Germany, giving rise to the name of the ‘Royal Nassau Balloon’. The handbill explains the reason for this benefit flight undertaken by Green in the Great Nassau Balloon in a long newspaper extract. He had made an ascent from Vauxhall on August 20th but had crashed near Gravesend (’Mr. Green received several bruises, and had a narrow escape from a dreadful death’) and his other balloon (The Albion) was torn to shreds. The wreckage was displayed at Cremorne Gardens as an attraction ‘for the inspection of the curious and scientific’

First edition of this extraordinary treatise on the status of eunuchs in society, according to civil and canon law. Largely based on classical sources, history and (most interestingly) anecdotal evidence from the Orient, Ancillon considers the reasons for the phenomenon (including slavery, household, employment or punishment for sexual misdemeanour). The major contention is that while civil law permits a eunuch to marry, canon law should forbid it (as it did) on the grounds that a marriage could not be consummated. Along the way Ancillon recounts numerous anecdotes of famous eunuchs, notably Abelard, castrated at the instigation of Heloise’s family.

The book was later translated into English by Robert Samber as part of Edmund Curll’s Eunuchism display’d (1718).

This copy of Traité des Eunuques is one of at least two issues of the same year with slightly different paginations and title ornaments. The ‘Epitre dedicatoire’ is signed: ‘C. d’Ollincan’ an anagram of the author’s real name. Gay III, 1239.

This portrait is a naive interpretation of the classic image of Ramon Llull (c. 1232- c. 1315), Catalan mystic and mathematician. It is derived from the engraved portrait which first appeared in the seventeenth century Bibliotheca Chalcographia published by Jacques Boissard and Theodor de Bry in 1664.