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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  The Denis Joachim Collection
• Sale Date:
  19 Jun 2016 ~ 2pm - Session 1: Lots 1 - 321
  20 Jun 2016 ~ 10am - Session 2: Lots 322 - 480
  20 Jun 2016 ~ 2pm - Session 3: Lot 481 - 688
  20 Jun 2016 ~ 6pm - Session 4: Lots 689 - 818
• Lot #:
  64
• Lot Description:
  Labillardière, Jacques Julien Houton de. Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen
  Two volumes, large quarto, with in total 265 engraved plates, green quarter calf and marbled boards of the period, vellum tips. Paris, Dominique Huzard, 1804-6.
• Notes:
  First edition of the first fully illustrated scientific account of the Australian flora, illustrated by a beautiful series of botanical engravings by the foremost botanical artists, including Pierre Joseph Redouté, the greatest flower-painter of his day, his followers, Turpin and Poiteau, and Labillardière himself. The Plantarum Specimen is based on Labillardière’s specimens and observations made during the D’Entrecasteaux expedition in search of La Pérouse, 1791 – 1795. The book is famous for the fate of the natural history specimens. The French Revolution had its effect even in the South Seas and, on the return voyage, a Revolutionary faction, led by Labillardière himself, seized control of the expedition from the aristocratic D’Entrecasteaux. At Java in 1794 the Dutch seized Labillardière’s specimens and, in due course, returned them to their ally, England. On the return of the expedition to France the Revolutionary French government requested their return and, upon the intercession of Sir Joseph Banks, they were returned to France under a flag of truce. With work on this remarkable book commencing immediately, it took another decade for it to be completed. Ferguson, 395; Great Flower Books, p. 63; Nissen, 1116.
• Estimate:
  A$20,000 - 30,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Books & Manuscripts

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.