Lot n° 127
Estimation :
90 - 120
EUR
127 [FOUCHER D'OBSONVILLE (Charles Thomas Dominique)]. Essai - Lot 127
127 [FOUCHER D'OBSONVILLE (Charles Thomas Dominique)]. Essais philosophiques sur les mœurs de divers animaux étrangers avec des observations relatives aux principes & usages de plusieurs peuples ou extraits des voyages de M*** en Asie. Paris, Couturier fils, 1783. In-12, iv, x, [1] f.v., 400 p., fawn half-basin with ornate smooth spine (19th century binding).
A curious anonymous work by Charles Foucher d'Obsonville (1734-1802), a traveler and naturalist who set sail for the East Indies at the age of 20. There, he distinguished himself as a soldier and negotiator with native chiefs. He returned to France in 1771 and organized the notes he had collected, some of which were truly curious, but few of which were ever published. Scorned and robbed several times, Foucher d'Obsonville harbored resentment and disillusionment. Only Buffon succeeded in changing his mind and urging him to publish the present work. In it, he describes numerous exotic animals in their environment, such as tigers, elephants, camels, orangutans and monkeys, and makes interesting observations on the customs and interactions with local populations.
Same year as the original, counterfeit illustrated with a clumsily engraved allegorical frontispiece after Clément-Pierre Marillier.
Binding rubbed, corners dulled, other defects minor.
(Quérard, III, 174; GDU, VIII, 652b).
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