RISSO (Antoine) and POITEAU (Antoine). Histoire naturelle de - Lot 129

RISSO (Antoine) and POITEAU (Antoine). Histoire naturelle des Orangers. Illustrated with 109 figures painted after nature. P., Imprimerie de Mme Hérissant Le Doux, 1818-1822. In-folio (350 x 260 mm), long-grained red half-maroq, spine decorated in gold and cold, untrimmed (contemporary binding). A very handsome and rare work, containing 109 superb engraved plates, printed in color and enhanced by hand. FIRST EDITION OF THIS "MAGNIFICENT AND INSPIRING WORK" (Grands Livres de Fleurs). Antoine Risso, a French naturalist and pharmacist who became director of the Jardin de Naturalisation in Nice, was a "pioneering botanist of the Alpes Maritimes" (Stafleu). In his dedication to the Duchesse de Berry, he recalls his Italian childhood: "Your Royal Highness, tracing in her eyes the image of the fruits she often picked with her own hand under the beautiful Italian sky". The Redouté-type plates are all based on drawings by Antoine Poiteau (1766-1854). Early in his career, Poiteau taught botany and was employed as a gardener, before embarking on a plant-gathering expedition to the Caribbean. Returning to Paris in 1800, he concentrated on his work as a botanical illustrator. Poiteau is often cited as co-author and illustrator of the present work, since in addition to providing the drawings, he also supplied information on tropical varieties. The work was published in 19 fascicles (or parts) between July 1818 and August 1820, and is one of the most spectacular productions of Parisian color printing in the early 19th century: "These oranges and lemons and their relations, with leaves, flowers, and often cross-sections as well as whole fruits, form one of the finest and most complete records of varieties known in the 19th century" (Raphaël, An Oak Spring Pomona). A VERY FINE, FRESHLY BOUND COPY. Nissen BBI, 1640; Grands livres de fleurs p.73; Dunthorne, 263; Stafleu & Cowan 9248. Provenance: - Bibliothèque La Rochefoucauld Duc de Bisaccia (bookplate).