ESSAI POLITIQUE SUR LA ROYAUME DE LA NOUVELLE-ESPAGNE. [with:] ATLAS GEOGRAPHIQUE ET PHYSIQUE DU ROYAUME DE LA NOUVELLE-ESPAGNE.
Humboldt, Alexander von:
Paris: J.H. Stône for F. Schoell, 1811 [i.e. 1808]-1811. Five octavo text volumes plus large folio atlas. Text: Half titles, 4ll. dedication to King Charles IV of Spain in first volume. Folding engraved map, folding engraved geographical cross-section profile printed in brown. Atlas: Letterpress half title, titlepage, and 4pp. description of the "Cartes Géographiques et Physiques contenus dans l'Atlas Mexicain." Engraved map on two double-page sheets, one double-page sheet with three maps on it, single page with eight maps on it, single page with one map and four graphs on it, four single-page maps, two folding geographical cross-section profiles printed in brown and black, one folding geographical cross-section profile printed in black, one folding geographical cross-section profile printed in brown and black, two single-page views printed in brown, single- page plate of diagrams. Text: Contemporary red half morocco over red/orange paper- covered boards gilt, the flat spines gilt in six compartments, lettered in the second, volume number in the fourth, the others with simple repeat pattern in gilt. Atlas: Red morocco-backed orange paper expertly bound to style using modern half leather over contemporary red/orange paper-covered boards, titled in gilt on spine. Very good. A fine set of Humboldt's work on "New Spain": a founding work in the fields of political economy and economic geography, and considered by Howes to be "of superlative California importance." The atlas includes the large, ground-breaking two-sheet map of Mexico and its northern provinces, notable for the cartographic depiction of Texas, the American Southwest, and California. The present copy of the text includes the very rare dedication to the Spanish King. We believe that this is the first recorded copy of the octavo text to include this political dedication. This set of Humboldt's ESSAI POLITIQUE SUR LA ROYAUME DE LA NOUVELLE-ESPAGNE... is notable for its very unusual text volumes. When Humboldt wrote the work, he dedicated it to Charles IV of Spain, who had allowed him to travel freely through the Spanish colonies. Almost concurrently with the book's initial publication in 1808, Napoleon invaded Spain and deposed Charles, installing his own brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the Spanish throne. Already under suspicion as a Prussian spy (his brother was the Prussian Secretary of State) and only allowed to remain in Paris through the intercession of his scientific friends, Humboldt's dedication to the abdicated monarch was a monumental gaffe. Publication was stalled for three years, and the dedication leaves were removed from the quarto and octavo text editions when they were published in 1811. Both editions were published by Schoell in Paris with the date of 1811 on the titlepage, though the dedication is dated 1808. The presence of the dedication in this copy of the octavo edition and the absence in this copy of the editor's "avertissement" (which is dated 1811 and is usually found in this edition), indicates that the text leaves for the octavo edition were actually printed by Schoell in 1808, at the same time he printed the text of the quarto edition. The copy at hand evidently slipped through the cracks and was mistakenly released in 1811 with the dedication leaves, but without the "avertissement." It is the first such copy we have encountered, although we have seen copies of the quarto text edition with the suppressed dedication. The accompanying ATLAS... is regarded as one of the seminal cartographic works of Western Americana. The most important map is Humboldt's great "Carte Generale du Royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne," originally executed by him during his stay in Mexico in 1803-4, and covering two large folio double sheets. Carl Wheat calls it a "truly magnificent cartographic achievement" and concludes that before the explorations of Lewis and Clark, Humboldt's maps were in the first rank of western cartography. Schwartz and Ehrenberg state that it remained "the standard map of the Great Basin region until Fremont's explorations 35 years later." Thomas Streeter discusses the map at great length, concluding that "it is without question the best representation of Texas that had thus far appeared." It is certainly one of the seminal maps for Texas and the Southwest. Besides the large map, there is a double-sheet map of the whole North American continent south of 42° latitude, which reiterates Humboldt's western cartography on a larger scale; and three important maps for the Santa Fe trade illustrating the route from Mexico to Durango, Durango to Chihuahua, and Chihuahua to Santa Fe. Other maps illustrate the Valley of Mexico, and ports and routes in Mexico and across the Isthmus. The atlas concludes with a series of fine geological/physical profiles (most printed in brown) and two excellent views of volcanoes (also in brown). Humboldt was described by Dibdin as "the most illustrious traveller of his day." With the support of the Spanish Prime Minister, Humboldt managed to gain permission to enter the Spanish colonies of Central and South America, which were effectively closed at the time. He set off with French botanist Bonpland from Marseilles in 1799, and spent five years travelling through Central and South America, during which time he covered some six thousand miles. He then returned to Europe and spent the next twenty-three years recording his experiences, observations, and collections in a series of spectacular works. One of the first of these was the ESSAI POLITIQUE..., describing northern New Spain, particularly Mexico and the northern provinces, including California and the American Southwest. Becker calls the work "detailed and thorough, containing much data that had never before appeared in print." "Nothing seems too vast, too varied, too wonderful, or too minute, for the keen eye, penetrating intellect, and unwearied exertions of this extraordinary man. A botanist, zoologist, statistician and philosopher, the genius of this great writer seems to have been peculiarly fitted for surveying the varieties and immensity of the physical world; and he accordingly takes the foremost rank of all the travellers, dead or living" - Dibdin. COWAN, p.296 (ref). GRAFF 2009 (ref). HILL 843 (ref). HOWES H786. PALAU 116974. PHILLIPS ATLASES I:2682. REESE & MILES, CREATING AMERICA 23 (ref). SABIN 33713. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, p.127, plate 139. STREETER SALE 195 (ref). WAGNER-CAMP 7a:2. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 272, 273, 274, 275.
(Item ID: WRCAM38192) $45,000.00