BULLIARD (Pierre). Herbier de la France, ou Collection compl - Lot 8

BULLIARD (Pierre). Herbier de la France, ou Collection complette des plantes indigènes de ce royaume ; avec leurs détails anatomiques, leurs propriétés, et leurs usages en médecine. À Paris, chez l'auteur, Didot jne, Debure, Belin, 1780-[1787]. 4 volumes, small folio, red morocco, smooth spines with partitions and fleurons, triple gilt fillet with corner fleurons framing the boards, filleted edges, inner gilt roulette, gilt edges (antique foreign binding in the style of the period). Large-margin plates protected by serpents; spines of bindings a little tarnished with rubbed headpieces, 2 of which with small tears. FIRST EDITION. The first 8 years alone of the atlas of one of the great illustrated botanical works of the late 18th century. Published in 150 issues over 13 years, from 1780 to 1793, this Herbarium of France is divided into 5 parts, "Plants of France", "Poisonous Plants of France", "Suspect Plants of France", "Medicinal Plants of France" and "Mushrooms of France" (for a total of 602 plates). It also included companion texts for two of these sections, which, as is almost always the case here, were published separately: Histoire des plantes vénéneuses et suspectes de la France (1784) and Histoire des champignons de la France (1791-1812, in 2 volumes, the second of which is almost impossible to find as it was largely destroyed by fire). The fact that the work remained unfinished due to the author's death, and that the revolutionary turmoil disrupted some of the collections begun under the Ancien Régime, explains why most copies have a different total number of plates (Nissen, BBI, no. 296; Pritzel, no. 1356; Madeleine Pinault Sørensen, Le Livre de botanique, XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, Paris, BnF, 2008, pp. 50, 163 and 210). VERY BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATION OF 384 ENGRAVED PLATES ON COPPER, MOST OF THE TIME IN COLOR (some monochrome). With, also engraved on copper, a color title and 8 black table pages. Pierre Bulliard trained with François-Nicolas Martinet, Buffon's illustrator, and was responsible for drawing and engraving, as well as printing all the prints. ONE OF THE FIRST ILLUSTRATED WORKS OF INKED COLOR PLATES. Pierre Bulliard opted for this innovative technique, which allows for flexible, subtle work with gradations of color. WITH A VIEW TO MAKING SCIENCE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE THROUGH PICTURES, Pierre Bulliard (1752-1793), who studied medicine and botany in Paris, undertook a meticulous task of describing French vegetation, first publishing a synthesis of the Parisian flora, in which he sometimes pointed out Linnaeus' errors, and then the present Herbier de la France, in which his contribution remains especially recognized in the field of mycology, with the presentation of several new species. Provenance: Robert Hoe (leather bookplate).