Albert de Lapparent - Traité de Géologie - 1906

Published in Paris by Masson in 1906, this Treatise on Geology by Albert de Lapparent (1839-1908) is presented, in this fifth and final edition 'revised and significantly expanded', in three octavo volumes: Volume I, Current Phenomena; Volume II, Geology Proper; Volume III, Historical Geology.

The first volume is dedicated to geological processes in action (erosion, sedimentation, volcanism, tectonics), a true synthesis of physical geology and physical geography, the second to the architecture of the Earth's crust and the main principles of structural geology, while the third outlines the history of terrains, stratigraphic systems, and paleontology, with particular attention paid to the precision stratigraphy dear to the author.

In this 1906 edition, the work is enriched with 883 engravings, figures, cuts, maps, and unpublished data. It is the most comprehensive and refined version of this great classic of Earth sciences. It includes developments that have become emblematic regarding the stratigraphy of the North and Normandy, on Cretaceous and Tertiary terrains, as well as on Quaternary phenomena (loess, glacial morphology), themes at the heart of the author's research and still sought after for the history of geology, paleontology, and geological mapping.

The volumes are bound in marbled tawny half-basane, with faux-nerfs on the spine, gilt title pieces and ornaments, with patterned endpapers, xvii, 2014 pages, [1] leaf (errata). Overall good condition, with some minor flaws: the leather is slightly rubbed and scuffed on the spine, there is a impact up to page 8 of volume I as if a pebble had been caught by the cover and a small edge pressed into the paper, and there are also some foxing on the pages, sometimes widespread, along with other minor defects.

Albert de Lapparent (1839-1908) is one of the prominent names in French geology of the late 19th century, serving as a professor of geology, mineralogy, and physical geography. He was a member of the Académie des sciences and its perpetual secretary at the time of his death. A former student of the École polytechnique and the École des mines, he contributed to the development of the geological map of France and helped disseminate modern physical geography at the Sorbonne, during a period when geology was becoming a pivotal discipline bridging natural sciences, mining exploration, and major engineering projects (loess, Channel Tunnel, relief, stratigraphy). His name remains associated, both in the scientific community and among the educated public, with this Treatise of Geology, whose fifth edition marks its ultimate culmination.