AA.VV. (XIX) - Vojage de l' Astrolabe

Set of 3 original hand-colored engravings that are part of the “Voyage to the Discovery of the Astrolabe,” a large-scale French scientific expedition led by Captain Jules Dumont d’Urville from 1826 to 1829. The plates come from the volume dedicated to Zoology, in the Mollusks section.
Authors: The text and the zoological descriptions were written mainly by the naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard, who were aboard the corvette L'Astrolabe.
Publication: The entire travel account, including the atlas plates, was published in Paris between 1830 and 1835.
These plates are an important example of the great scientific contributions of this voyage, which made it possible to document the fauna and flora of Oceania and other regions of the world, at the time still little known by Europeans. Slight traces of foxing (see photo).
Description:
No. 1 ancient engraving that shows various marine organisms, such as corals and zoophytes, is titled "Alcyon" or "Alcyonidae" and is found on the plate marked as "Pl. 23". Painted by the well-known Jean Gabriel Pretre.
No. 2 ancient engraving of mollusk anatomy, particularly Tridacna, also known as the "giant clam". This is a scientific plate Pl. 79 from a nineteenth-century natural history publication, illustrating various species and sections of this bivalve. The figures show several cuts and views of the mollusk, including internal and external details of the shells and the soft tissues. Painted by the renowned Jean Gabriel Pretre.
No. 3 antique engraving of natural history depicting various species of mollusks, specifically the plate Pl. 76, titled in French "Mollusques". It is a scientific illustration that presents several types of shells and marine organisms, including scallops ("Peigne bombé" and "Peigne feuilletée"), spiny oysters ("Huître épineuse"), and other bivalves and gastropods, each labeled with a reference number and a French name at the bottom of the page. Painted by Auguste Blanchard. All engravings are provided inside an elegant passe-partout. The lot will be carefully packed and shipped with contracted couriers. For this lot no shipments outside the European Community are made.