Bernard - Le jardin des plantes - 1842

A magnificently illustrated standard work on the famous Parisian natural history collection, which, with a wealth of finely executed plates, views, and scientifically based texts, brings the Jardin des Plantes to life in all its variety and is extraordinarily appealing both to bibliophiles and naturalists.

First edition. Publisher: Paris, L. Curmer, 1842-1843. 664 pages, richly illustrated with zoological and botanical plates, some in splendid color; also numerous steel-engraved medallion portraits, folded steel-engraved plans of botanical gardens, and numerous text woodcuts. Half-leather bindings of the period, silk-paper flyleaves, gilded edges, 27 x 19 cm.
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Significant and richly appointed natural history masterwork on the Paris Jardin des Plantes and the Muséum d’Histoire naturelle, one of the most important scientific centers of the 19th century. The publication offers a comprehensive, vivid portrayal of the facilities, collections and research institutions as well as the animal, plant and mineral worlds presented there, and it combines popular-science communication with scholarly presentation.

Particularly noteworthy is the elaborate illustration: numerous finely executed steel engravings and coloured plates depicting botanical motifs, birds, insects and mammals, along with views, portraits (including Georges Cuvier) and a folded topographic map of the Jardin des Plantes. The plates impress with their artistic quality and, at the same time, make the work an aesthetically appealing collectible.
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Bindings lightly rubbed, with faint brown spotting; overall very nice specimens with authentic age patina.