Chenu - Histoire Naturelle - 1850

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THE LOST WORLD OF PRIMATES: A MONUMENTAL NINETEENTH-CENTURY NATURAL HISTORY
A spectacular nineteenth-century natural history, entirely devoted to the world of primates.
Orangutans, chimpanzees, gibbons, baboons, monkeys, and lorises are described and depicted with extraordinary iconographic richness. The work brings together the knowledge of Europe's leading naturalists, from Buffon to Cuvier and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Numerous full-page plates accompany anatomical figures, skeletons, skulls, and comparative observations. A fascinating document of European zoology and primatology before the rise of the modern evolutionary theory.

ABSTRACT
The volume constitutes the section dedicated to the QUADRUMANES of the vast Encyclopédie d’Histoire Naturelle directed by the French physician and naturalist Jean-Charles Chenu. The work offers an extensive treatment of primates according to the zoological knowledge and scientific classifications of the nineteenth century, collecting and comparing the studies of Buffon, Daubenton, Cuvier, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Lacépède, Latreille, de Jussieu, and many other naturalists. Particularly important is the iconographic apparatus: the text is accompanied by numerous illustrations, some full-page, depicting orangutans, chimpanzees, gibbons, baboons, colobines, callitrichids, lorises and numerous other species, as well as skulls, skeletons, and anatomical details. Of great historical interest are also the pages devoted to the different classifications of Quadrumana, which document the progressive development of taxonomy and comparative anatomy in nineteenth-century Europe.

MARKET VALUE
A volume especially interesting for collectors of natural history, zoology, primatology, the history of science, and nineteenth-century illustrated books. The collectible value is sustained mainly by the richness of the iconographic apparatus and the spectacularity of the numerous zoological illustrations. The presence of the original editorial binding constitutes a further positive element. Being a single volume belonging to an encyclopedia composed of numerous sections, however, its commercial value is considerably lower than that of a complete series. The value of this volume lies between 200 and 360 euros.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Red cloth binding, with frames and decorative tooling blind-stamped on the boards and gilt titles to the spine. Text in French, predominantly laid out in two columns. Illustrative apparatus consisting of numerous zoological figures embedded in the text and full-page plates. Entire primates, anatomical details, skulls and skeletons are depicted. Some plates retain the protective tissue guard
evelin. Binding shows wear, discolorations, abrasions, and traces of time; spine gilding faded but still legible. More evident wear around the upper casing. Paper naturally yellowed, with physiological foxing and scattered stains. Some margins show irregularities, small tears and signs of use, some fascicles are partially loose. Present in the initial pages is a stamp of prior ownership “CI. MORET”. In old books, with a centuries-long history, there may be some imperfections not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. 312; 40 plate leaves (out of text), with 234 in-text figures.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Encyclopédie d’Histoire Naturelle.
Paris, E. Girard et A. Boitte.
Jean-Charles Chenu.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Encyclopédie d’Histoire Naturelle belongs to the great era of illustrated French scientific encyclopedias of the nineteenth century, conceived to systematically collect natural history knowledge developed between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The volume on Quadrumana holds particular interest because it documents the study of primates at a crucial moment in the history of the natural sciences. The old zoological category of “Quadrumana,” today abandoned, grouped non-human primates mainly based on limb structure. The volume thus allows direct observation of the classifications, terminology, and anatomical criteria used by the zoology of the era. The work also presents an interesting meeting of science and popular science: taxonomic and anatomical descriptions are accompanied by an extremely rich visual apparatus, designed to render the described species immediately recognizable.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Jean-Charles Chenu (1808–1879) was a military doctor, naturalist, and French scientific author. He devoted himself especially to zoology and to disseminating the natural sciences, directing and publishing important illustrated works intended to systematize the natural knowledge of his time. His name is particularly associated with the Encyclopédie d’Histoire Naturelle, a vast editorial undertaking structured in numerous volumes dedicated to the different animal and plant classes and families. His activity sits within the great French naturalistic tradition developed after Buffon and Cuvier, when anatomical observation and comparative classification were profoundly transforming the study of the animal world.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Encyclopédie d’Histoire Naturelle was published in Paris during the latter half of the nineteenth century as a major multi-volume work with autonomous sections. Individual volumes were dedicated to different zoological groups and natural science disciplines and could therefore circulate separately, a circumstance that explains the frequent presence on the antique market of single sections of the encyclopedia. The QUADRUMANES volume represents one of the most fascinating zoological sections of the collection due to the abundance of illustrations dedicated to great apes and other primates. The presence on the title page of the indication “ÉDITION FIRMIN-DIDOT ET CIE” and the Paris editors E. Girard et A. Boitte is an important element for precisely identifying the specific printing of this copy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
National Library of France – bibliographic catalogs related to Jean-Charles Chenu and to the Encyclopédie d’Histoire Naturelle.
WorldCat – censuses of the different editions and individual volumes of the Encyclopédie d’Histoire Naturelle.
Catalogues of the Library of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris.
Catalogs of the main European scientific and natural history libraries for the different sections of the work.