Jean-François de La Harpe - James Cook: Drei Weltreisen [Exlibris Mila de Cabarieu] - 1820

Jean-François de La Harpe – Abridged History of General Travels – Volumes 19–24 – Paris, 1820

Six consecutive, richly gilded full-leather bindings from 1820 about the three world voyages of the famous explorer James Cook – with historical bookplate and handwritten ownership note of the Mila de Cabarieu family in every volume.

These six related volumes from Jean-François de La Harpe’s eminent work Abrégé de l’Histoire générale des voyages document one of the most important sections of European exploration and science history of the 18th century.

Published in 1820 in Paris by Étienne Ledoux as a revised and corrected new edition.

Content – The World Voyages of James Cook

Volumes 19–24 cover the major voyages of exploration in the Pacific, in particular Captain James Cook’s three world voyages (1728–1779).

* Volume 19: Continuation of Cook’s first world voyage.
* Volume 20: Cook’s second world voyage and its final stages.
* Volume 21: Continuation of the second world voyage as well as scientific observations by Johann Reinhold Forster on geography, natural history, the animal and plant world, and the societies of the Pacific islands.
* Volume 22: Beginning of the third world voyage with reports on New Zealand, Tahiti, and the Society Islands.
* Volume 23: Continuation of the third world voyage, exploration of the North American Pacific coast, and search for a northern passage.
* Volume 24: Conclusion of the third world voyage with the stay in Hawaii, the report on James Cook’s death in 1779, and the expedition’s return to England.

The books also contain valuable contemporary representations of geographical discoveries, unfamiliar cultures, social ways of life, and scientific observations.

Historical Provenance – The Mila de Cabarieu Family

All six volumes bear the identical heraldic bookplate “Mila de Cabarieu” and a handwritten ownership note of the same name.

The bookplate depicts a bird on a rock under a crown and corresponds to the characteristic elements of the historically documented family crest Mila de Cabarieu from Southwest France.

Among the known members of this family was Jean-Marie-Antoine-Henri Mila de Cabarieu (1820–1904), French lawyer, prefect, Knight of the Legion of Honor, and member of the Académie de Montauban.

A personal attribution of the books to this family member has not been proven.

The matching bookplates and handwritten ownership notes in all six volumes nevertheless document their shared historical family provenance.

Magnificent historical full-leather bindings

The six volumes have uniform decorative full-leather bindings with:

* Richly ornamented and gold-stamped spines
* Red spine labels with gold-embossed title
* Separate gold-ruled volume numbers
* Floral gold ornaments and elaborate fineline borders
* Gold-stamped borders on the covers

The bindings form a harmonious and particularly decorative group of historical travel books.

Bibliographic data

* Author: Jean-François de La Harpe (1739–1803)
* Title: Abrégé de l’Histoire générale des voyages
* Edition: Nouvelle édition, revue et corrigée
* Publisher: Étienne Ledoux, Paris
* Year of publication: 1820
* Volumes available: 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24
* Extent: 6 volumes
* Language: French
* Binding: Historical full-leather with rich back gold tooling
* Provenance: Bookplates and handwritten ownership note “Mila de Cabarieu” in each volume
* Topics: James Cook, world circumnavigations, Pacific, exploration history, geography and natural sciences

Condition

The over 200-year-old volumes are in an age-appropriate used condition.

The historical leather bindings show creasing, minor insecurities and signs of wear to covers, edges and corners. The decorative gilding on the back is generally well preserved.

The photographed inner pages show age-related paper yellowing, isolated stains, creases and wear.

The completeness of the individual volumes has not been fully collated. The separate folio atlas mentioned in the edition is not part of this offer.

The photographs document the condition and are part of the item description.

Collector’s note

Particularly noteworthy is the combination of six consecutive volumes on James Cook’s world voyages, richly gilded historical full-leather bindings, and a family provenance documented by bookplates and handwritten ownership notes.

Only volumes 19–24 are offered, not the complete set.

Private sale: The sale is conducted from my private collection with exclusion of statutory warranty for material defects, as far as legally permissible. The exclusion does not apply in cases of fraudulently concealed defects, expressly assumed guarantees, or legally mandatory liability.