A. Belloc - Photographie rationnelle. Traité complet - 1862

PLEASE CHECK THE COMPLETE SET OF PICTURES, WHICH ARE THE MAIN PART OF THE DESCRIPTION AND TRULY REFLECT THE CONDITION OF THE BOOK.

A pioneering and highly sought-after mid-19th-century work on the history and techniques of photography during the rise of the wet collodion process (shortly after Frederick Scott Archer's 1851 invention).
Author: A. Belloc (Joseph Auguste Belloc, 1805–1873), a French painter who became an early experimenter and popularizer of collodion photography in France.
Full Title:
Photographie Rationnelle. Traité Complet Théorique et Pratique des Procédés Photographiques et Applications Diverses, précédé de l'Histoire de la Photographie et suivi d'Éléments de Chimie appliquée à cet Art. Par A. Belloc.
Edition: First edition, Paris, Leiber, Éditeur, Rue de Seine-Saint-Germain, 43, 1862. (Some copies bear the Dentu address or "Chez l'Auteur," but these are the same typographic composition; the Leiber imprint is often considered the primary publisher issue on good paper stock.)
Format and Condition:
Thick 8vo volume (approx. 416 pages + tables), preserved in its original publisher's printed wrappers (yellow/orange typical of the period, now heavily aged and fragile with tears, losses, edge chipping, and rubbing at corners and spine). The text block is complete and holds together well, pages stacked without major detachment visible, but showing normal age patina: pronounced yellowing, scattered foxing, brittle acidic paper typical of the era, occasional handling marks. No obvious missing pages, title page and imprint fully legible. An honest, unrestored survivor from over 160 years—typical for books of this period in original wrappers. (Recommend in-person inspection or additional photos to confirm exact pagination and check for any loose gatherings.)
Collector Interest:
Comprehensive manual covering the history of photography, daguerreotype, calotype, collodion (Archer-type), albumen, optics, darkroom setup, stereoscopy, applied chemistry, and various applications.
Essential primary source for 19th-century French photographic science and practice.
Scarce in original publisher's wrappers (most surviving copies are rebound in half-leather or cloth).
Digitized on Gallica/BNF and Internet Archive, but original physical copies in decent condition are very rare on the market.