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1840 Perrot Comparative Chart depicting the Wonders of Nature
$950.00
1840 Perrot Comparative Chart of the Marvels of Nature - amazing color!
MerveillesNature2-perrot-1840$925.00
Title
Tableau Pittoresque des Merveilles de la Nature.
1840 (undated) 21 x 27.5 in (53.34 x 69.85 cm)
1840 (undated) 21 x 27.5 in (53.34 x 69.85 cm)
Description
This is a separate issue 1840 Aristide Michel Perrot and Sigismond Himely comparative chart illustrating the marvels of the nature - as they were understood in the 19th century. The present example is notable for its striking gouache color masterfully applied. The chart illustrates 58 numerically identified natural wonders, among them,
- No. 5 - the deep and picturesque Mines of Persberg, Sweden
- No. 8 - a gigantic antediluvian human skeleton fossilized.
- No. 9 - the skeleton of a wooly mammoth.
- no. 30 - the bizarre illusion of giant human beings on the side of a mountain
- no. 29 - Iceland's Mount Hekla volcano.
- No. 18 - the clifftop Corsican city of Bonifacio
- No. 12 - St. Michael's Cave in Gibraltar
Publication History and Census
This chart was compiled by Aristide Michel Perrot and published by Maison Basset in 1840. It was engraved in aquatint by Sigismond Himely, with the lettering engraved in copper by Mme. George, and printed in Paris by Fosset. Examples exist both in black and white and full deluxe color - as here - with the color variant being much rarer and far more desirable. The OCLC identifies only one example, at the British Library, it is unclear if that example is color or the more common black and white issue.CartographerS
Aristide Michel Perrot (1793 - 1879) was a French geographer, cartographer, and essayist active during the 19th century. Perrot specialized in miniature maps that appear in numerous French atlases. Perrot was also a prolific writer and his works include geographic lexicons and several essays. More by this mapmaker...
André Basset (Bassett; fl. 1768 - 1784) was a well-known French publisher and engraver active on the Rue St. Jacques, Paris, during the 18th and 19th centuries. His office was located at the corner of Rue Saint Jacques and of Mathurins, à l'enseigne de Sainte Geneviève. The firm is closely aligned with the Chéreau family of printers and engravers, with whom they were connected with multiple, often incestuous, marriages and remarriages. Basset was best known for the production of low-cost optical views of European cities and events. However, the firm also produced games, maps, and other prints. The firm was taken over by Paul-André Bassett (1759 - 1829) in 1784. Paul-André Bassett himself retired in 1819, but the business continued under various family members until 1865. Learn More...
Sigismond Himely (June 7, 1801 - 1872) was a Swiss painter, viewmaker, acquaint engraver active in Paris during the middle part of the 19th century. Hinley was born in La Neuveville, Bern, Switzerland, but moved to Paris to study painting with Copley Fielding (1787 - 1855) and Jean-Victor Bertin (1775 - 1842). He exhibited in the Paris Salons between 1824 and 1869. He is known for his work engraving aquatints for English watercolorists and his names is associated with numerous historical views, city bird's-eye panoramas, architectural illustrations, and ethnographic images, among them rare illustrations of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Learn More...
Condition
Very good. Extraordinary vivid gouache color. Laid down on older tissue. Minor verso reinforcement along centerfold at bottom margin. Light marginal spotting.
References
OCLC 557507963. Bibliographie de la France, ou Journal General, de L'Imprimerie et de la Librairie, vol 24, May 1840, page 298.