Item details: L'Angleterre, ou Description Historique et Topographique du Royaume Uni de la Grande-Bretagne
£ 650.00
DEPPING, George Bernard
L'Angleterre, ou Description Historique et Topographique du Royaume Uni de la Grande-Bretagne
Imprint: Paris, Chez Étienne Ledoux, Libraire, Rue Guénégaud, No. 9, 1835
Binding: Hardback
Duodecimo, four volumes only (150 x 100 mm. each), contemporary quarter calf, marbled paper boards, spines with gilt decoration largely worn away, gilt volume numbers, retaining contemporary silk page marks, worn. With typographic half title and title page to each volume, pp. (4), viii, 272; (4), 268; (4), 226; (4), 226, (2), with 39 (of 58) early outline coloured maps (1 folding), and c.14 aquatint plates, otherwise in good condition.
This is an incomplete example of an unrecorded edition of one of the very few British county atlases not published in the British Isles. It is believed that the series of miniature maps were drawn by Aristide Michel Perrot (1793-1879). Perrot was a geographer who produced several works related to this field. They accompanied a topographical description of Great Britain by George Bernard Depping (1784-1853). He was a naturalised Frenchman who was born in Münster, Germany in 1784. He became a professor of German and a member of the French Royal Society of Antiquaries. The maps appear to be the work of the Parisian engraver Adrien Migneret (1786-1840). The maps are set within a border of produce and topography reputedly related to the area. The maps themselves are quite small and bear little detail. They have volume and page numbers which are at sufficient distance from the main image that they are often trimmed in binding. Each is accompanied by several pages of descriptive text. Ten maps also bear the name Thierry. They were brothers who were also engravers in Paris specialising in maps. It appears that more than one engraver was involved. The binding order is unusual in that it commences with Wales and extends through Scotland and Ireland in the first three volumes. The final three describe England. This is likely a reflection of French leanings towards the Celtic regions. This example includes only volumes, 1, 3, 4 and 5. Provenance: private English collection. Carroll (1996) no. 83; not in Chubb (1927); Tooley (1999-2004).
Stock number:10268.