Vue Prise a la Baie Des Isles. Nouvelle Zelande.
Paris: 1833. First edition. Black & white lithograph view of Maoris gathering wood on shore, the Astrolabe in the distance (Bay of Islands) 34.3 x 20.8 cms. This is a chine collé print, printed on tissue and laid down on thicker paper. It is a printmaking technique in which the image is transferred onto a surface that is bonded onto a heavier support in the printing process. It is usually considered a precursor to the published image, sometimes as a proof plate. It can pull finer details off the plate. Official blind stamp below the title, light general foxing o/w very good condition. Plate 62 from the official report of the voyage. "Voyage de la Corvette L'Astrolabe..." Under the command of Jules Dumont D'Urville. New Zealand was a particular focus of the French expedition with 2 of the 5 volumes of the report dedicated to the discoveries there. It seems that this expedition was looking very hard at New Zealand as a possible French settlement by charting the coast as much as they did, a counter to Cook's surveys that made the British claim so strong. Item #11915
Price: $350.00