first edition Hardcover
1874 · Paris
by Albert, Honoré Paul Joseph d', duc de Luynes; Louis Vignes (photography); Henri Joseph Sauvaire (photography); Jardin (photography); Charles Nègre (photogravure); Eugène Ciceri (lithography); Christophe Edouard Mauss; Louis Lartet; Melchior Vogüé, ma
Paris: Arthus Bertrand, 1874. First edition. Hardcover. Very good+. Four volumes, folio, 36 by 27 cm (text volumes), 36.2 by 28.6 cm (atlas). Complete with a total of 99 plates in various media. Text in French; copious transcriptions of Arabic inscriptions in the second volume. [4], IV, 388 pp., in-text illustrations throughout; [6], 222, [6] pp; [4], VI, 326 pp.,14 plates (numbered I-XIV): 2 double-suite chromolithographic maps, 2 double-suite chromolithograpic arrays of geologic sections; 2 steel-engraved arrays of geologic sections; 8 full-page lithographic specimen plates; Atlas: [4] pp; 67 plates documenting the journey of the Duc de Luynes: (3 unnumbered steel-engraved plates) - 1 large folding map (colored), 1 folding itinerary (colored), 1 double-suite plan of the iron sailing vessel; (numbered I-LXIV) - 64 hand-pulled b/w photogravures on steel (1 double-suite) by Charles Nègre after photos by Jardin and Louis Vignes; 18 plates documenting the journey of Christophe Mauss (numbered I-XVIII): 1 double-suite steel-engraved itinerary, 3 steel engraved site plans (1 colored), 14 tinted lithographs by Eugène Ciceri after photographs by Henri Sauvaire (8 mistakenly attributed to Louis Vignes).
Later half light brown morocco over marbled boards, gilt spine with raised bands; marbled endleaves; original blue printed wrappers preserved (along with the backstrips the three text volumes). Text leaves intermittently foxed throughout (often in light-moderately toned large blotches). Plates clean and fresh with only occasional touches of soiling or faint foxing almost exclusively confined to the margins; large folding map and folding itinerary in the Atlas with more notable light foxing. A very good set with fine plates.
First edition of this comprehensive report on one of the most important scientific and archaeological missions of the nineteenth century, the 1864 expedition to the Dead Sea undertaken by the visionary art collector, archaeologist, and scientist Honoré Paul Joseph d'Albert, duc de Luynes (1802-1867). Along with an atlas containing 78 reproductions of photographs by Louis Vignes (1831-1896), Jardin (fl. 1864), and Henri Joseph Sauvaire (1831-1896), this work documents "the first systematic attempt to survey and photograph the geological features and cities of the Dead Sea basin in present-day Jordan... In addition to mapping the Dead Sea area, the expedition made significant contributions to the geological and paleontological knowledge of the region and also to an understanding of the chemical composition of the lake's waters" (GRI). Louis Vignes, a lieutenent-commander in the French navy and director since 1860 of the port in Beirut, was chosen by de Luynes as photographer for the expedition because of his knowledge of the Levant. "Vignes began to photograph immediately upon arrival in Beirut and continued to do so during the ride south throughout Sidon, Tyre, Nablus, and Jerusalem. From March 14 until May 29 the party sailed the entire Dead Sea on a special iron vessel designed by Vignes to be dismantled for easy trasportation" (Perez).
A preliminary account, edited by Vignes, appeared as Extrait des notes d'un voyage d'exploration à la mer Morte, dans le Wady Arabah, sur la rive gauche du Jourdain et dans le désert de Palmyre (Paris: H. Plon, 1865). This work essentially comprised a key to the two maps drawn by Vignes, with assistance from Dr. Gustave Combe. The larger of the two maps charted the Jordan Rift Valley from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akabah; the second map depicts the Dead Sea and its immediate vicinity. "In addition to tracing the expedition's routes, place names, elevations, vegetation, land conditions, natural features and many other geomorphic and climatic details are recorded on the maps" (GRI). In the Atlas volume of the Voyage, these two maps have been combined into a single map (printed surface: 69.7 by 28.8 cm). In 1866 de Luynes made a second expedition to the region, accompanied by the archaeologist Christophe Edouard Mauss and Henri Sauvaire; their account was published the following year in the Bulletin de la Société de Géographie as "De Karak à Chaubak. Extrait d'un Journal de voyage."
De Luynes' full account of the expedition is found in the first volume of the present report. The two parts of the second volume comprise Louis Vignes' account of the journey from Petra (Jordan) to Palmyra (Syria), along with the account of the 1866 journey from Jerusalem to the Crusader castles in Jordan at Kerak and Shoubak (Montréal), written by Mauss and Sauvaire. The third volume contains the report prepared by the noted geologist Louis Lartet (1840-1899), who would go on to discover the first Cro-Magnon skeletons. It is accompanied by chromolithographic maps and arrays of geological and paleontological elevations, along with finely detailed lithographic specimen plates. The entire production was posthumously edited by Melchior, marquis de Vogüé (1829-1916).
A member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, de Luynes was a philanthropist with enormous inherited wealth, and deep interdisciplinary interests, many of which are on display in the present work: the study and collection of Greco-Roman antiquities, notably from Phoenicia and Palestine, and the pursuit of scientific interests in chemistry, geology, and photography. In 1856 de Luynes initiated a competitionin in conjunction with the Societé Française de Photographie to find the best method of photomechanical reproduction. Two people were short-listed for the prize: the chemist and photographer, Alphonse Louis Poitevin, for his method of photolithography; and the pioneering photographer, Charles Nègre, (1820-1880) whose photogravure method "produced beautiful prints, but was even more complicated and unwieldy in practice the Poitevin's method" (Parr & Badger). Although Poitevin was finally awared the prize in 1867, de Luynes chose Nègre to process the 64 reproductions which appear in the first suite of images in the Atlas. "The Duc's decision was clearly based on aesthetics," as Nègre's photogravure process actually improved upon the albumen prints by Vignes, "which tended to be high in contrast and lacking shadow detail" (Parr & Badger). These 64 photogravures are arranged according to the expedition itinerary, starting at Beirut and concluding with a view of the source of the Hasbany River. These images, along with views of Nablus, the ruins of Araq el-Emir, the fortified hilltop palace Machaerus, the rock-cut architecture of Petra, the Greco-Roman ruins of Gerasa, and views of the tributaries and source of the Jordan River are "among the earliest photomechanical reproductions of photographs from the Holy Land" (Nir). Along with John Thomson's Illustrations of China and its People (1874), Voyage d'exploration à la mer Morte (1868-1874) is a "key work" in the early development of the photobook. "Amongst the best early French photographers," Charles Nègre "was a leading figure in the development and employment of photomechanical processes. These early methods were still labour-intenseive and could be termed hand-craft processes, but they represent another significant step in the industrialization of the photographic process -- a step towards the halftone block and the photobook as we know it today" (Parr & Badger).
A note on the dating of this work: Title-pages undated; the publisher's avertissement in the first volume dated "Constantinople, août 1874." N.B.: Rohricht dates the work 1871-1876; the Bibliotèque national de France dates the Atlas 1871; The Getty Research institute dates the entire production 1875; several libraries date the geological survey volume 1877. References: P. Foliot, "Louis Vignes and Henry Sauvaire Photographers of the Expedition of the Duc de Luynes", History of Photography, 1990, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 233-250; Getty Research Institute, "Duc de Luynes Archive and Related Photographs by Henri Sauvaire" (via website); Hannavy, Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography I, pp. 982-5 (Nègre); Y. Nir, The Bible and the Image (1985), p. 89; Parr & Badger I, pp. 19, 33; N. Perez, Focus East, Early Photography in the Near East (1988), pp. 180 (Jardin), 229 (Vignes); Rohricht 2824.
Full title and imprint: Voyage d'Exploration a la mer Morte, a Petra, et sur la rive gauche du Jourdain par M. le Duc de Luynes... Oeuvre posthume publiée par ses petits-fils sous la direction de M. le Comte de Vogüé... Relation du Voyage. Paris: Arthus Bertrand, Éditeur Libraire de la Société de Géographie 21, rue Hautefeuille, 21 (Tome deuxième De Petra a Palmyre par M. Vignes... Voyage de Jérusalem a Karak et a Chaubak par MM. Mauss et Sauvaire; Tome troisième Géologie par M. Louis Lartet; Atlas). (Inventory #: 54520)
Later half light brown morocco over marbled boards, gilt spine with raised bands; marbled endleaves; original blue printed wrappers preserved (along with the backstrips the three text volumes). Text leaves intermittently foxed throughout (often in light-moderately toned large blotches). Plates clean and fresh with only occasional touches of soiling or faint foxing almost exclusively confined to the margins; large folding map and folding itinerary in the Atlas with more notable light foxing. A very good set with fine plates.
First edition of this comprehensive report on one of the most important scientific and archaeological missions of the nineteenth century, the 1864 expedition to the Dead Sea undertaken by the visionary art collector, archaeologist, and scientist Honoré Paul Joseph d'Albert, duc de Luynes (1802-1867). Along with an atlas containing 78 reproductions of photographs by Louis Vignes (1831-1896), Jardin (fl. 1864), and Henri Joseph Sauvaire (1831-1896), this work documents "the first systematic attempt to survey and photograph the geological features and cities of the Dead Sea basin in present-day Jordan... In addition to mapping the Dead Sea area, the expedition made significant contributions to the geological and paleontological knowledge of the region and also to an understanding of the chemical composition of the lake's waters" (GRI). Louis Vignes, a lieutenent-commander in the French navy and director since 1860 of the port in Beirut, was chosen by de Luynes as photographer for the expedition because of his knowledge of the Levant. "Vignes began to photograph immediately upon arrival in Beirut and continued to do so during the ride south throughout Sidon, Tyre, Nablus, and Jerusalem. From March 14 until May 29 the party sailed the entire Dead Sea on a special iron vessel designed by Vignes to be dismantled for easy trasportation" (Perez).
A preliminary account, edited by Vignes, appeared as Extrait des notes d'un voyage d'exploration à la mer Morte, dans le Wady Arabah, sur la rive gauche du Jourdain et dans le désert de Palmyre (Paris: H. Plon, 1865). This work essentially comprised a key to the two maps drawn by Vignes, with assistance from Dr. Gustave Combe. The larger of the two maps charted the Jordan Rift Valley from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akabah; the second map depicts the Dead Sea and its immediate vicinity. "In addition to tracing the expedition's routes, place names, elevations, vegetation, land conditions, natural features and many other geomorphic and climatic details are recorded on the maps" (GRI). In the Atlas volume of the Voyage, these two maps have been combined into a single map (printed surface: 69.7 by 28.8 cm). In 1866 de Luynes made a second expedition to the region, accompanied by the archaeologist Christophe Edouard Mauss and Henri Sauvaire; their account was published the following year in the Bulletin de la Société de Géographie as "De Karak à Chaubak. Extrait d'un Journal de voyage."
De Luynes' full account of the expedition is found in the first volume of the present report. The two parts of the second volume comprise Louis Vignes' account of the journey from Petra (Jordan) to Palmyra (Syria), along with the account of the 1866 journey from Jerusalem to the Crusader castles in Jordan at Kerak and Shoubak (Montréal), written by Mauss and Sauvaire. The third volume contains the report prepared by the noted geologist Louis Lartet (1840-1899), who would go on to discover the first Cro-Magnon skeletons. It is accompanied by chromolithographic maps and arrays of geological and paleontological elevations, along with finely detailed lithographic specimen plates. The entire production was posthumously edited by Melchior, marquis de Vogüé (1829-1916).
A member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, de Luynes was a philanthropist with enormous inherited wealth, and deep interdisciplinary interests, many of which are on display in the present work: the study and collection of Greco-Roman antiquities, notably from Phoenicia and Palestine, and the pursuit of scientific interests in chemistry, geology, and photography. In 1856 de Luynes initiated a competitionin in conjunction with the Societé Française de Photographie to find the best method of photomechanical reproduction. Two people were short-listed for the prize: the chemist and photographer, Alphonse Louis Poitevin, for his method of photolithography; and the pioneering photographer, Charles Nègre, (1820-1880) whose photogravure method "produced beautiful prints, but was even more complicated and unwieldy in practice the Poitevin's method" (Parr & Badger). Although Poitevin was finally awared the prize in 1867, de Luynes chose Nègre to process the 64 reproductions which appear in the first suite of images in the Atlas. "The Duc's decision was clearly based on aesthetics," as Nègre's photogravure process actually improved upon the albumen prints by Vignes, "which tended to be high in contrast and lacking shadow detail" (Parr & Badger). These 64 photogravures are arranged according to the expedition itinerary, starting at Beirut and concluding with a view of the source of the Hasbany River. These images, along with views of Nablus, the ruins of Araq el-Emir, the fortified hilltop palace Machaerus, the rock-cut architecture of Petra, the Greco-Roman ruins of Gerasa, and views of the tributaries and source of the Jordan River are "among the earliest photomechanical reproductions of photographs from the Holy Land" (Nir). Along with John Thomson's Illustrations of China and its People (1874), Voyage d'exploration à la mer Morte (1868-1874) is a "key work" in the early development of the photobook. "Amongst the best early French photographers," Charles Nègre "was a leading figure in the development and employment of photomechanical processes. These early methods were still labour-intenseive and could be termed hand-craft processes, but they represent another significant step in the industrialization of the photographic process -- a step towards the halftone block and the photobook as we know it today" (Parr & Badger).
A note on the dating of this work: Title-pages undated; the publisher's avertissement in the first volume dated "Constantinople, août 1874." N.B.: Rohricht dates the work 1871-1876; the Bibliotèque national de France dates the Atlas 1871; The Getty Research institute dates the entire production 1875; several libraries date the geological survey volume 1877. References: P. Foliot, "Louis Vignes and Henry Sauvaire Photographers of the Expedition of the Duc de Luynes", History of Photography, 1990, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 233-250; Getty Research Institute, "Duc de Luynes Archive and Related Photographs by Henri Sauvaire" (via website); Hannavy, Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography I, pp. 982-5 (Nègre); Y. Nir, The Bible and the Image (1985), p. 89; Parr & Badger I, pp. 19, 33; N. Perez, Focus East, Early Photography in the Near East (1988), pp. 180 (Jardin), 229 (Vignes); Rohricht 2824.
Full title and imprint: Voyage d'Exploration a la mer Morte, a Petra, et sur la rive gauche du Jourdain par M. le Duc de Luynes... Oeuvre posthume publiée par ses petits-fils sous la direction de M. le Comte de Vogüé... Relation du Voyage. Paris: Arthus Bertrand, Éditeur Libraire de la Société de Géographie 21, rue Hautefeuille, 21 (Tome deuxième De Petra a Palmyre par M. Vignes... Voyage de Jérusalem a Karak et a Chaubak par MM. Mauss et Sauvaire; Tome troisième Géologie par M. Louis Lartet; Atlas). (Inventory #: 54520)
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