Sonnerat, Pierre.

first edition, 4to (248 x 190mm.), half-title, engraved frontispiece, 118 (of 120) plates on 117 sheets (numbered 2-120), some folding, contemporary mottled calf gilt, spine in comparments with raised bands gilt, lacking 2 plates (1 and 72), covers bowed, spine ends rather rubbed

Nissen ZBI 3898; Cohen-de Ricci 955

In the latter half of the eighteenth century, France made serious attempts to break the monopoly in the spice trade which the Dutch had long enjoyed. Having annexed the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean (1743), they built permanent settlements (1768) and spice plantations, later dispatching expeditions to India, the Malay archipelago, and elsewhere. A naturalist accompanying one such voyage was Pierre Sonnerat (1745-1814). During a journey to the Moluccas, Philippines, and neighbouring islands taken in 1771-1772, Sonnerat made extensive observations of primitive societies and exotic wildlife, which he subsequently reported in this present work. Although the title of this work refers to New Guinea, Sonnerat did not actually land there but rather on nearby islands. The many specimens and curiosities which he brought to the king's cabinet further stimulated the growing interest in the "noble savage", a popular romantic image which persisted well into the nineteenth century.