Après de Mannevillette, J.-B. Nicolas Denis d'; and others

Neptune Oriental [with:] Supplément au Neptune Oriental. [Paris: Dépot de la Marine, 1745-1775 ]



2 volumes, folio in two sizes (21 ¼ x 16 ½ in. & 26 ¾ x 20 ½ in.; 540 x 420 & 680 x 520 mm). 2 engraved titles à l'occasion, 68 + 15 double-page maps; without frontispiece or portrait.



Bound with:
France. Ministère de la Marine.
[A collection of charts by various French hydrographers and cartographers (including two volumes of Beautemps-Beaupré Pilot Français) assembled with titles à l'occasion as below]. [Paris: Dépot de la Marine, 1776-1829]



8 volumes, folio (25 7/8 x 19 ½ in.; 658 x 495 mm). 8 simple engraved titles or frontispieces, 521 engraved maps and prints, mostly double-page with several folding, some handcolored; occasional light browning or marginal foxing.



All 10 volumes uniformly bound in contemporary green morocco, gold-tooled in a panel design, with roll-tooled floral pattern in the frames, gold-stamped supralibros "Son Excellence Ibrahim Pacha" on upper covers; rebacked to match, various scrapes scuffmarks and small repairs.

Ibrahim Pasha (supralibros) — Yusuf Kamal Pasha (bookplates)

National Maritime Museum. Catalogue (1968-1976)

Magnificent collection of the most advanced French official marine cartography assembled for the son of the Ottoman governor of Egypt.

Ibrahim Pasha (1789-1848) was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali (1769-1849), the reformist governor of Egypt. Both father and son sought to modernize Egypt by promoting the study of European (especially French) science and technology, sending scholars to visit France and provide them with reports on the latest discoveries, on government institutions and on lifestyle. Ibrahim was his father's surrogate in military matters, whose achievements in the field, especially his campaign against the Saudis in Arabia, earned him the title of Pasha. He constructed a shipyard in Alexandria and by the end of the 1830s, Egypt had constructed nine 100-gun warships. Naval power, especially in support of land invasions, was an integral part of Egyptian foreign policy and a collection of the latest naval charts would have been essential. The collection was later owned by Prince Yusuf Kamal Pasha (1882-1967), a descendant of the above and one of the greatest Egyptian collectors of the twentieth century, publisher of the Monumenta Cartographica Africae et Aegypti (Cairo, 1926-1951).

A comparison of the collection to the examples listed in the catalogue of the National Maritime Museum (Greenwich), suggests that the present copy was assembled for the Pasha without concern for original title pages or prefatory material as befits the working tool of a military leader. Each volume has a simple abbreviated title summarizing the content which often includes extra maps not usually found and excludes others usually found in these collections:

I: Neptune Oriental. Europe, Africa, South Asia, Brasil. 68 maps (NMM 203: 1, 3-22; 204: 23-30, 32-63; 205: 73) including 9 not listed; without maps 203:2 and 204:31.

II: Supplément au neptune oriental. Indian Ocean, Red Sea, South Asia. 15 maps (NMM 205: 65-78; 259: 388).

III: Neptune des côtes septentrionales d'Europe. Northern Europe. 38 maps (NMM 250; 259: 348) including one not listed (Islands on the Atlantic) and 10 with contemporary handcoloring.

IV: Neptune des côtes occidentales de France. 72 maps (NMM 251: 37-54, 59-81; 259: 361-369) including 24 not listed and 5 with contemporary handcoloring; without 251: 55-58, 82-87.

V:  Pilote français. Environs de Brest, rédigé par M. Beautemps-Beaupré. Paris: Dépot de la Marine, 1822. Engraved title vignette, 91 engraved plates, extra-illustrated with 9 maps from the collection (NMM 251: 59, 60, 62, 64, 67, 69, 71; 252; 259: 361-362); some foxing.

VI: Pilote français. Deuxième Partie. Comprenant les côtes occidentales de France depuis la point de Penmarch jusqu'à l'Isle d'Yeu... M. Beautemps-Beaupré. Paris: Dépot de la Marine, 1829. Engraved title vignette, 20 maps, 112 engraved plates, extra-illustrated with 6 maps from the collection (NMM 259: 363-367, 369); some light marginal browning.

VII: Neptune des Iles Britanniques. 51 maps (NMM 250: 1-8; 252: 125-126, 128-134, 136, 138-147; 259: 148-160) including 9 not listed; without 252: 127, 135, 137.

VIII: Neptune de l'Amerique septentrionale. 38 maps (NMM 250: 1-2; 251: 37; 255: 210-218, 220-243) including 1 not listed (Ile de Fogo).

IX: Neptune des côtes occidentales d'Amerique sur le grand ocean. Central and South America. 36 maps (NMM 250: 1; 256: 244-268; 259: 389-391) including 7 not listed (California, Peru, Chile ...).

X: Neptune des côtes orientales et du grand arcipel d'Asie. South Asia, Central America, Oceania. 47 maps (NMM 250: 1; 256: 244-245; 258: 304-340, 342-347) including 1 not listed (Diémen) which replaces 258:341.