- 51
Demetz, Frédéric-Auguste & Guillaume-Abel Blouet
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- paper
Rapports à M. le Comte de Montalivet ... sur les Pénitenciers des États-Unis. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1837
Two parts in one volume, folio (13 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.; 343 x 216 mm). Half-title, woodcut vignette on title, 45 lithographed plates after Blouet (of which 43 are folding); a few tiny spots. Contemporary quarter calf over marbled boards, spine gilt; covers and extremities scraped.
Two parts in one volume, folio (13 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.; 343 x 216 mm). Half-title, woodcut vignette on title, 45 lithographed plates after Blouet (of which 43 are folding); a few tiny spots. Contemporary quarter calf over marbled boards, spine gilt; covers and extremities scraped.
Provenance
Acquisition: Ursus Rare Books
Condition
Half-title, woodcut vignette on title, 45 lithographed plates after Blouet (of which 43 are folding); a few tiny spots. Contemporary quarter calf over marbled boards, spine gilt; covers and extremities scraped.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
First edition. An important study of the American prison system, written as a follow-up to Beaumont & De Tocqueville's initial report of 1833 (see lot 154). While that initial report favored the "isolationist" system of solitary confinement, proposed in the eighteenth century as a humanitarian measure to avoid mutual corruption and to provide prisoners with space and time for reflection and the development of new habits, the Minister of the Interior Montalivet resolved to obtain more detailed information, and sent Demetz and Blouet in 1836 to make a more comprehensive report.
Their report provides a scientific survey of the entire penal system, discussing fifteen different institutions in the United States and Canada, including prisons in Auburn, Sing-Sing, and New York City, Charlestown and Boston in Massachusetts, Hartford and Wethersfield in Connecticut and several others.
A handsome copy.