Peron | Voyage de decouvertes, [1807]-1811

PERON, FRANCOIS

Voyage de découvertes aux Terres Australes. [Paris: Langlois, 1807]-1811

FIRST EDITION, folio (330 x 246mm.), atlas only, 2 parts in one volume, part I: engraved title, 40 engraved plates numbered 2-41 (2 double-page), some hand-coloured; part II: engraved title, 14 engraved maps numbered 1-14 (2 folding), old paper wrappers covered in watered silk bound in, modern blue morocco-backed boards, old ink stamps throughout, repair to verso of one folding map, scattered spotting or tears

The narrative of the voyage, during which the commander Baudin died, was begun by Peron, the naturalist, and completed by Freycinet after Peron had also died. The voyage made significant visits to Western Australia and Tasmania as well as to Sydney, and took back to France an important collection of natural history specimens. The atlas contains fine, and often coloured, illustrations of coastal profiles, natives, natural history, views, etc.