Beschreibung:

KERGUELEN-TRÉMAREC, Yves-Joseph de (1734-1797). Relation d'un voyage dans la mer du Nord ... fait en 1767 & 1768 . Paris: Prault, 1771. [ Sold with :] – Relation de deux voyages dans les mers Australes & des Indes, faits en 1771, 1772, 1773 & 1774…Ou Extrait du Journal de sa Navigation pour la découverte des terres Australes. Paris: Knapen & Fils, 1782. [ and :] KERGUELEN DE LARLAN, Victoire Marie Françoise Brigitte de. [Manuscript history of the Kerguelen family], preserved with an offprint of Hennequin’s biography of Kerguelen published in the Biographie maritime of 1835-1837. Exceptional gathering of Kerguelen’s two famous Relations , from his family archive, with additional archival evidence. Preserved together for two centuries, along with a manuscript history of the family in the explorer’s daughter’s hand and an offprint of Hennequin’s 19th-century life of Kerguelen published in the Biographie maritime of 1835-1837, both works bear witness to their belonging in the Kerguelen archive for at least five generations. The first Relation , in first edition, is a report on the explorer’s exploration of the North Sea, including one of the first descriptions of Rockall, 'the most isolated small rock in the oceans of the world' (James Fisher . The second Relation , again in first edition, details his two voyages to explore the Indian Ocean and is particularly rare, as it was suppressed by the French government because of its dedication 'a la Patrie'; it includes chapters on the American War of Independence and Madagascar. I: Chavanne 1942; Cox II 21/III 94; Sabin 37616. II: Kroepelien 641; Sabin 37618; Spence 650. Relation d'un voyage dans la mer du Nord : quarto (249 x 181mm). 18 engraved plates, maps, and plans, of which 10 are folding; engraved vignettes (occasional light thumbing or soiling in the margins). Contemporary marbled calf, sides with gilt triple-fillet, panelled spine decorated in gilt, red morocco lettering-piece (joints cracked but holding, joints and spine extremities a little rubbed, some abrasions and repairs to the rear cover). Provenance: Victoire Marie Françoise Brigitte de Kerguelen de Larlan (daughter of the explorer, inscription on the title) – Calixte Françoise Joséphine de Larlan de Rochefort (daughter of Victoire Marie Françoise Brigitte, ink inscription dated 1859 to the front free end-paper, giving this book to her own granddaughter) - Aliénor de Courtarvel (granddaughter of Calixte de Larlan de Rochefort, see inscription above, and her ownership inscription on verso of the map). Relation de deux voyages dans les mers Australes : octavo (191 x 117mm). Half-title. Engraved folding map printed on thick paper, present but not bound in and kept in a separate folder (discreet infills and repairs to the top margin in the first two quires and the last two leaves, one or two rust-spots). Contemporary marbled calf, sides with gilt triple-fillet, flat spine decorated in gilt, red morocco lettering-piece (joints and spine extremities a little rubbed, a scratch to the rear cover, a few unobtrusive spots to the plate). Provenance: Aliénor de Courtarvel (granddaughter of Calixte de Larlan de Rochefort; inscription on the front free end-paper, in French, dated 1879, stating that this book must remain united with the Relation d'un voyage dans la mer du Nord, as it belongs to the same person). The map of the second Relation and the following two archival items are preserved in a modern box styled in faux calf gilt to replicate the binding of the books: KERGUELEN DE LARLAN, Victoire Marie Françoise Brigitte de. [Manuscript history of the Kerguelen family], manuscript on paper, folded single sheet, pp. 4 (last blank), c.22 lines to a page in brown ink (ink corrosion producing a tear with no loss of sense, further folding); offprint of Hennequin’s life of Kerguelen from Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins célèbres français et étrangers , 1835-1837 (octavo, stitched a