Beschreibung:

NATURE PRINTING - CHARLES D'AIGUEBELLE Homographie ... Choix de vingt Plantes indignes et coloniales . Paris: [Fain, 1828]. Broadsheets (595 x 470mm). Lithographic and nature-printed upper wrapper, letterpress introduction, 3pp. endorsements, list of plates, 20 fine hand-coloured lithographic and nature-printed plates by Bernard and D'Aiguebelle after the D'Aiguebelle, each with accompanying leaf of text by L. Madale, each plate blindstamped at lower edge 'Homographie', 7 backed with thin paper, 13 showing evidence of also having been backed. (Some spotting and staining.) Contemporary paper-covered boards (backstrip lacking, extremities rubbed, some scuffing and small tears to covers). AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE EXAMPLE OF NATURE PRINTING. The plates are printed with a combination of lithography and nature printing, called in this work Homographie . It seems that the leaves of the specimen to be depicted were first coated with wax and applied to the stone, the fruit and stems of the plant were then added and the finished lithograph printed as one image. This method, whilst not wholly nature printing, was a good compromise between detail, sometimes obscured in other forms of nature printing, and naturalism, an artistic effect for which lithography is particularly appropriate. Bound at the front of this copy and acting as a title-page is the upper wrapper for an unidentified and undated part. D'Aiguebelle had ambitious plans for this work: 'nous donnons ici vingt planches, formant la premire anne d'une collection de cent vingt planches (format jesus in-plano), tant exotiques qu'indignes. Nous offrons aussi aux amateurs une autre Collection de quatre cent trente-deux plantes (format in-4), et livrables de mois en mois, per cahier de six planches', but it seems that just the one livraison with 20 plates was issued. L. Madale is described as 'botaniste cultivateur'. This is the only work Nissen lists for Charles D'Aiguebelle. Fischer 98; Nissen BBI 7.