Beschreibung:

RAOUL-ROCHETTE, Désiré (1790-1854). Voyage pittoresque dans la vallée de Chamouni et autour du Monte-Blanc. Paris: Jules Didot Ainé for J. F. Ostervald, 1826. 4° (305 x 230mm). Half-title, title, list of plates, 40 HAND-COLOURED AQUATINT VIEWS by Thales Fielding Egerton, S. Himely, Salathé and others after J. F. d'Ostervald, G. Lory, Coignet and others. (Several plates browned, some text leaves spotted.) Contemporary French blind-stamped calf with gilt fillet borders, spine gilt in five compartments with red morocco lettering-piece (front joint and head of spine skilfully repaired). A rare collaboration between the celebrated French archaeologist and historian, Raoul-Rochette, and one of the greatest French publishers of colour-plate books, J. F. d'Ostervald. Unusually, in this case Ostervald has executed some of the drawings himself. As with his other most lavish productions, for instance Gigault de la Salle's Voyage pittoresque en Sicile (1822-26), Ostervald scoured Europe to find the "meilluer peintres de Paris et de Londres" for these lavish works. The artists who worked on the present book, such as Thales Fielding and Salathé, were an established part of the Ostervald team. Raoul-Rochette's first writings were mainly on Greek and Roman art and drama, but in 1820-22 he published his Lettres sur la Suisse (cf. lot ???) and, in 1823, an Histoire de la révolution hélvetique . His interest in Switzerland, and his reputation as an academic yet accessible writer, are perhaps why he was chosen to write the accompanying text for the present work. Lonchamp 2404; Brunet III, 1177; not in Abbey.