164. CHASTELLUX (François-Jean de). Voyages de M. le marquis - Lot 164

164. CHASTELLUX (François-Jean de). Voyages de M. le marquis de Chastellux dans l'Amérique septentrionale, dans les années 1780, 1781 & 1782. Paris, Prault, 1786. 2 volumes in-8, 390 p. ; 362 p., [1] f. (errata), pl., fawn half-calf with ornate smooth spine (period binding). First true edition illustrated with 2 maps and 3 folded plates. A first version was printed by Chastellux for his relatives, 24 copies on a printing press mounted on one of the ships of the Rhode-Island squadron, but barely a dozen copies reached the European continent. In the meantime, Chastellux, who had given a few pages of his manuscript to a Gotha magazine, saw them collected by an unscrupulous printer in Cassel under the title Voyages du chevalier de Chastellux, published in 1785 as a single volume (Sabin, 12226). The incident prompted Chastellux, still reluctant at the time, to hand over his entire manuscript to Prault for an imminent official edition. Provenance: from the library of Jean Debry (1760-1834), attested by his bookplate engraved with the imperial eagle on the back cover. Jean Debry was a deputy at the Convention, where he voted for the death of Louis XVI, and a member of the Comité de salut public (Public Safety Committee), before coming into contact with Bonaparte and being re-elected to the Cinq-Cents. He cooperated in the Floréal coup d'état and was appointed Prefect of Doubs. During the Hundred Days, he accepted the prefecture of Bas-Rhin from the Emperor, but was dismissed during the Second Restoration and exiled to Mons, where he lived out his remaining years. Minor spotting to the spine of the first volume, rare foxing, a good copy. (Sabin, 12227 ; Monaghan, 405 ; Fay, 21 Récit pittoresque, spirituel et philosophique ).