Description:

French Scientific Notables
various, ca. 1769-1855
Science in France & North America! 9 Pcs, 1769-1855, Re: Natural History, Civil Engineering, Mining, Etc. With 18th C. Tracing Paper Map Fragments!
Archive
An interesting and varied French-language archive of miscellaneous documents, ca. 1769-1855, worthy of hours and hours of further research! The items include: five autograph and letters signed from the late 18th C. relating to construction projects around Paris and its environs, with two contemporary tracing paper map fragments; a French Republican letter signed by Aubin-Louis Millin de Grandmaison discussing his formative natural history textbook; and a retained clerical copy of Louis-Édouard Rivot's report "Trip to Lake Superior Made in 1854." Expected wear related to age, but generally very good. Please refer to catalog photos for additional information related to condition. Ideally items should be personally inspected at our offices prior to purchase. The items are housed in a manila folder measuring 9.5" x 12.25."

The archive consists of, in chronological order:

1-5. A group of five letters (four autograph letters signed and one letter signed) by two different authors, one "J. Perroult" and one "Tardieu." Perroult's letters are addressed to "Berthier à Versailles," probably referring to Jean-Baptiste Berthier (1721-1804), Louis XV's Director of Military Survey, well-known for his topographical maps. One of the letters is undated while the rest span from ca. 1769-1788. The content of all correspondence relates to construction projects, large and small, including laying out roadways to and from Versailles. On watermarked laid bifold paper. Expected wear including flattened folds and toning. Isolated stains, ink bleed-through, and docket annotations in blue pencil. Else very good to near fine. The average size is 6.5" x 8.5."

Highlights:

- May 21, 1769. Paris, France. "You have permitted me, Monsieur and dear colleague, to address to you several Students that you said have occasion to be Employed." Perroult mentions Geometry, Calculus, Drawing, and Mapmaking.

- June 17, 1769, Paris, France. Regarding the receipt of "un calque Du plan" [tracing paper drawing] which Perroult will annotate with "certain details…for the project of the road from Versailles to Paris. For these Effects I must have a drawing of the terrain found between the routes from Chatillon [Châtillon] and from Paris by Sevres [Sèvres] and Vaugirard, observing and carefully marking the cliffs and valleys and the banks of the Seine…"

- August 8, 1769. N.p. Related to more tracing paper drawings of the Bièvre River.

- February 4, 1788. N.p. A discussion of lumber including "planks from Orcay & Limours."

- N.d., n.p. Lots of workplace drama including being reproached for having slept "last Saturday."

6.-7. Also included with the above letters are ink drawings on tracing paper, each measuring approximately 9.625" x 6.75," outlining various forests. A manuscript inscription on one of these drawings reads: "Began February 19, 1788, until March 8th, making 17 days of work." Very fragile, with chipped edges. Some chips detached but included.

8. A 2pp partial autograph letter signed by Aubin-Louis Millin de Grandmaison (1759-1818) as "A.L. Millin" at top near the salutation. 18 Frimaire L'An 4 [December 8, 1795.] [Paris, France.] On watermarked laid paper, once bifold but now crisply sheared along the edge. On "Conservatoire / de la / Bibliothèque / Nationale" Letterhead with a republican banner at top. Heavily toned at top, with scattered foxing. Missing the conclusion of the letter. 7.125" x 9.5."

Millin taught archaeology at the Bibliothèque Nationale.
Writing to his friend Professor Herman, Millin talks about the "new Edition of my Elements that I was going to undertake as soon as the Convention will have decreed what not to delay..." This almost certainly refers to the foundational academic textbook that Millin would publish two years later: "Éléments d'Histoire Naturelle" ["Elements of Natural History"]. Later in the letter, Millin teases Professor Herman, writing: "You will receive in the next decade a new copy of my elements to replace the one that you have so obligingly cut up!"

9. A 52pp certified and retained contemporary clerical copy of "Voyage au Lac Supérieur / Fait en 1854 / par Monsieur Rivot / Ingénieur des Mines" [Trip to Lake Superior Made in 1854 by Monsieur Rivot, Mining Engineer]. January 20, 1855. Paris, France. The booklet is a secretarial copy of the report originally presented by Louis-Edouard Rivot (1820-1869) and his colleagues to "Messieurs Cail, Cheylus, and Bechenec," the commissioners of the expedition. Inscribed in violet ink on graph paper bound with red thread. A few neat contemporary clerical cross-outs. Isolated minor smudges to the covers, and a former collector's pencil inscription at top, else near pristine. 8.25" x 10.625."

A representative excerpt:

"Geographical situation. Lake Superior is situated around the 48th degree of latitude, and between 84 and 91 degrees of longitude West of Paris. The greatest length in a straight line, from big Cap-à-Fond-du-Lac, is 592 kilometers. The greatest length, from Neepigon Bay [Nipigon Bay] to Grand Island, is 267 kilometers. It is the northernmost, the largest, and the most elevated of the superior lakes, Michigan, Huron, Erie, whose waters pass towards Niagara in Lake Ontario and from there to the St. Lawrence River…"

Louis-Édouard Rivot was the chair of metallurgical analysis at the École des Mines after 1853. In 1854, he embarked on the Lake Superior expedition in order to study and document copper reserves at Agate Harbor and other places in the Great Lakes region. He published his "Voyage au Lac Supérieur en 1854" in 1855, a digitized copy of which is available through Open Library!

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  • Dimensions: folder: 9.5" x 12.25"
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