Physiologie Du Cocon et Du Fil De Soie (Physiology of the Cocoon and Silk Thread) [INSCRIBED & SIGNED] (W/ 34 SALT PRINT PHOTOGRAPHS) [WITH] Édouard Duseigneur-Kléber. Notice Biographique et Bibliographique
Valence: Imprimerie de Marc Aurel, 1855. First edition. Hardcover. Quarto. 55pp. + 17 leaves of plates. Contemporary dark green leather over mottled green paper boards. Gilt lettering and ruling on the spine. Green marbled endpapers. Green ribbon marker. Engraved bookplates of previous owners pasted on interior front cover and front endpapers. Inscribed and signed in ink by the author on the title page, to previous owner, French ethnologist and historian Lucien de Rosny (1810-1871).
The extremely scarce first edition of Édouard Duseigneur-Kléber's early photographically-illustrated work on the science of silk production. This publication, one of a number of works on the subject by Duseigneur-Kléber (1814-1874) the successful Lyonnaise sericulturist and silk merchant, is important in the history of photography use in science, the history of photographically-illustrated publications, and natural history photography.
This is the rarest and most sought-after of the author's work on the subject, as it is illustrated with a total of 34 original salt print photographs of various sizes (ranging from 6 x 3 1/4" to surprisingly small 1x1"). The book is considered a pioneering work of macro photography and likely the earliest published work to showcase these photographic techniques, enlarging small details of the natural world. As stated by the author in the foreword, "we wanted to present to the reader figures which, all taken from nature by means of photography or the magnifications of the solar microscope, could not leave any vagueness in his mind" (p.2). Images show the tiny details of silk worms, bisected cocoons, larvae in various stages of development, and individual strands of silk, in a way that had never previously been seen. The photographs range from the concrete still lifes, to gorgeous images of silk strands that at times seem to appear almost as works of abstract modern art. Many of these images, which were far ahead of their time, evoke the much later work of botanical photographers such as Karl Blossfeldt, who examined the smallest details of natural forms from an artistic perspective.
All images are located in the final section of plates, which act as visual figures, corresponding to and illustrating various sections of the text. Each figure is labeled below with its respective number and contains a decorative border. From a total of 49 labeled figures, 15 photographs are not present in our copy, and it appears this was the case from the time of its first production. From various existing copies we have identified, each appears to have a different number of photographs present, and it is unclear whether any extant copies contain all 49 of the intended images.
Text throughout in French.
Binding with light rubbing to extremities. Light water stains to the edges of book block. Sporadic light foxing and water stains to pages throughout, with images still mostly clean and vibrant. Book block tight. Binding in very good-, interior in good+ condition overall.
[WITH]
Vallier, G. [Gustave]. Édouard Duseigneur-Kléber: Notice Biographique et Bibliographique. Valence, Imprimerie de Jules Céas et Fils. 1887. First edition. Small quarto. 9 1/4 x 6 1/4". 7pp. Tan paper wrappers, protected in glassine. Handwritten text in pencil at the top of the front wrapper. Text discussing the life and work of Édouard Duseigneur-Kléber. Curiously "Physiologie Du Cocon et Du Fil De Soie", is not mentioned among his publications, in the author's bibliography at the rear. The work is an offprint from the periodical "Bulletin d'Archeologie et de Statostique de la Drome", and is extremely scarce. vg- to g+. Item #54539
* A second edition from the same publisher was produced in 1858.
Bibliographic references:
- Le merveilleux scientifique: photographies du monde savant en France 1844-1918 / D. Canguilhem, 2004, p. 58-59, 169
- Edwards, Gary. International Guide to Nineteenth-Century Photographers and Their Works, G.K. Hall & Co, Boston. p.166.
Provenance:
2 additional Bookplates of Paul Couturier de Royas (Vienne 2/7/1853, La Tronche (38) 2/10/1934), rentier, one of the greatest bibliophiles of Dauphiné. He was the great-nephew of Paul-Emie Giraud, mayor of Romans and deputy of Drôme, author of numerous works of local history on Dauphiné and Romans.
Price: $12,500.00