GENDRIN (Victor-Athanase): Récit historique, exact et sincèr - Lot 259

GENDRIN (Victor-Athanase): Récit historique, exact et sincère par mer et par terre, de quatre voyages faits au Brésil, au Chili, dans les cordillières des Andes, à Mendoza, dans le désert et à Buenos Aires. Published by the author, 1856. In-8 contemporary green half-basane, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets (a little rubbed and faded), gilt navy anchor on covers (paper missing from 1st cover). Astonishing account of a Versailles man's voyage of discovery to South America. 571 pages. Portrait of the author, map and 8 full-page lithographs. Borba de Moraes, I, 297: "The plates are very naive. This work, published by the author himself, is difficult to find". On the title page: "Le passe-temps ou l'Industriel devenu commerçant. Unpublished work". On the title, the author refers to himself as "Ancien commerçant dans les mers du Sud, né à Paris le 2 mai 1793, parti de France en 1816, et revenu dans sa patrie le 25 décembre 1823. Numa Broc, Dico. illustré des explorateurs français du XIX° s., Amérique, 152: "Le voyage de Gendrin, c'est le Nouveau Monde vu par un boutiquier. A modest testimony, therefore, very partial, very subjective, very anecdotal. But it is interesting insofar as it offers a negative image of South America, the antithesis of that of the great scientific travelers, the d'Orbigny's, the Saint-Hilaire's, the Castelnau's". A good copy of this rare book: Gendrin had a relatively small number of copies printed (probably less than 250, as 130 were sent to French libraries), all of which were given to a library or private individual.