Maurice, Librairie des Écoles, J. Dureau, Ca. 1825-1830. Folio (45.0 x 31.1 cm). Title page with woodcut vignette; (ii) pp. (subscribers list); 42 lithographed plates showing trees, all in landscapes, with captions. Contemporary quarter calf over pebbled boards. Spine with gilt-rolled floral ornament and title.

An incredible rarity. Robert Edouard Pitot De La Beaujardiere (1778-1861) was a French artist, engraver, and publisher, born in Port Louis, Mauritius, where he lived most if not all of his life. During a stay in Paris he met the painter and engraver François André Vincent (1746-1810), professor at the Royal Academy since 1792. It was in his studio that Pitot developed a pronounced taste for drawing. Cat BM(NH) reports just 20 tree plates. The Muséum de Villèle in Réunion - specialized in Mascarene Island history - has 26 plates; the ethnographical Musée Branly in Paris has only 14. This is the only copy ever known with 42 plates. The trees include species endemic to Mauritius, including many palm trees (the short title on the spine says Palmiers de Maurice, indicating that palms were of a former owner's chief interest), and some that are widespread in the tropics, included because of their economic importance, such a mango tree. A copy of the mango tree print is also in the Musée Villèle, where it is classified as dating from 1825. Among the subscribers we see the name of the British officer William Staveley, who went to Mauritius in 1821 and served in various roles (deputy quartermaster-general and commandant of Port Louis) before becoming commander and lieutenant-governor of Hong Kong in 1847. skilful repair to the spine ends. Cat. BM(NH) p. 1580. Neither in Nissen, nor Pritzel, nor Stafleu and Cowan.