DUFLOT DE MOFRAS (Eugène). - Lot 390

Lot n° 390
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Result : 13 600EUR
DUFLOT DE MOFRAS (Eugène). - Lot 390
DUFLOT DE MOFRAS (Eugène). Exploration of the territory of Oregon, the Californias and the Vermeille Sea, carried out during the years 1840, 1841 and 1842. Work published by order of the King. Paris, Arthus Bertrand, 1844. 2 vol. in-8, I : XII pp., (2) ff. 524 pp. 4 plates ; II : faux-titre, title, 514 pp, 4 plates; red chagrin, double gilt fillet and cold fillet in frame, ducal crown on the boards, spine with false nerves decorated with the same fillet, interior roulette, gilt edges - and an atlas in-folio, half-title, title, one f. of table, 18 leaves gathering 25 plans and plates, and a large folding map with colored outlines, half-red chagrin, double gilt fillet in frame and the same ducal crown on the boards (Binding of the time). First edition of one of the most important works on California and Oregon. It is illustrated with 8 plates in the text, and 26 maps, plans and plates in the atlas. The famous and very large map with colored contours "de la Cote de l'Amérique sur l'Océan Pacifique Septentrional" is one of the most precise and richest of the time; for example, the routes and locations of the native tribes are meticulously given. It is also the first large map of the American West intended for a European audience; it was an essential source for European cartographers who used it to produce reliable maps for gold seekers in California and Oregon. Eugène Duflot de Moras (1810-1884) was sent at the end of 1839 to the French Legation in Mexico City by Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Soult charged him with spying on and visiting the western provinces of Mexico, the Californias and Oregon, with a view to establishing trading posts and engaging in discreet political negotiations. During this long trip, which lasted until 1842, the young diplomat-spy gathered important documentation that allowed him to publish this report. A choice copy in an elegant binding with a ducal crown. Pale foxing. Spine very slightly faded. Slight rubbing and sunned atlas covers.
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