Paris, Didot, A. Jombert, Esprit, 1781. 4to (24.6 x 18.2 cm). xx, 346 pp.; 12 plates (each with two views, and tissue-guarded) one unnumbered double folded map of the Pyrenees, nine numbered maps (all but one large, folded) in the rear. Original full mottled calf. Spine with five raised bands. Rich gilt compartments with floral vignettes and red morocco label with gilt title. Marbled endpapers. Edges dyed red.

First edition. Very rare early publication on the geology (and botany) of the Pyrenees. Ward and Carozzi give 1784 as date of publication, but this copy is dated 1781. The 1784 edition is the second, with fewer plates and pages. This is the masterpiece of Bernard Palissou (1745-1830), who published on several aspects of the Pyrenees between 1781 and 1828. The sediment layers known as "Poudinges de Palissou" are named after him. Many plates show cross-sections with the area’s peculiar folding of earth layers. One chapter is devoted to the plants observed in the region Basse-Navarre (pp. 279-318). The last chapter contains the report of the author's voyage from Paris to Perpignan over "Dijon, Lyon, Montpellier & Narbonne", or what is now the "Route du Soleil"... Old neat stamp of Joannis Baptistas Callerami in lower margin of the title page. Some scattered, light, and mostly marginal spotting. A very good copy. Brunet, 4720; Ward and Carozzi, 1714.