Paris, Gide, 1843. One Folio-sized (44.9 x 31.7 cm) engraved plate, in original hand-colouring.

From one of the most important natural history expeditions, a circumnavigation under command of the French explorer, naval officer and naturalist Jules-Sebastien-Cesar Dumont D'Urville (1790-1842). The Zoologie part was written by the French naturalists and physicians Jacques Bertrand Hombron (1798-1852), and Charles Hector Jacquinot (1796-1879), who was also a naval officer, second in command after Dumont d'Urville. The work should be titled Atlas d’Histoire naturelle, Zoologie, par MM. Hombron et Jacquinot, chirurgiens de l’expédition. In: Voyage au pole sud et dans l’Océanie sur les corvettes l’Astrolabe et la Zélée exécuté par Ordre du Roi pendant les années 1837-1838-1839-1840 sous le Commandement de M. Dumont-D’Urville Capitaine de vaisseau publié sous les auspices du Département de la Marine. The present, fine plate was drawn by the great French natural history illustrator Paul Louis Oudart (1796-1860), and engraved by Madame Schmelz. Usually, this work is dated 1846-1854, but Clark and Crosnier show that publication, in instalments, started much earlier, and this plate formed part of the 4th instalment, published in February 1843. A few skilful repairs, two larger, but hardly visible. The colouring bright, strong, and accurate. Clark, F. P. and A. Croisnier, The zoology of the Voyage au pôle sud et dans l'Océanie...titles, volumes, plates, text, contents, proposed dates and anecdotal history of the publicationIn: Archives of Natural History27, p. 431; Nissen ZBI, 1200.