Suite of 109 fine plates illustrating native costumes from around the world, copied from 18th century travel books.
All copperplates within gold-lined frames under tissue guards, engraved by J. Laroque after a design by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur.
This is an early prospectus with 36 parts and 109 plates showing samples from all volumes of the proposed set: Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. The prospectus or "Programme et Plan de l'Ouvrage" appears at the front, and the title page midway through the volume. The complete set was to comprise 48 parts with six plates each in four volumes (288 plates) beginning from 1 August 1792. It was eventually published in 1795-96 in Paris and included some 433 plates in four volumes.
The literary part was to be written by Jean-Francois Cornu. The images were copied from 18th century travel books, most notably Captain James Cook's
Voyages. There is an element of charming fantasy about many of the images along with the remarkably accurate details. The dancing Zulu or Xhosa warrior from Natal holds a single-string gourd bow
uhadi, the Iroquois ceremonial person holds a medicine bag and
chickikoue drum, the priestess of the python cult
Dangbe on the Slave Coast (now Benin) is depicted with a snake, an Itelmen man of Kamchatka stands in front of a
pehm, a raised summer dwelling, and a Patagonian man hunts with a
bolas.
On the other hand, the Rapanui man and woman of Easter Island wear see-through net skirts, while a man from Hawaii wears a
makini war helmet and holds an
'uli'uli gourd shaker used in dances. There are also three different races of fierce female Amazon warriors: ancient mythological Amazon, African from the kingdom of D'mt in Ethiopia, and South American from the Amazon river.
The set is also a guide book to the Enlightment idea of the Noble Savage and a portrait of European imperialism, colonialism and genocide. The Yahgan people of Patagonia and the Rapanui people of Easter Island depicted here were largely wiped out, and many other native peoples decimated after contact with the Europeans.
The 36 sections here include: Sauvages Du Canada (title page, eight pages, plus 6 plates); Native Americans of Canada; Hottentots, Namaquas, et Caffres, Sauvages de la Terre de Natal (title page, eight pages plus 4 plates); KhoeKhoe or Khoikhoi, Nama or Namaqua; Caffres de la Terre de Natal (three pages plus 2 plates); Bantu people of Natal; Sauvages de la Nouvelle Zelande (title page, nine pages plus 4 plates); New Zealand, Maori; Sauvages de la Baye D'Hudson (six pages plus 2 plates); Hudson Bay Native Americans, Iroquois; Habitans de la Cote des Esclaves (title page, fourteen pages plus 6 plates); Kingdom of Whydah, Slave Coast, Benin; Mexique (eighteen pages plus 6 plates); Mexico; L'Isle de Patma ou Pathmos (four pages plus 2 plates); Patmos, Greek island; Habitans de L'Isle de Lemnos ou Stalimene (four pages plus 1 plate); Lemnos, Greek island; L'Isle de Thera ou Santorin (five pages plus 2 plates); Thira or Santorini, Greek island; Habitans de L'Isle de Candie (seven pages plus 2 plates); Kingdom of Candia (now Crete); Habitans de Siphanto (two pages plus 2 plates); Sifnos, Greek island; Habitans de L'Isle de Tinne ou Tenos (three pages plus 2 plates); Tinos, Greek island; Patagons (seven pages, plus 3 plates); Patagonia, Yaghan or Selk'nam; Habitans de la Terre de Feu (six pages plus 3 plates); Tierra del Feugo, Yaghan or Selk'nam; Habitans de L'Isle D'Oonolaska (five pages plus 2 plates); Unalaska, Unangan or Aleuts; Habitans des Isles des Amis (six pages plus 2 plates); Friendly Islands, Tonga; Habitans de la Laponie (six pages plus 2 plates); Lapland or Sapmi, Sami people; Habitans des Isles Sandwick (fifteen pages plus 6 plates); Sandwich Islands (Hawaii); Amazones Anciennes et Modernes (eight pages plus 3 plates); Amazons Ancient and Modern; Habitans de la Guiane (eight pages plus 3 plates); French Guiana, Arawak or Carib; Kamtschatka et de Kamtschadale (ten pages, 6 plates); Kamchatka, Itelmen or Koryak; D'Otahiti ou Taiti (eighteen pages plus 6 plates); Tahiti (Polynesians); Samoyedes (eight pages plus 2 plates); Samoyedic people of Siberia (Nenets, Enets, Nganasans, Selkups); Ostiacks (eight pages, plus 2 plates); Ostyaks, (Khanty, Ket or Selkup); L'Isle de Paques (five pages plus 2 plates); Easter Island or Rapa Nui; Tounguses (ten pages plus 2 plates); Tungusic peoples, Siberia; Karardiniens, ou Circassiens (six pages plus 2 plates); Circassians (Cherkess, Adyghe or Kabardian); Stcheremisses (four pages plus 2 plates); Mari people (Cheremisa or Cheremis); Catalans (four pages with 2 plates); Catalans (Catalonia); Kingdom of Leon (2 plates) Salamanque (Salamanca); Arragonois (four pages plus 2 plates); Aragonese; Habitans de Congo (sixteen pages plus 6 plates); Congo; Tartares de Cazan (six pages plus 2 plates); Tatars of Kazan; Tartares de Tobolske (two pages plus 2 plates); Tatars of Tobolsky; Habitans de L'Ingrie (six pages plus 2 plates). Ingria (NW European Russia).
Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur (1757-1810) was a French writer, diplomat and artist. After studying with the Jesuits of Sainte-Barbe from 1764, he followed his father's career in diplomacy, acting as vice-consul in Hungary and Egypt. Between 1784 and 1812, he published about 20 books, many illustrated, most notably
L'Antique Rome (1796),
Encyclopédie des voyages (1795-96),
Costumes des représentants du peuple, membres des deux conseils, du directoire exécutif (1796),
Les Fastes du peuple français (1796), and
Acteurs et actrices célèbres (1808).
Original full leather binding with raised bands and remains of leather title label, boards heavily rubbed and worn, protected in plastic cover. Book block solid, front hinge reinforced with Japanese paper, marble endpapers, engraved bookplate of the Waldesovo Museum (Prague), and one library sticker on front board. Interior mostly clean and unfoxed, a few plates with spots, finger smudges or water stains, but all outside the platemark.
