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an open book with a picture of a group of people on itan old book with a brown cover sitting on top of a tablesomeone is holding an open book with a drawing of a churchan open book with a picture of a man on a horse in a fieldan open book with a picture of a group of people on itan open book with a bunch of papers on top of itan old book sitting on top of a white surface next to a white background
MILLON

27 - North Africa – NODIER (Charles).
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Estimate €80 - €120
Sale commission
Description
North Africa – NODIER (Charles). Journal of the Iron Gates Expedition. Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1844. Quarto, [2] leaves, XVI-329 pp., cream-coloured Bradel cardboard binding, brown morocco title label on the spine, detached but preserved (publisher’s binding). Binding worn. The illustrations consist of 40 woodcuts printed on laid paper and numerous vignettes within the text drawn by Raffet, Dauzats and Decamps, as well as a folded map of the route from Philippeville to Algiers. First edition of one of the finest 19th-century books devoted to the conquest of Algeria. Printed at the King’s expense and not sold commercially, the work was printed in a small run following the death of the Duke of Orléans to be presented as a memento to members of the royal family, court dignitaries, state officials and the prince’s comrades-in-arms, who were members of the expedition. This copy was reserved for Joseph-François MAHÉRAULT (1795–1879), in his capacity as deputy director of personnel and military operations at the Ministry of War, and is accompanied by two autograph letters from Edmond de MONTGUYON, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Orléans, addressed to Mahérault. Bookplate of Raoul de Najac, playwright and mime artist (founder of the pantomime school in Neuilly), great-grandson of J.-F. Mahérault. Joseph-François Mahérault, son of Jean-François-René Mahérault (a teacher, administrator of the Théâtre-Français and a leading figure in revolutionary education) had a long career at the Ministry of War, where he successively held several senior posts until becoming Secretary-General of the Ministry in 1847, before retiring in 1848. Elected a Councillor of State in 1849, he withdrew from public life for good following the coup d’état of 1851. A recipient of the Legion of Honour, he was a close friend of the playwright Eugène Scribe. A passionate lover of the theatre, prints and autographs, Mahérault devoted the second half of his life to his collections of drawings, engravings and letters by artists, mainly from the 18th century, which were highly regarded amongst connoisseurs of his time. A discerning bibliophile, he published, together with Emmanuel Bocher, a catalogue raisonné of Gavarni’s work under the anagram ‘J. Armelhault’. He died in Paris in 1879, leaving behind a substantial library devoted to the fine arts, bibliography and history, which was dispersed at public auction that same year. This account of the campaign led by Ferdinand, Duke of Orléans (1810–1842), and Marshal Valée in 1839 was written by Charles Nodier at the request of, and based on the notes provided by, Louis-Philippe’s eldest son. In it, Charles Nodier provides one of the most fascinating illustrated descriptions of Algeria during the second phase of the conquest. The Journal of the Iron Gates Expedition combines three rare qualities: it is at once a great literary work, a travelogue and a historical account. “It is, in fact, an account of the Duke of Orléans’s journey to Algeria from 19 September 1839 to 2 November: the Duke visited Oran, Algiers and the surrounding area, Bougie, Philippeville, Constantine and the ruins of Djemila. It was for the return journey to Algiers that it was decided he would pass through the Iron Gates, that is to say, by land. The passage through the famous Gates occupies only four pages in the account; it was a perilous undertaking in which the army could have been wiped out; but there was no attack. The Duke of Orléans asked Nodier to be the historian of this journey …"" (Tailliart) Scattered freckles. (Tailliart, 1730. Playfair, 1064.)
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About the sale Bibliophilia (sale without a live event)
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Auction time 09/09/2026 at 1:00 PM
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