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ALDE
48
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[MARAT (Jean-Paul)]. Letters from the ‘Bon-Sens’ Observer to…
See original version (French)
48
-
[MARAT (Jean-Paul)]. Letters from the ‘Bon-Sens’ Observer to…
See original version (French)
Estimate €500 - €600
Voluntary lot
Description
[MARAT (Jean-Paul)]. Letters from the ‘Bon-Sens’ Observer to M. de ***, on the fatal disaster involving the unfortunate Pilâtre de Rosier and Romain, the aeronauts, and aeronautics. London and Paris, Méquignon the Elder, 1785. 8vo, 39 pp., marbled calfskin, triple gilt fillet, decorated spine, interior lace, red edges (late 19th-century binding). An extremely rare first edition of this pamphlet on the balloon accident in which Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier – the first aeronaut in history (along with François-Laurent d’Arlandes) – perished – whilst attempting to cross the English Channel in a balloon with his assistant Pierre Romain on 15 June 1785.
This account is attributed to the future revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat (1743–1793), a doctor and physicist by profession.
The volume is illustrated with two engraved plates depicting the wrecked balloon and the balloon in flight.
Faint water stain at the beginning of the volume; a pinkish mark caused by a bookmark on 5 folios; rubbed binding; missing caps; split joints.
Darmon, 77. Liebmann & Wahl, 896 – Brockett, 7481 – missing from Tissandier.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Antique books – Alchemy & the occult sciences
Auction location
Auction time
11/04/2026 at 2:00 PM
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