[BOUGAINVILLE (Louis-Antoine de). Voyage autour du monde, par la frégate du roi La Boudeuse, et la flûte L'Étoile, en 1766-1769. Paris, Saillant & Nyon, 1771. In-4, tortoiseshell calf, triple gilt fillet, ornate spine, marbled red edges (Binding of the period). Rare and sought-after first edition of the first French circumnavigation voyage. It is illustrated with 23 plates out of text, 18 of which are fold-outs, including 20 maps and plans and 3 figures of Polynesian boats. The Count of Bougainville (1729-1811) was given command of the frigate La Boudeuse in 1766 with the mission of handing over the Falkland Islands to Spain, and then sailing to India across the South Sea between the tropics. His account includes an interesting description of life in Tahiti and a vocabulary of the Tahitian language, an account of his navigation from the Falklands to Rio de Janeiro, details of the hostility of the Portuguese towards the Spanish, the missions in Paraguay and the expulsion of the Jesuits, etc. "This expedition had considerable repercussions on the history of voyages, not only for its discoveries in the Pacific, but also for having been organised with true scientific precision" (Borba de Moraes). This account of France's first circumnavigation of the globe caused a sensation in Europe and inspired many sailors, artists, writers and philosophers, including Diderot, who wrote the famous Supplément au voyage de Bougainville. It was also one of the main sources of the "myth of the good savage". A pleasant copy in contemporary binding. From the library of Alix de Tournon, with armorial bookplate dated 1876. Minor rubbing, a few small brown spots, short tear without missing a map. Chadenat, n°25 - Hill, n°163 - Sabin, n°6864 - O'Reilly, n°283 - Borba de Moraes, I, 102.