LORRIA (August) and MARTEL (Edouard-Alfred). The Great Alps. The Bernina massif. Zurich, Orell, Fussli & Co, 1894. Oblong folio, half-bound in imitation leather with corners, gilt fillets and cold roulette on covers, gilt title on first cover and spine, gilt edges (publisher's binding). Illustrated with a map, 50 off-text photogravures with captioned serpents and 150 autotypes in the text: photographs by V. Sella, E. le Blond, W.F. Donkin, etc. Magnificent album of photographs of the Bernina massif, with a bibliography and history of the Engadine by Coolidge and a chapter presenting the Engadine by J. Caviezel. The topography of the massif is by Martel, and the history of the climbs, the main part of the book, by Lorria and Martel. August Lorria was a famous Austrian climber; in 1887 he made his name alongside Eugen Guido Lammer, with whom he climbed the difficult west face of the Dürrenhorn in the Mischabel group, before attempting to climb the west face of the Matterhorn via the Penhall couloir: an avalanche swept them away, sending them tumbling down the 200 m of the couloir; they escaped with multiple bruises, but alive. Edouard-Alfred Martel (1859-1938) was the founder of modern speleology. A lawyer by training and a geographer by passion, he explored many chasms, including the Aven Armand and the Gouffre de Padirac. He has published numerous works on caving ("Les Abîmes", "L'évolution souterraine"), as well as on "Les Cévennes", "Causses et gorges du Tarn", "les Causses majeurs" and "La France ignorée". Imposing work, luxuriously edited, very rare and sought-after. Perret, 2689 - Regards sur les Alpes 96