OUTHIER (Réginald). JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO THE NORTH, IN 1736 AND 1737. Paris, Piget, Durand, 1744. In-4° of [8]-238-[2] pages, spotted basane, gilt lace on covers, ribbed spine decorated with the gilt numeral P.B. (Pagerie-Bonaparte), yellow edges (later binding). First edition of the journal kept by the astronomer Réginald Outhier, a member of Maupertuis's expedition to the Arctic Circle which verified and confirmed Newton's theory of the flattening of the earth at the poles. It is illustrated with 2 vignettes, 5 figures in the text and 16 copper-engraved plates from the author's drawings, including maps, plans of Stockholm and Falun, views of towns, landscapes, the camp and the astronomical tower in Copenhagen (plates 9 and 15 were never printed). PRECIOUS EXAMPLE OF THE IMPERATRESS JOSEPHINE (1763-1814) from Malmaison, with the figure P.B. (Pagerie-Bonaparte) at the foot and the stamp Bibliothèque de la Malmaison on the title. "At the Château de la Malmaison, which she bought in 1798, Joséphine had the architect Percier install a library... These volumes were marked "Malmaison", or a number stamped on the spine (P.B.)". (O.H.R., pl. 2653, iron 3). In addition, this copy is enriched by a piece of embroidered cloth (approx. 30 cm2) accompanied by a handwritten note stating "Piece of a dress of Empress Josephine brought back from the Château de la Malmaison looted during the troubles of the Commune in 1871 by the Lyon sculptor Millefaux, then a soldier....". A few light brown spots. (Boucher de la Richarderie, I, 379) Provenance: Joséphine de Beauharnais (Catalogue of the Malmaison sale, 1829 n°331).