Laborde, Jean-Benjamin de - Description générale et particulière de la France; ouvrage enrichi d'estampes d'après les dessins des plus célèbres artistes. Dédié au roi. [- Voyage pittoresque de la France, avec la description de toutes ses provinces, ouvrage nationale, dédié au roi Paris, Pierres and Lamy, 1781-96. In 2nd. 12 vols. Frontispiece in red and black ink with real woodcut coat of arms (volumes I-IV) and with intaglio vignettes (volumes V-XII), 772 engravings, marbled papers, some papers with light browning, sporadic blooms, coeval binding in red morocco, framed plates from triple fillet frame, to the back with 7 nerves red and green dowels with title and tome number, some peeling, slight signs of wear. ** FIRST EDITION. Impressive work created over the course of 15 years by & nbsp; Jean-Benjamin de Laborde (1734-1794), composer and first valet of King Louis XV who died guillotined in 1794. Conceived as a collection that describes France as a nation in the modern sense, its costumes, its geography and natural history, contains numerous splendid engravings, which later became famous, by artists such as Masquelier, Malapeau, Née, Tavernier, Aubigny, Moreau le Jeune, Chenu, Lespinasse, Duché, Carême de Fécamp. < div> The work is complete and made up of 12 volumes, volumes I-IV with the title Description générale et particulière de la France [...] of which & nbsp; two dedicated to the Gouvernement de Bourgogne and two to that of Dauphiné, the latter & nbsp; with 10 tables of plates. The work continues with the title & nbsp; Voyage pittoresque de la France, avec la description de toutes ses provinces, ouvrage nationale, dédié au roi & nbsp; (volumes V-XII) of which a tome dedicated to & nbsp; Province de Roussilon with 18 plates and & nbsp; Comté de Foix with 5 plates, a tome to the Isle de France. Valois et Comté de Senlis with 43 plates of plates and 6 volumes of plates for a total of & nbsp; 772 engravings on 462 papers. Lot not subject to return.