Voyages de La Pérouse autour du monde by Victor Blanchard | 1848

A striking mid-19th-century French edition of Voyages de La Pérouse autour du monde by Victor Blanchard, published in Paris and Limoges in 1848 by Martial Ardant Frères. This richly illustrated work recounts the famed circumnavigation of the globe by Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse — the celebrated French naval officer whose final expedition remains one of the great maritime mysteries of the Age of Exploration. Bound in a superb decorative publisher’s cloth binding, the front board features an elaborate architectural motif in gilt and hand-colored detail, framed in intricate floral scrollwork. The spine is equally ornate, with gilt and polychrome decoration, title gilt-stamped, and pictorial panels. The back board displays a symmetrical gilt and red floral medallion. All edges are gilt, adding to the luxurious presentation. Binding tight. Clean pages. Hand-colored frontispiece with tissue guard. Condition: Very Good Size: 4 1/4” X 7” This edition is as much a collector’s o