Bidspirit auction | LABORDE (Alexandre de). ITINÉRAIRE Descriptif

LABORDE (Alexandre de). ITINÉRAIRE Descriptif de l'Espagne, et Tableau Élémentaire des Différentes Branches de l'Administration et de l'Industrie de ce Royaume. A Paris. 1808. - LABORDE (Alexandre de) ITINÉRAIRE Descriptif de l'Espagne, et Tableau Élémentaire des Différentes Branches de l'Administration et de l'Industrie de ce Royaume . A Paris: Chez H. Nicolle; Et Lenormant, 1808. 5 v. [of 6]; 205 mm. Missing Atlas; full calf. First edition, in five volumes of text, lacking the volume of the Atlas with 29 maps engraved by Vicq on drawings by Lartigue, which is included in the work. [Brunet, III, col. 713] Alexandre de Laborde (Paris, 1773 - Paris, 1842), antiquarian, liberal politician and writer, member of the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques, was sent in 1800 as an attaché to Lucien Bonaparte's embassy in Madrid, an experience that awakened his profound interest in the Iberian Peninsula. For the elaboration of the Itinéraire descriptif, he assembled a team of collaborators, among them his friend Chateaubriand. The work, which combines a travel guide, geographical and historical study, archaeological inventory, and economic and social analysis, traverses Spain province by province, describing cities, monuments, customs, commerce, and industry with unprecedented rigor and comprehensiveness. Published in the same year that Napoleon began the invasion of Spain, the work proved to be of unexpected strategic use to the French armies. Brunet highlights it as one of the fundamental works on Spain and notes several subsequent editions. Complete copies, including the atlas, are rare. ⚑ Auto-translated via Google Translate