FIGUIER (Louis). — The Human Races. - Lot 124

Lot 124
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FIGUIER (Louis). — The Human Races. - Lot 124
FIGUIER (Louis). — The Human Races. Paris, Librairie Hachette et Cie, 1880. Large 8vo, 612 pp. and 8 pp. of catalog, illustrated with 269 woodcut engravings and 8 separate chromolithographs depicting the “principal types of human families.” Fourth edition. The collation is confirmed by the bibliographic records for this edition. Publisher’s binding in black half-shagreen, ribbed spine decorated with embossed and gilt panels, gilt title, black percaline covers with embossed frame decoration. Signature of the bookbinder, Ch. Magnier, at the bottom of the spine. An important popular work on anthropology by Louis Figuier (1819–1894), originally published in 1872 and reprinted several times. This fourth edition from 1880 is particularly sought after for its abundant illustrations: ethnographic scenes, costumes, portraits, and depictions of peoples from Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Today, the work serves primarily as a historical document on the history of anthropology and ethnographic representations in the 19th century: its classifications and some of its racial terminology are characteristic of the scientific concepts of the time and are now obsolete. Hachette-BnF explicitly highlights this historical significance while noting that certain schools of thought reflected in the book are now considered reprehensible. The binding is sturdy but clearly rubbed; the covers are marked and discolored in places, with rubbed caps and jaws, and dulled corners; the spine, however, is still quite presentable with legible gilt lettering. There are quite a few foxing spots, particularly on the title page and in certain parts of the volume. The photographed pages remain securely bound. A good working copy, with a rubbed binding and scattered foxing that is occasionally heavy.
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