ZURLAUBEN, BEAT FIDEL ANTOINE DE: "Tableaux topographiques,... Lot n° 45

ZURLAUBEN, BEAT FIDEL ANTOINE DE (1720 Zug 1799) : "Tableaux topographiques, pittoresques, physiques, historiques, moreaux, politiques, littéraires de la Suisse" (Tableaux de la Suisse, ou Voyage pittoresque fait dans les treize cantons et états alliés du corps Helvétique)", Imprimerie de Clousier/Lamy, Paris 1780-1786. In French. With decorative title, frontispiece, 2 title plates, double-page colored map of Switzerland and 416 colored copper engraved plates, many of which are full-page. Numerical index of engravings, list of souscripteurs des tableaux. LXXXIV pp, 368 pp, LXVI pp and 578 pp. Marbled endpapers, leather bindings with stamped gilt edges, red edges, or half leather bindings with marbled covers and leather corners, each Gr. folio Some browning and spotting, some pages with minor worming, a few torn. Covers damaged. 3 plates missing, 1 plate double. First edition of one of the most important Swiss view works with magnificent illustrations. Baron de Zurlauben (1720-1795), with the rank of Lieutenant General, was engaged in historical studies and source research. He was inspired to write this work by the geographer and historian Jean Benjamin de La Borde (1734-1794). Zurlauben based his work on his "Histoire militaire des Suisses au service de la France" (1751-1753) and on the "Code militaire des Suisses" (1758-1764) and at the same time tried to utilize his personal view of Switzerland, which he had often traveled. The result was an exquisite work about Switzerland, emphasizing the picturesque landscapes and places.