Alphabet of costumes. Hocquart. Street St Jacques... Lot 32

Alphabet of costumes. Hocquart. Street St Jacques N° 64. Paris. [About 1835]. (12 x 10,5 cm). Leporello of (29) engraved and hand-colored plates on fine laid paper : publisher's marbled paper boards, illustrated and colored engraving, bearing the title, applied to the first board. Very rare alphabet of the different populations of the earth engraved with etching and hand colored with stencil and brush. One native in full length per plate in the costume of his country or province. The engraved initial is placed at the head, close to the legend also engraved, mentioning the country and the continent of the man figured. One letter per plate, no W, and four additional portraits representing the four continents. At the foot, the name of the inhabitant to be spelled, separated into syllables. The Hocquart house succeeded Basset, at 64 rue Saint-Jacques, between 1833 and 1836. "According to his advertisements, he had a considerable collection of black and colored prints for overseas expeditions", which would explain the handwritten dedication in ink on the first plate, written in English. This alphabet was a gift in the 19th century from a beloved uncle, James Jackson, to his niece. No other copy referenced. Leporello inside free of any defect, only the spine and the corners of the rare period cardboard are damaged.