Maroquin with the coat of arms of Louis XV - Lot 544

Maroquin with the coat of arms of Louis XV [FLEURIEU (Charles Pierre CLARET), comte de] Découverte des françois, en 1768 & 1769, dans le Sud-Est de la Nouvelle Guinée, et reconnoissances postérieures des mêmes terres par des navigateurs anglois qui leur ont imposé de nouveaux noms. Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1790. In-4; illustrated with 12 folding maps. Large-margined copy on blue paper. Contemporary night-blue morocco, ornate smooth spine, red title-piece, alternating fleurs-de-lis with the figure of Louis XV in the boxes, arms of Louis XV in the center of the boards (surprising given the date), triple gilt fillet framing the boards, fleurs-de-lis in the spandrels, double gilt fillet on the edges, garland with fleurs-de-lis inside, pink moiré silk endpapers, gilt edges. The author Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu (1738-1810) joined the navy at the age of fourteen. He was a French explorer, hydrographer and politician, including Minister of the Navy under Louis XVI and member of the Institut de France.