Cauterets - Lot 381

Cauterets [VALLOT (Joseph)] Guide du Botaniste et du Géologue dans la région de Cauterets. Pau, Cazaux ; Paris, Lechevallier, [1886]. In-12 : XXVIII, 330pp. ½-cornered green cloth à la Bradel, green title-piece on spine. This little guide, although written more specifically from a botanical point of view, is also intended for geologists and climbers. The latter in particular will find indications of a number of interesting excursions not yet mentioned, such as those to Peyraoute, Cot d'Homme, Catarrabe, Péguère, Chabarrou, Péterneille, Castelabarque, Estibaoude, Pic d'Estom-Soubiran, etc., as well as several new routes". This interesting author's other Pyrenean publications are mainly geological. Joseph VALLOT (1854-1925), born in Lodève, Hérault, was a major figure in the mountain world. In 1881, he turned his attention to the Alps, without forgetting the Pyrenees, but he didn't take up residence there periodically until 1886, when he spent 40 years of his life exploring the massif, in particular Mont Blanc, which he climbed 34 times and stayed on for a cumulative time estimated at an entire year. He was the driving force behind the observatory and the famous "Vallot refuge". He produced a remarkable 20,000-scale map of Mont-Blanc. He was president of the C.A.F. in 1907-1908. A photographer (in 1887, he was at the summit of Vignemale and Mont-Perdu, from where he photographed the surrounding panorama), he also took an interest in cinematography, co-founding the Gaumont company. In both modesty and talent, he had the stature and genius of Franz Schrader. Indispensable for any serious collection, and to be placed among the best books. Enclosed: LEQUEUTRE (Alphonse Adelson Hippolyte Hyacinthe) - WALLON (Paul Édouard): Guide de Cauterets. La Région - la Ville - le Climat - les Thermes - les Eaux - Promenades - Excursions. By A. LEQUEUTRE revised by E. WALLON. Fourteenth edition. Pau, Cazaux, 1892. In-16: 308pp. (incl. t.), advertising leaves; a folding map of Mont Perdu (1877), a map of the Cauterets valley and a map of the town. ½ period black chagrin.