A precious copy bearing the arms of Napoleon I - Lot 312

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Lot n° 312
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A precious copy bearing the arms of Napoleon I - Lot 312
A precious copy bearing the arms of Napoleon I The only known copy of a gastronomic work bound with the imperial coat of arms, offered to the dignitary most concerned by this innovative work. APPERT (Nicolas). L'Art de conserver, pendant plusieurs années, toutes les substances animales et végétales. Paris, Patris Cie, 1810. In-8, xxxii-116 pp. speckled fawn calf, smooth cloisonné spine with repeated gilt crowned initial "N", fine gilt threaded vegetal frieze framing the boards with gilt coat of arms in the center, gilt roulette decorating the spines and chasses, speckled edges; title piece missing, discreet restorations to the spines, headpieces and corners, some marginal spotting (period binding). First edition, copy signed by the author. Copper-engraved folding plate hors texte. A copy bound with the arms of Napoleon I (OHR, pl. n° 2652, irons n° 11 in one of the small variant formats, and iron n° 15). It conforms to the tastes of the emperor, who liked solid bindings in soberly decorated calfskin (cf. Charles-Éloi Vial, Napoléon et les bibliothèques, Paris, Perrin, 2021, p. 204). GIFTED TO the statesman, agronomist and writer Nicolas François de Neufchâteau (armorial bookplate on the first flyleaf). Nicolas-Louis François de Neufchâteau (1750-1828) showed a precocious genius for literature and oratory, obtaining a chair in rhetoric at an early age, followed by a doctorate in law and a position in the judicial administration. In 1789, he was elected to the Estates-General, became administrator of the Vosges department, and subsequently sat on the Legislative and Convention benches. After the Terror, he was twice a diligent Minister of the Interior (1797, 1798-1799), joined the Directoire (1797-1798), and was sent as ambassador to Vienna in 1798. Allied to the new regime after the coup d'état of Brumaire, he was rewarded with a seat in the Senate (of which he soon became secretary and then president). It was he who harangued Napoleon at the Coronation, and who was responsible for bringing the trophies from the victories of Austerlitz and Jena back to Paris. In 1803, he was admitted to the Institut, then made Grand Treasurer of the Légion d'Honneur and, in 1806, Count of the Empire. A man of the Enlightenment through his intellectual curiosity and concern for the public good, he studied agronomy in particular, which from 1805 onwards became his main area of interest (combined with gastronomic concerns). On his own estate in Vicherey, he carried out practical agricultural experiments. Refounding the Société d'agriculture in 1798, he was its president several times until his death. A publication approved by scientists and subsidized by the Ministry of the Interior. In January 1809, Nicolas Appert sent samples to the Société d'Encouragement pour l'Industrie Nationale, which commissioned a report in March 1809 from a committee of three scientists: Denis-Placide Bouriat, professor at the École de Pharmacie; Antoine Parmentier, pharmacist, agronomist, nutritionist and hygienist; and Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, chemist. In May 1809, he enlisted the help of the Minister of the Interior, Jean-Pierre Bachasson de Montalivet, whose responsibilities included agriculture, industry and trade, as well as supplying the capital's markets. He sought advice from the Société d'agriculture du département de la Seine, chaired by Nicolas François de Neufchâteau, which in June 1809 indicated that it found it "extremely useful" to publish a work on food preservation, and from the Bureau consultatif des Arts et Manufactures, which included Joseph Gay-Lussac, professor of chemistry at the École polytechnique, who declared himself in favor of the publication of Nicolas Appert's work. Montalivet asked Appert to choose between a remunerative patent application, or financial compensation from the French government in return for publication at his own expense and 200 copies to the Ministry. Appert generously chose the latter, out of concern for the welfare of his fellow creatures: in January 1810, he received 12,000 francs from the Ministry, and had 6,000 copies printed in June 1810, of which 200 were delivered as agreed. The book that revolutionized eating habits, influenced gastronomy, and spawned a new industry A GASTRONOMIC MANUAL COUPLED WITH A TECHNICAL VADE MECUM. A keen observer and skilful inventor, Nicolas Appert describes in detail the instruments and methods to be used to make preserves, but his background in the hotel and restaurant business also led him to devote a great deal of time and energy to his work.
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