Paris, National History Museum Central Library

Paris
8/09/2011

A big effort on the literature review this morning. Excellent searching on the internet: Matthew Flinders Australian Voyage journal, on Google eBooks of all places. The Journal has been scanned completely but I could not find the accompanying Atlas, that also has the plates, i.e., the artwork. A few other gems that I downloaded, then off to the Central Library. I stopped in at the Mosque Cafe opposite the Library and right next to a mosque, but they did not serve Cafe Ole (or an obvious non-Muslim).

The afternoon in the National History Museum Central Library was exceptionally productive. Because I had got the Flinders Journal in the morning I tried for the equivalent Baudin Journal at the Library. I was successful and went through:

Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes: exécuté par ordre de Sa Majesté l'empereur et roi, sur les corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la goëlette le Casuarina, pendent les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804; [Historique] publié par dećret Impérial, sous le ministère de M. de Champagny et rédigé par M. F. Péron, ..., Volume 1 18## A Paris, De L'Imprimerie Royale

Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes: exécuté par ordre de Sa Majesté l'empereur et roi, sur les corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la goëlette le Casuarina, pendent les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804; [Historique: Tome second] par ordre de son excellence le Ministre Secretaire D'Etat de L'Interieur (redige en partie par feu M. F. Péron) par M.L.Freycinet, ..., Volume 2, 1816, A Paris, De L'Imprimerie Royale.

Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes: exécuté sur les corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la goëlette le Casuarina, pendent les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804; Sous le commandement du capitaine de vaisseau N. Buadin [Navigation et Geographie] Par M Louis Freycinet...., Volume 3, 1815, A Paris, De L'Imprimerie Royale

Atlas historique : du Voyage de decouvertes aux terres australes, by Charles Alexandre Lesueur and Nicolas-Martin Petit. Volume 1 (containing the landform profiles and zoological plates)

All in French but I got photocopies of the main "marine" animal plates, which were all by Lesueur and definitely from Terra Australes. It was as I thought, there were animals on the plates that I had come across as I worked through the Manuscript/Boxes. Not identified as Terra Australes but sorted into the relevant taxonomic order. One of the nudibranches I had photocopied just yesterday was in the middle of the  Lesueur "Terra Australes" plate!

Apart from the Baudin voyage journals I completed my review of Manuscript/Boxes 1745-1748. I am definitely coming to the end of his American period with these Boxes dealing with Turtles and Seasnakes (not to mention MS 1743 that had drawings of bears, wolves, squirrels, skunks, and mice).