Algeria JUNGMANN (Robert). Costumes, customs and... Lot 157 2

[Algeria] JUNGMANN (Robert). Costumes, customs and habits of the Algerians. Illustrated with 40 lithographs Strasbourg, J. Bernard, 1837. One volume in-8 oblong, 84 pp. half-tobacco basane with amateur corners. 84 pp. 1 map and 33 lithographed plates. Poor binding. Light brown spots.

First edition. The work includes a large fold-out map of the Regency of Algiers and two panoramic fold-out views, one of Algiers, the other of Constantine. The other plates depict inhabitants, scenes of daily life, utensils and views of towns and monuments. 19 plates have been enhanced with watercolors; some of the colors are laid down a little awkwardly, suggesting an amateur hand. This copy is probably not one of the colored volumes mentioned by the publisher in the colophon ("Cet ouvrage se trouve: chez M. Bernard... Complet relié, en un beau volume colorié ou en noir").
The illustrations are based on drawings by the author or Sandmann, who is also a lithographer.

A fine work in which the author, a Polish refugee who served for four years in the Army of Africa, gives precise descriptive information on Algiers, Blida, Médéa, Oran, Tlemcen and Constantine, as well as information on the country's climate, industry, agriculture and trade, and on the habits and customs of its inhabitants.