Pavillons des Puissances Maritimes, en 1819. by Anon. (Motte et Letronne, publisher) - n.d. (Circa 1820)

Oblong 4to, 31 cm. 60 hand-colored flag plates.

This is a unique French flag book - unique, because it is a combination of two rare French flag books. The original, with printed boards, title, and contents pages, Pavillons des Puissances Maritimes, en 1819 was published circa 1820 by Charles Motte. As originally configured, it contained 30 hand-colored lithographed flag plates. At some point in its history, this copy was taken apart and combined, or "extra-illustrated" with pages from another flag book, a work of similar size, period, and scope, with lithographs by Louis Letronne.


The flags and pennants pictured in the 1819 Motte book are arranged geographically, as are the Letronne insertions. For example, the "Contents" page of the Motte book calls for two pages of illustrations of the flags of Angleterre. In this copy, however, there are three pages of flags of Angleterre because a page of Letronne lithographs has been glued to the following page and the new unit sewn in. This copy contains all 30 of its original plates. In addition, there are another 30 plates from the volume of lithographs by Letronne. In every instance the added Letronne plates are flags used for signalling pilots or flags of countries not included in the Motte 1819 edition. In other words, the additions add substantially to the information contained in this "extra-illustrated" copy.


Whitney Smith's "Bibliography of Flags of Foreign Nations" sheds further light on this confused affair. Smith 85 is the listing for Motte's 1819 "Pavillons." He cites this 1819 edition, and another edition, Paris, 1837 (illustrator not mentioned), which, he says, has 61 plates (including lithographed text pages). My assumption is that the copy on offer here is a combination of the two editions, with material from the second, 1837, edition supplementing material in the 1819 edition. This theory is supported by the fact that the "Chili" flag plate, lithographed by Letronne, is dated 1837.


All the plates are clean and the hand coloring is bright. There are circular stamps of the Port of Rochefort on the title and contents pages, and no other markings. The original printed boards are worn and scarred. Sewing is loose but holding. Some of the lithographs are signed in type by Motte or Letronne. Many have no attribution, but their format and typeface are identical to the signed Motte Letronne pages. See Polak 7393, Smith 85. Worldcat shows only six copies of the Motte book held institutionally.


Contents are as follows: 1. Plate number - (No numeration). Tableu des signes darrondissement 1817. (signals for local ports in France and eastern and African colonies) 12 images. Lithographs by Motte 2. Plate number 1 France. 3 images. No lithographer given. 3. Plate number (No plate number) France 1 image. No lithographer. 4. Plate number 2 Angleterre. 4 images. No lith. 5. Plate number 3 Angleterre. 4 images (numbering of each image carried over from plate #2) No lith. 6. Plate number (No plate number) Angleterre. 1 image. (Text indicates this flag is for signaling a pilot.) No lith. 7. Plate number 4 Espagne. 7 images. No lith. 8. Plate number 5 Espagne. 4 images (Numbering of each image carried over from plate #4) No lith. 9. Plate number 30 Espagne. 1 image (Text indicates this flag is for signaling a pilot.) No lith. 10. Plate number (Illegible ms. notation. No plate number.) Portugal. 5 images. No lith. 11. Plate number 32 Portugal. 1 image. (Pilot signal) No lith. 12. Plate number 53 Empire Bresilien. 1 image (Pilot signal) No lith. 13. Plate number 6 bis (Ms. designation. Empire Bresilien. 1 image. No lith. 14. Plate number 7 Naples et Sicile. 2 images. Motte lith. 15. Plate number 43 Naples et Sicile. (Pilot signal). No lith. 16. Plate number 8 Etats Romains. 4 images. Motte lith. 17. Plate number 8 bis Etats Romains. 2 images (numbering carried over from prior plate 8.) No lith. 18. Plate number 9 Etats Romains. 1 image (numbering carried over from plate 8.) Motte lith. 19. Plate number 10 Toscane. 4 images. Motte lith. 20. Plate number 38 Toscane. 1 image (Pilot signal). No lith. 21. Plate number 10 bis (in manuscript). Sardaigne. 3 images. No lith. 22. Plate number 11 bis (in manuscript). Sardaigne. 8 images. No lith. 23. Plate number 12 Principaute de Monaco. 2 images. Motte lith. 24. Plate number 45 Autriche. 1 image. (Pilot signal.) No lith. 25. (No plate number). Autriche. 6 images. No lith. 26. Plate number 14 Turquie. 3 images. Motte lith. 27. Plate number 15 Russie. 4 images. Motte lith. 28. Plate number 16 Russie. 9 images (numbering carried over from plate 15) Motte lith. 29. Plate number 17 Russie. 8 images (numbering carried over from plate 16). No lith. 30. Plate number 18 Russie. 3 images. Motte lith. 31. Plate number 26 Russie. 1 image. (Pilot signal). No lith. 32. (No plate number). Russie. (Quarantine signal.) Letronne lith. 33. Plate number 17 (Number in same typeface as out-of-series, non-Motte lithographs.) Prusse. 1 image. (Pilot signal.) No lith. 34. Plate number 19 bis (in manuscript). Prusse. 4 images. No lith. 35. Plate number 20 Suede. 7 images. Motte lith. 36. (No plate number) Pavillon Sud-Peruano. 1 image. No lith. 37. Plate number 21 Danemarck. 4 images. No lith. 38. Plate number 20 (Number in same typeface as out-of-series, non-Motte lithographs.) Danemarck. (Pilot signal). No lith. 39. Plate number 22 Danemarck. 6 images. No lith. 40. (No plate number) Perou. 3 images. No lith. 41. Plate number 23 Royaume des Pays Bas. 4 images. No lith. 42. Plate number 9 (Number in same typeface as out-of-series, non-Motte lithographs.) Pays Bas. 1 image. Pilot signal. No lith. 43. Plate number 23 bis (in manuscript). Belgique. 1 image. No lith. 44. Plate number 24 Ville Anseatique de Lubeck. 4 images. Motte lith. 45.(No plate number). Chili. (Dated 1837 in lower left) Letronne lith. 46. Plate number 24 bis (in manuscript). Francefort. 1 image. No lith. 47. Plate number 25 Etats Unis dAmerique. 7 images. No lith. 48. (No plate number). Etats Unis. 3 images. No lith. 49. (No plate number). Bolivie. 1 image. Letronne lith. 50. Plate number 25 bis (in manuscript). Haiti. 2 images. No lith. 51. Plate number 26 Etats Unis des Iles Ioniennes. 3 images. No lith. 52. Plate number 26 bis (in manuscript). Grece. 3 images. No lith. 53. Plate number 27 (No title in header) P.(on) du G(d). Duche de Mecklenbourg, P.(on) de Rostock, P.(on) de Wismar. 3 images. No lith. 54. (No plate number). Mexique. 2 images. No lith. 55. Plate number 58 Venezuela. 1 image Lith de Letronne Quai Voltair 75. 56. Plate number 59 Iles Sandwich and O-Taiti. 2 images. Lith de Letronne Quai Voltair 75. 57. Plate number 28 Hambourg. 6 images. No lith. 58. Plate number 29 Flamme. 4 images. No lith. 59. Plate number 11 (Number in same typeface as out-of-series, non-Motte lithographs.) Oldembourg. (Pilot signal). No lith. 60. Plate number 30 (in manuscript). (No title in header.) Buenos-ayres and Montevideo. No lith. Plus 3 sheets of color lithographs laid in Pavillons (2 sheets containing images 1-20). Flammes (1 sheet containing 8 images) Both by Imprimerie Royale. A manuscript sheet laid in gives dimensions of escutcheon panels for flags of Austria, Brazil, Spain, Neapolitan states, Portuguese, and Russia in large and small naval vessels..