[LECOINTE DE LAVEAU (Georges). Moscou avant et après l'incendie, ou notice contenant la description de cette capitale et des mœurs de ses habitans ; avec un coup-d'œil sur la situation de l'Europe à l'ouverture de la campagne de Russie ; le récit des évènemens qui se sont passés pendant l'incendie, et durant l'occupation des français ; enfin, la relation de leur retraite depuis Moscou jusqu'à Kœnisberg e, 1812 ; Par deux témoins oculaires. Paris: Gide fils, 1818. - In-8, granite calf, gilt roulette around the edges of the boards, ornate ribbed spine, gilt roulette inside, marbled edges (period binding). Enlarged second edition of this work by Georges Lecointe de Laveau, secretary of the Imperial Society of Moscow Naturalists. The original appeared in 1814. We find these details in the preface: "In publishing this work, the aim of the editors is to make better known a nation which has astonished Europe by a dazzling act of patriotism, by the generosity of its Sovereign and by the discipline of its armies. [...] It's time to acknowledge Russia's immense progress towards civilization, which is all the more remarkable in that its geographical position has forced it to bear all the costs. The Russians had to study foreign languages in order to establish relations with the other peoples of Europe; they had to silence their national pride in order to adopt, as they have done, everything that seemed better in foreign countries than in their own. A very fine copy in contemporary binding. Complete with publisher's catalog at end. Some foxing.