PLUCHONNEAU (the elder) - MAILLARD (Hippolyte). - Lot 68

PLUCHONNEAU (the elder) - MAILLARD (Hippolyte). Physiology of Black People in Their Homeland, Preceded by an Overview of the Condition of Enslaved Black People in the Colonies; an Account of the Slave Trade; and Reflections on Emancipation. Paris: Available at all major bookstores, 1842. — In-32, 132 x 90: (2 ff.), 124 pp., 8 plates, illustrated cover. Green Bradel-style percaline, smooth spine, untrimmed, cover preserved (20th-century binding). Lhéritier, Les Physiologies, no. 113. First edition of this very rare work on physiology, dedicated “to the two Chambers, to the Delegates of the Colonies, to the Creoles or plantation owners, and to all the philanthropists of the world. ” This type of work was very fashionable at the time; this one, written by Pluchonneau the Elder and Hippolyte Maillard, is a pamphlet against emancipation: “Freedom belongs to all men, whatever country they may be from; we revere it as a cherished idol, we have fought for it, we pray in its temple, kneeling on the steps of the altar; we would like it to be even greater, if possible; we hope it will become a constant reality, that all peoples will understand and respect it. But despite our convictions in this regard, we hold another: the spontaneous freedom proclaimed in the French colonies will morally destroy the slave, and this fatal blow will strike, as we have said, 45,000 of our brothers. Is this philanthropy, gentlemen?” (Conclusion). The work is divided into 26 chapters: Considerations on Emancipation. — Black Guardians. — An Evening with a Slave Family. — The Black Cook. - A Note on Prostitution in Madagascar. - The Black Xhosa Woman on the Plantation. - The Black Peddler. - Dialogue Between a Black Creole and a Black Xhosa. - Black Sailors. - Trades Taught to Slaves, etc. The edition is illustrated with several woodcut vignettes within the text and 8 black-and-white lithographs as inserts, the first signed by the lithographer Paul Petit, depicting Black slaves in various situations (dancing, scenes from daily life, etc.). A fine copy with the original cover intact. Stains and small tears on the cover. Scattered foxing.