[Original watercolour sketches of French landscapes]

[France], no place, no publisher, ca. 1863-1890. 13 oblong sheets (22.3 x 29.2 cm), all with fine watercolour paintings, either full-sized, or smaller, in a drawn rectangular frame. And one drawing on slightly smaller paper, more sketchy, in pencil. Count Roger de Bouillé (1819-1906) was a French mountaineer (one would say "pyreneeist" rather than alpinist, as he climbed solely in the Pyrenees mountains), but also a draftsman, illustrator, watercolourist and author, under the pseudonym "JAM", of several books on his ascents and explorations. In 1865, he settled in the town of Pau and from there he explored the western Pyrenees. In his works he described not only the itineraries, mountains, and landscapes, but also the local flora, fauna, and history. The present suite, however, consists mostly of drawings made during a voyage to the French-Mediterranean coast (Côte d'Azur), in 1890. One is dated much earlier. Present are: 1. "Valentin / 28 juillet 1863" [waterfall]; 2. "Ruines de l'amphitéatre de Cimie's / Nice (14 septembre 1890)" [ruins]; 3. "Jaorge / 5 aout 1890" [view of a distant mountain village]; 4. "16 sept. 90 St. Sylvestre / Nice" [view of the area]; 5. "Route de Levens / 5 sept. 1890" [mountain road along river]; 6. "Frontiere Italienne" [landscape]; 7. "Campement du 161me au sommet du chateau / Nice 20 sept. 1890" [town view, horizontal, with soldiers]; 8. no caption [mountain view; the artist and his party (?) situated in the fore ground]; 9. no caption [unidentified fortress in mountainous surroundings, a person sitting in front]; 10. no caption [mountain scene, not completed]; 11. "Apres les Arcs 10", "Gonfaron 11", [no caption] "12", "Lion de Terre et Lion de Mer 13" [Four framed views, numbered 10-13]; 12. "Rognac" [view in drawn frame]; 13. "Berre" [view in drawn frame]; 14. [no caption, pencil sketch on slightly smaller paper, probably depicting Roman ruins near Nice]. All rich and lovely views, well-painted. All 14 leaves in a very good condition; no trace of foxing or discolouring. Left side a bit irregular, as the leaves were removed from a sketchbook, the illustrations bright and clean.