From the Collection: Jacques Labillardiѐre’s ‘Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen’ (1804–1806)

This display highlights one of the most important series in Ballarat Libraries’ Rare Book Collection: Jacques Labillardière’s ‘Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen’ (1804–1806).

Jacques-Julien Houtou Labillardière (1755-1834) was a French botanist and member of the crew that set sail in 1791 in search of the La Perouse expedition which went missing after leaving Botany Bay in 1788. During the expedition he collected thousands of botanical specimens. On the return voyage Labillardière and his fellow crew were captured by the English, and his botanical specimens and meticulous notes were seized as spoils of war. Upon his release and return to Paris, Labillardière appealed to his friend and fellow botanist, Joseph Banks, to petition the British Museum for the return his specimens. Banks’ representations resulted in the release of the material, and Labillardière set about preparing his research for publication.

Illustrator Pierre-Joseph Redouté was engaged to draw his botanical specimens, which were then engraved on copper plates for printing by Auguste Plée and his son Victoire. The two volumes were published in Paris in 1804 and 1806 and are considered the most detailed European record of Australian flora of its day.

The provenance of these volumes is well documented. The endpapers bear the inscription: “A gift to Duncan Elphinstone Cooper from Alex Campbell.” Cooper and Campbell were squatters and neighbours in the Ballarat region. Campbell brought these volumes to Australia when he emigrated from England, suggesting that they were treasured volumes for his personal use. The recipient of his gift, Duncan Cooper, was to become a significant artist in his own right, creating a rare pictorial document of the Ararat district from the earliest period of colonisation. The volumes were subsequently donated to the Ballarat Free Library in the early 1860s.

These treasures from the collection were recently conserved with the support of a grant from the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV). To provide context for the conservation of these books, this display also includes remnant binding removed during the conservation process and photographs showing the repair and rebinding of the books.

Image: Auguste Plée (engraver), after Pierre-Joseph Redouté, ‘Eryngium versiculosum’ [detail], copper plate engraving in Labillardiere, Jacques Julien Houtton De. ‘Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen’, volume I, Paris, France, 1804, Ballarat Libraries Collection.