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Traité sur la culture et les usages des pommes de terre, de la patate et du topinambour. Publié & imprimé par ordre du Roi.

Traité sur la culture et les usages des pommes de terre, de la patate et du topinambour. Publié & imprimé par ordre du Roi.

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Traité sur la culture et les usages des pommes de terre, de la patate et du topinambour. Publié & imprimé par ordre du Roi.

by PARMENTIER, Antoine Augustin

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About This Item

Paris, Barrois l'ainé, 1789.

Avec approbation de la Société Royale d'Agriculture.

8vo [195 x 125 mm] of viii prelim. ll., 389 pp., (2) ll. including the errata inserted between the pp. 386 and 388. Excerpt from the Journal de Paris from January 7, 1789 concerning Parmentier inserted between pp. 204 and 205, small tear without loss p. 273. Brown half-calf, gilt rocaille ornamentation on the flat spine, green sprinkled edges. Binding circa 1830.

Sought-after first edition of Parmentier's famous work dedicated to the cultivation and consumption of potato, up to here abandoned to animals.

Vicaire, Bibliographie gastronomique, 657; not in Oberlé, Les Fastes de Bacchus et Comus.

Poorly raised as well as his two brothers by an early widowed mother, Parmentier had to interrupt his studies at the age of eighteen to be apprenticed to an apothecary of Mont Didier then in 1756 to an apothecary in Paris.

At the age of 20 he obtained a position of pharmacist-assistant for the Hanover army operating in the Seven Years War. Held prisoner by the troops of Frederick II, it was in captivity that he ate potatoes for the first time, staple food of the Prussians, as well as half of the peoples of Europe.

Therefore by personal experience, he made sure that this food was good and healthy, that it was neither bland nor insipid, that it gave neither the leprosy nor the fevers, prejudices that shared the majority of the French, with the exception of peasants from the neighboring provinces of Switzerland, Germany or Flanders who were using them since the 17th century. But in the other provinces and in Paris, the people didn't want it, estimating them just good enough to draw powder to powder the wigs.

Returned to France at the signing of the peace in 1763, Parmentier obtained in 1766 the position of apothecary-assistant at the Invalids; six years later, he was appointed chief pharmacist of this institution.

Dearth and famine struck France once again in 1770. These scourges prompted the Academy of Besancon the following year to put to the competition the question: "Indicate the plants that could supply in times of dearth to those whom are commonly used to nourish men and what should be its preparation?" Of the seven memoirs received by the Academy, it was Parmentier's who won the vote.

From now on, the "humanitarian pharmacist", as he has been nicknamed, will be at the forefront of potato advocates. The latter has certainly many defenders, but he is the best placed with the King's advisers and Louis XIV himself to advance its cultivation and its consumption.

Parmentier is above all a man with practical experience. He is a pragmatist who, before Claude Bernard defines them, applies the principles of scientific research, basing his opinions on experience only.

He is also a forerunner of publicity. Thus he urges the King and the Queen to put potato flowers in their buttonhole to prove the Majesties' interest in this food. He obtains from the sovereign a sterile ground, the plain of Grenelle known as Sablons, to demonstrate the facilities offered by this cultivation. Even better, he willingly lets the people steal the fruits of the harvest. He organizes around Franklin, Lavoisier and other scientists a meal entirely based on potatoes. All the preparations, even the liqueurs, consisted of the potato disguised under twenty different forms, and where he had gathered many guests: their appetite was not in default, and the praises they gave to the amphitryon turned to the advantage of the wonderful root.

Thanks to Parmentier's efforts and perseverance, the potato finally took the rank it was belonging to among our agricultural resources.

En français dans le texte. Dix siècles de lumières par le livre, pp. 182-183.

" Parmentier's earliest investigation, dating from about 1771 [Examen chimique des pommes de terre, 1773], concerned the chemical and nutritive constituents of the potato. This research was soon broadened to include a large number of indigenous plants which he recommended as food in times of scarcity and famine, ascribing their nutritive value to their starch contents. Of all these plants it was the potato that most interested Parmentier, and it is unfortunate that his long and successful campaign to popularize the cultivation and use of the potato in France as a cheap and abundant source of food has tended to obscure his other accomplishments in food chemistry and nutrition" (DSB).

"In 1789 the Bastille fell. At the same time, people became aware of the usefulness of the potato. Parmentier's treatise on growing and cooking potatoes was in all good Republican bookshops. It is likely that those providential tubers might have had to wait even longer to get into the recipe books but for war and famine, themselves a recipe for disaster. Parmentier, an army pharmacist, had long been doing his best to explain to the nation that there was nothing like the potato for lining the stomach. Since returning from captivity in 1763, after the Seven Year's War, he had devoted his energies to promoting it. Antoine-Auguste had eaten the strange tuber in his Westphalian prisoner-of war-camp. The Germans of Westphalia called it Kartoffel, and regarded it as good only for pigs and therefore, a fortiori, for French prisoners" (Toussaint-Samat, A History of Food, p. 717).

Fine and precious copy from the Count Frederic de Pourtales' library, with his ex-libris with arms.

An excerpt from the Journal de Paris dated January 7, 1789 was bound inside the copy, publishing a letter from Parmentier worrying about the winter cold that would have harmed the potatoes harvest and giving a recipe for bread made from flour and potato.



Français

In-8 de viii ff. prél., 389 pp., (2) ff. pour l'extrait des registres et l'errata insérés entre les pp. 386 et 388. Extrait du Journal de Paris du 7 janvier 1789 relatifs à Parmentier inséré entre les pp. 204 et 205, pte. déchirure sans atteinte au texte p. 273. Demi-veau brun, ornementation rocaille dorée sur le dos lisse, tranches jaspées vertes. Reliure vers 1830.

195 x 125 mm.

Édition originale recherchée du célèbre ouvrage de Parmentier consacré à la culture et à la consommation de la pomme de terre, jusque là abandonnée aux animaux.

Vicaire, Bibliographie gastronomique, 657 ; Manquait à Oberlé, Les Fastes de Bacchus et Comus.

Élevé pauvrement ainsi que ses deux frères par une mère veuve de bonne heure, Parmentier dut interrompre ses études à dix-huit ans pour entrer en apprentissage chez un apothicaire de Mont Didier puis en 1756 chez un apothicaire de Paris.

Il obtint à 20 ans une place d'aide-pharmacien à l'armée de Hanovre en opération dans la guerre de Sept Ans. Fait prisonnier par les troupes de Frédéric ii, c'est en captivité qu'il mangea pour la première fois des pommes de terre, nourriture de base des Prussiens, comme d'ailleurs de la moitié des peuples de l'Europe.

Par expérience personnelle donc, il s'assura que cet aliment était bon et sain, qu'il n'était ni fade ni insipide, qu'il ne donnait ni la lèpre ni les fièvres, préjugés que partageait la majorité des Français, à l'exception des paysans des provinces voisines de la Suisse, de l'Allemagne ou des Flandres qui en usaient depuis le xviiè siècle. Mais dans les autres provinces et à Paris, le peuple n'en voulait pas, les estimant tout juste bonnes à en tirer de la poudre à poudrer les perruques.

Rentré en France à la signature de la paix en 1763, Parmentier obtint en 1766 le poste d'apothicaire-adjoint aux Invalides ; six ans après, il était nommé pharmacien en chef de cet établissement.

La disette et sa suivante la famine frappèrent une fois encore la France en 1770. Ces fléaux incitèrent l'Académie de Besançon l'année suivante à mettre au concours la question : " Indiquer les végétaux qui pourraient suppléer en temps de disette à ceux que l'on emploie communément à la nourriture des hommes et quelle en devrait être la préparation ? ". Des sept mémoires reçus par l'Académie, ce fut celui de Parmentier qui remporta les suffrages.

Désormais, le " pharmacien humanitaire ", comme on l'a surnommé, sera au premier rang des avocats de la pomme de terre. Celle-ci a certes de nombreux défenseurs, mais il est le mieux placé auprès des conseillers du roi et de Louis xvi lui-même pour faire progresser sa culture et sa consommation.

Parmentier est avant tout un homme de terrain. C'est un pragmatique qui, avant que Claude Bernard ne les définisse, applique les principes de la recherche scientifique, ne basant ses opinions que sur l'expérience.

C'est aussi un précurseur de la publicité. Ainsi engage-t-il le roi et la reine à mettre à leur boutonnière des fleurs de pommes de terre pour prouver l'intérêt que Leurs Majestés portent à cet aliment. Il obtient du souverain un terrain stérile, la plaine de Grenelle dite des Sablons, pour faire la démonstration des facilités qu'offre sa culture. Mieux même, il laisse volontairement voler par le peuple les fruits de la récolte. Il organise autour de Franklin, de Lavoisier et d'autres savants un repas tout en pommes de terre. Tous les apprêts, jusqu'aux liqueurs, consistaient dans la pomme de terre déguisée sous vingt formes différentes, et où il avait réuni de nombreux convives : leur appétit ne fut point en défaut, et les louanges qu'ils donnèrent à l'amphitryon tournèrent à l'avantage de la merveilleuse racine.

Grâce aux efforts et à la persévérance de Parmentier, la pomme de terre prit enfin le rang qui lui appartenait parmi nos richesses agricoles.

En français dans le texte. Dix siècles de lumières par le livre, pp. 182-183.

" Parmentier's earliest investigation, dating from about 1771 [Examen chimique des pommes de terre, 1773], concerned the chemical and nutritive constituents of the potato. This research was soon broadened to include a large number of indigenous plants which he recommended as food in times of scarcity and famine, ascribing their nutritive value to their starch contents. Of all these plants it was the potato that most interested Parmentier, and it is unfortunate that his long and successful campaign to popularize the cultivation and use of the potato in France as a cheap and abundant source of food has tended to obscure his other accomplishments in food chemistry and nutrition" (DSB).

"In 1789 the Bastille fell. At the same time, people became aware of the usefulness of the potato. Parmentier's treatise on growing and cooking potatoes was in all good Republican bookshops. It is likely that those providential tubers might have had to wait even longer to get into the recipe books but for war and famine, themselves a recipe for disaster. Parmentier, an army pharmacist, had long been doing his best to explain to the nation that there was nothing like the potato for lining the stomach. Since returning from captivity in 1763, after the Seven Year's War, he had devoted his energies to promoting it. Antoine-Auguste had eaten the strange tuber in his Westphalian prisoner-of war-camp. The Germans of Westphalia called it Kartoffel, and regarded it as good only for pigs and therefore, a fortiori, for French prisoners" (Toussaint-Samat, A History of Food, p. 717).

Bel et précieux exemplaire provenant de la bibliothèque du comte Frédéric de Pourtales, avec ex-libris armorié.

A été relié dans l'exemplaire un extrait du Journal de Paris du 7 janvier 1789 publiant une lettre de Parmentier s'inquiétant du froid de l'hiver qui aurait nui aux récoltes de pommes de terre et donnant une recette de pain à base de farine et de pomme de terre.

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Bookseller
LIBRAIRIE CAMILLE SOURGET FR (FR)
Bookseller's Inventory #
CA28
Title
Traité sur la culture et les usages des pommes de terre, de la patate et du topinambour. Publié & imprimé par ordre du Roi.
Author
PARMENTIER, Antoine Augustin
Book Condition
Used
Quantity Available
1
Binding
Hardcover
Weight
0.00 lbs

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LIBRAIRIE CAMILLE SOURGET

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