BAUDOUIN, A

The Port Breton Adventure and the Free Colony of New France. Personal Recollections and Documents. Paris, Maurice Dreyfus, [1883]. In-12 (187 x 120 mm) with a title leaf, 346 pp. 1 f.n.ch. of table, 4 portraits (the first one in frontispiece), 6 facsimiles (4 of them folding), 2 folding maps and 3 plates. Paperback, yellow cover printed in black and red, modern green cloth folder and case. First edition. Work written by the doctor A. Baudouin who participated in the 4th expedition to the "Colonie Libre du Port-Breton". The "Colonie Libre de Port-Breton" was a beautiful swindle, imagined and created by the Marquis de Rays which lasted between 1877 and 1882. The Marquis, inspired by the stories of great travelers such as Dampier and Bougainville, was trying to establish a new colony in Papua New Guinea whose capital would be in Port-Praslin (New Ireland), which was soon renamed Port-Breton. The starting point was an advertisement placed in the Petit Journal of July 26, 1877 (facsimile of the purchase title giving the right to 1 hectare included in this work) which praised this far-fetched project: "Free colony of Port-Breton. Land at five francs per hectare. Rapid and assured fortune without leaving one's country. For all information contact Mr. du Breil de Rays, at the castle of Quimark in Banabec (Finistère)". Against all expectations, the subscribers were numerous, and four expeditions of emigrants were organized between 1878 and 1882. In spite of their expectations, the lands were very hostile and the 800 or so travelers found only misery and death. Beautiful copy, entirely untrimmed, certainly the most important work on this subject.