Author: Brocchi, Paul Louis Antoine
Title: Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amerique Centrale, ouvrage Public par ordre du Ministre de l'Instruction Publique. Recherches Zoologiques. Troisieme Partie, 2e Section: Etude des Batraciens de l'Amerique Centrale
Description: Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1881-1883. First edition. Pp. (iv), 122; 24 full-page engraved plates (18 are chromolithographs and 5 are plain lithographs all from drawings by Gustave Arnoul, 1 stipple engraving by Milne-Edwards), each plate has a protective leaf of descriptive text, deckled page edges on two edges.  Recent one-quarter brown calf leather, the spine is lettered in gilt and with gilt panel lines at the head and foot, over thick-weave cream-colored cloth boards, in cream-colored hard slipcase, folio (15 x 11.5 inches; 38 x 29 cm).  This monograph was issued in three parts from 1881 to 1883.  The work documents the amphibians collected by the ""Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amerique Centrale"" with Milne-Edwards as the organizing editor.  The book covers 153 species of batrachians, 25 of which were named by Brocchi, in addition to a new genus of hylid frog, Plectrohyla.  Initially the accounts of batrachians from the Mission Scientifique were meant to be incorporated into the Reptile volumes.  In fact, Dumeril had begun drafting the text for the batrachians before he died during the siege of Paris in November 1870, after a long illness.  Bocourt continued the work on the reptiles but was too busy to complete the batrachians as well.  Eventually Dr. Paul Brocchi was given the task of writing the batrachians volume.  Bocourt assisted by giving Brocchi all of his notes and color models for the batrachians.  Instead of being incorporated into the Reptile volume as originally planned, the batrachian volume was given its own pagination and published as section two of part three of the Mission Scientifique (modified after Adler, vol. 2, p. 101 and Bibliomania!, catalogue 5, p. 37).  See also Casey Wood, p. 466; Nissen ZBI 4694; BMNH p. 252 & 605.  Two small red hand written numbers (5521) in the bottom margin of page 57 and 97. No ownership marks of any kind or other signs of use. A very bright and clean copy in fine condition..

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