MADASGACAR - Lot 264

MADASGACAR SUBERBIE, Alix (E. SMITH). [Drawings and watercolors of Madagascar]. (Madagascar), (1886-1892). Small folio. Sewn, muted cover of modest yellow paper, handwritten note ex libris of the period on the first cover, tabs, all in an elegant fir green half-maroquin slipcase, Madagascar in gilt capitals and lengthwise on the spine, morocco label with gilt title on the counterplate (unbound, some lateral restorations of the supporting leaves, some scattered stains,). Beautiful historical set of seven beautiful watercolor views and landscapes of the island of Madagascar in the 19th century and 21 fine portraits, in pencil and charcoal on tinted paper, of Madagascans and/or colonists drawn by Alix Suberbie, wife of French explorer Léon Suberbie. Each drawing is titled in pencil, in various sizes, landscape or portrait (17 x 22 cm to 24.5 x 31cm). The handwritten ex libris indicates the Toulouse address where Alix Suberbie and her husband lived out their lives. The document has been passed down through the generations, Alix Suberbie having collected these pieces, whose color-painted views could be in E. Smith's hand. Rare testimony to the history of the last Malagasy kingdoms by a Frenchwoman who was close to Ranavalona III, the last queen of Madagascar. Of particular note is the painted view of the Rova, the palace of the Malagasy kings in Tananarive, now burnt to the ground in the early 21st century. Alix Jaillet, wife of Léon André Suberbie (1854-1907), a French explorer, administrator and leader on the Red Island, whose town of Suberbieville bears his name, was a figure linked to the French presence in Madagascar in the last decades of the 19th century. She accompanied him on his travels across the island, from the east coast (Tamatave) to Antananarivo, then to the north-west regions (Majunga, Maevatanana), in connection with the mining companies he was developing. As a guest at the court of Queen Ranavalona III, she seems to have enjoyed privileged access to Madagascar's ruling circles and close, friendly relations with them, which explains the intimate portraits of important figures in her album.