A Huge and Fastidious Collection of Plant Specimens from This Renown Wine Region.

[Marseille?]: N.p., [ca. 1880]. A large gathering of plant specimens from the wine growing regions of southwest France. Each specimen is mounted via paper holders to bifoliums measuring 12 1/2 x 20 inches and each specimen within a genus folder containing differing amounts of specimens. Each specimen is named in French on the front of the bifolium and and, in much more detail, in a small square on the bottom right of the page bearing the specimen .E.g.: Scrofularinees [for Scrophulariaceae]; In this folder are 3 specimens of species of this genus—— Linaria Cymbalaria; Linaria arvensis; scrofularinee aqua. All data is in French and in manuscript and gives the French [translated from the Latin] name of the plant, the flowering season and the type of habitat and flower color (if applicable). There are 15 genus folder bearing 76 actual species specimens. The specimens are, on the main, very large. All housed in a custom wooden slipcase with extensive brass fittings. Box measures 24 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 6 inches. No specimens broken or missing. Stock paper and chemise by Moullot Fils Ainé Marseilles. A wonderful assemblage.South West France, or in French Sud-Ouest, is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux.[1]These areas, which have a total of 16,000 hectares (40,000 acres) of vineyards, consist of several discontinuous wine "islands" throughout the Aquitaine region (where Bordeaux region itself is situated), and more or less to the west of the Midi-Pyrénées region. Thus, South West France covers both the upstream areas around the rivers Dordogne and Garonne (which also flow through Bordeaux where they combine to form the Gironde estuary) and their tributaries, as well as the wine-producing areas of Gascony including Bearn, and the Northern Basque Country. However, only areas closer to the Atlantic than to the Mediterranean are included in the region, with the city of Toulouse being situated roughly halfway between the South West wine region and the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region on the Mediterranean. The brandy-producing region Armagnac is situated within Gascony and the wine region of South West France, and some of its grapes are used to make Vin de Pays under the designation Vin de Pays de Côtes de Gascogne or mixed with Armagnac to produce the Mistelle Floc de Gascogne.South West France is a rather heterogeneous region in terms of its wines and how they are marketed. It is rare to see wines being sold as Vins du Sud-Ouest. Rather, the smaller areas and individual appellations market their wines under their own (smaller) umbrella, in contrast with common practice in e.g. the Bordeaux region.