Paris

Le Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, France, is a small zoo within the larger botanical gardens (Jardin des Plantes) which are part of the Museum of Natural History. Founded with animals from the menagerie of Versailles, which was dismantled in 1795 during the French Revolution, it is the second-oldest zoo in the world. This book, written by botanist and geologist Pierre Boitard, features beautiful etchings of many of the animals found in the zoo and botanical gardens. By 1845, when this second edition was published, Paris had the largest exotic animal collection in Europe.

Carpets and Fabrics is a portfolio volume about the famous series of textile design pattern books published in 1929 by Charles Moreau in Paris. Textile artist Sonia Delaunay edited this collection of textiles, created by her contemporary Art Deco and modernist designers. Like her own work, the designs incorporate geometric shapes and abstract patterns for rugs and fabrics, the idea of modernism being that the overall design of interiors and fashion be a coordinated look.

The “objects” of American artist Man Ray’s affection were small, limited-edition sculptures.

Published in 1859, Michel Eugene Chevreul's (1786-1889) The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours is considered a masterpiece in the science and exploration of color. A chemist who specialized in the study of animal fats and fatty acids, Chevreul is one of the 72 French engineers and scientists whose names are inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.