This folio of grasses from 1853 is part of a larger study by Claude Gay, "Historia física y política de Chile". Even though Émile Desvaux had a very short life (b.1830 d.1854) he became one of the forerunners of botany in France. He became interested in botany at the age of ten and with his father's encouragement studied in Paris and received a Bachelor of Physical Science in 1847. He collaborated with his professor and mentor, Claude Gay, to promote France as a scientific center for the study of botany.