Divers voyages et missions du P. Alexandre de Rhodes en la Chine, & autres royaumes de l'Orient, avec son retour en Europe par la Perse & l'Arménie.

2 parts in 1 vol., 4to: [24]-276, 82 pp.; 1 pl. (foxing, sl. marg. damp stains).

Contemp. calf, double gilt-ruled covers, gilt-orn. spine with raised bands (sm. lacks to head and lower cover, occ. sm. rubbing, stains to front covers, corners bumped).

Extremely rare first edition of Rhodes' account of his travels and missions in Asia. Destined for Japan, the Jesuit missionary and linguist A. de Rhodes (1591-1660) arrived at Macau in 1623, but was then sent to Vietnam. He was active there until he got banished in 1645 and sentenced to death. His condamnation reduced to exile, he returned to Rome where he pleaded for increased funding for Catholic missions to Vietnam. This helped founding in Paris the Foreign Missions Society in 1659, of which the first members were sent to Far-East as Apostolic vicars as neither the Portuguese nor the Pope Alexander VII were interested in his project. Rhodes himself was sent to Persia instead of Vietnam where he died in Isfahan. Rhodes' descriptions of Tonkin and Conchinchina were used in the works of La Harpe and Prevost. Illustrated with a fold. map of the Kingdom of Annam; copper-engr. title-vignette.
Ref. DBS VI:1720:9. - Cordier, Sinica, 2080.
Prov. Bernard de Noblet, Count of Chenelette, "Lieutenant des Maréchaux de France au baillage de Macon" (engr. arm. bookpl.).