De zeden der wilden van Amerika [...].

2 parts in 1 vol., folio: [6 incl. front.]-36-[18]-300 [= 302]-[2 bl.], [4]-301/555 [= 558] pp. (1st 5 ff. strengthened at gutter margin, sm. tear in blank margin of last 9 quires, some soiling & dampstaining, occ. browning).

Contemp. gilt-orn. marbled calf by the First Stadholder Bindery: covers with central ornament within double gilt-rolled frame with corner pieces, richly gilt-orn. & -titled spine (sides, joints & bands rubbed, top layer of leather scratched because of chemical reaction). Large paper copy.

Rare first edition of the Dutch translation (1st French ed. 1724) of this elaborate anthropological work about the Canadian Indians by the Jesuit and historian Lafiteau (1681-1746). Ill. with an engr. front. by J.B. Scotin, 1 map of America and 41 engr. full-page pl. showing mainly local scenes, customs and rites. Lafiteau compares in an ingenious way the religion, morals and customs of the Canadian Indians with those of the people from the Greek-Roman antiquity. Titles in red & black. The First Stadholder Bindery "was the largest and most important binding workshop in existence in the Netherlands in the eighteenth-century" (Storm van Leeuwen).
Ref. Sabin 38598. - Tiele 637. - Borba de Moraes 453. - Storm van Leeuwen (Dutch decorated bookbinding in the eighteenth century) IIA:3.2.12. - STCN. - Not in DBS.