Relation d'un voyage du Levant [...].

2 parts in 1 vol., 4to: [28]-188, [2]-208-[16] pp.; 89 pl. (pale dampstaining on p. 127 of pt. I and on upper margin of last ff., very occ. marg. & sl. spotting).

Contemp. calf, gilt orn. spine with raised bands, spr. edges (sl. stains, sm. loss to tail).

Work composed of letters sent by Tournefort to the Count of Pontchartrain during his journey from March 1700 to June 1702, ill. with 135 etchings after Aubriet: 89 pl. (4 fold.) and 46 in the text depicting costumes, fauna and flora, town views, antique monuments. The French botanist Tournefort (1656-1708) was sent to the East on the recommendation of the Count of Pontchartrain, Secretary of State, who wanted to set up scientific expeditions to study natural history, geography , economy, religions and foreign cultures. He visited Crete, the Greek islands, Constantinople, Armenia, Georgia, a part of Asia Minor in the company of the draughtsman Claude Aubriet and the German botanist Andreas Gundelsheimer. The first ed. was published in 1717.
Ref. Lipperheide 1442 (134 engr.). - Nissen (ZBI) 4154 (131 engr.). - Brunet V:903. - Blackmer, Sotheby's, 329 (1st ed.). - Cp. Pritzel 9426 (other ed.).