L'ambassade de la Compagnie orientale des Provinces Unies vers l'empereur de la Chine, ou Gand cam de Tartarie [...].

Folio: [16 incl. engr. title]-290, [2]-134-[1] pp.; 36 pl. (frayed margins and folds in begin., occ. foxing and staining).

Contemp. overl. vellum, ink-titled flat spine (sl. staining).

First edition of the French translation of this great travel account by J. Nieuhof (1618-1672), appearing the same year as the original in Dutch. Engr. ill.: front. (the Emperor, seated with a globe looking down on a convicted criminal), title-vign., full-page portr. of J.-B. Colbert, headpiece and initial on dedication to Colbert, fold. map of China, 34 double-page plates (views of Chinese cities, i.a. the Forbidden City) and 110 large pl. in-text (villages, ceremonies, costumes, plants, animals...). The 1st part gives an account of the travels through the Chinese provinces and cities, the 2nd part is about the natural world of the country, and the practices and habits of the Chinese people. The mission sparked the Dutch trade relations with China. Between 1655 and 1657, Nieuhof traversed the country with the merchants de Goyer and de Keyzer. Their reception there was quite reserved and the commercial outcome rather limited. But Nieuhof's book was an immediate success, largely because of the impressive illustrations of this little known part of the world, after drawings by the author and compiled by his brother Hendrik. Title in red and black.
Ref. Tiele 801 (note). - Landwehr, VOC, 540. - Cordier, Sinica, 2345. - STCN (i.a. BL).