THE TRAVELS OF SIR JOHN CHARDIN INTO PERSIA AND THE EAST-INDIES
London: Moses Pitt, 1686. First Edition in English. Hardcover. Folio (7-3/4" x 12-1/8") bound in later calf leather recently and sympathetically rebacked with a gilt-decorated spine preserving the original morocco spine label; [xviii], 264, 331-417, [9], 154, [6] pages. Complete with the frontispiece portrait of the author, an additional engraved title-page, a folding engraved map of the Black Sea and surrounding countries, and 16 plates, 11 of which are folding, along with a couple of engravings in the text. Published in English and French concurrently in 1686 as Part I of the Travels. Three other volumes, with the general title page VOYAGES DE MONS. LE CHEVALIER CHARDIN were published in Amsterdam in 1711. The last volume, announced by Chardin in his preface to this edition, was never published. THE CORONATION OF SOLYMAN III. THE PRESENT KING OF PERSIA, at the end of this volume, is a translation of Chardin's LE COURONNEMENT DE SOLEIMAN TROISIÈME, first published in Paris in 1671. Includes two indexes, one bound following part 1; the other bound at the end. The fine plates include views of the cities of Tefflis, Erivan, Tauris, Sultanie, Kom, and Cashan, as well as important monuments. Minor soiling and wear, Near Fine. Item #017257
Chardin was a jewelry merchant who traveled extensively throughout Persia in the 1670s and was a keen observer of the area's culture.
Price: $4,500.00