Pfaffenhoffen F., “Essai sur les Aspres Comnenats, ou Blancs DArgent, de Trebisonde, Άσπρα λεγόμενα Κομνήνατα”, Paris, chez M. Rollin, Firmin Didot freres, 1847. First edition, large 4o, 28 x 22,5 cm, pp.104. COMPLETE with 17 plates and a folding plate of the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγάλοι Κομνηνοί) imperial family tree. Original wrappers, spine defective, otherwise a fine copy. This is the second ever published book about the Pontian Greeks (after the publication of Fallmerayer history) that shifted towards the discovery of the Pontian Hellenism by the European world. The work is mainly dealing with the history of the Trebizond Empire (pages 1-70), the last medieval Greek state, focussing on the Empire’s currency “Άσπρα Κομνηνάτα” (pages 71-104). It is considered as the first systematic study, still an important reference for the area’s history. VERY RARE