Tournefort Joseph Pitton de, "Relation dun voyage au Levant… contenant lhistoire ancienne et modern des plusieurs isles de lArchipel, de Constantinople, des cotes de la mer Noire, de lArmenie, de la Georgie, des frontiers de Perse et de lAsie Mineure", Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1717. First edition. Complete in 2 volumes. 4to. With the 152 very fine copper engraved plates, made after Aubriets original drawings (one of the best contemporary French artists) who followed Tournefort in the Levant, including splendid accurate views and maps. One of the very rare copies on PAPIER FIN. Tournefort was a famous botanist, sent in 1699/1700 to the Levant in a secret mission by the French King on the pretext of botanic researches. He had to study the people, the ressourses, the antiquities and the plants of the Archipelago and Asia Minor, the unknown Pontic coast and Armenia. The result was the best travel account up to the early 19th century. The account is composed in a form of 22 long letters to his superiors. Provenance: Francois-Vincent Raspail (his personal stamps in the titles). Raspail (1794-1878) was a leading French chemist, naturalist, physician and politician, and one of the founders of Biology. The longest boulevard in Paris was named in his honor (Boulevard Raspail). Contemporary full leather. Wear along joints & spine extremities. Atabey 959, Blackmer 1318.