VOGÜÉ, M. E. M. de, Vie. Syrie, Palestine, Mont Athos. Voyage aux pays du passé. Troisième édition, Paris, Plon Nourrit, 1887. In small 8vo, xii+333+[4]. With frontispiece and more B/W illustrations inside.

The Frenchman Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé (1848-1910) initially followed a career as a diplomat, serving first as an attaché in the French Embassy in Constantinople, and later as secretary in the embassies in Cairo and Saint Petersburg. A number of chapters in this edition, initially appeared as articles in the periodical Revue de "Deux Mondes". For a number of decades, from the mid-19th the above periodical often published articles on Greece and the Greek presence in the Ottoman Empire in Europe and Asia, usually written by archaeologists, journalists, men of letters and politicians. As Vogüé notes in his preface, the letters that compose his travel account are addressed to his friend Η. de Pontmartin, who in the end was unable to accompany him in his wanderings. In November 1872 he left Constantinople and sailed via Tenedos to Smyrna, visited Ephesus and continued on to Chios, Rhodes and Cyprus, finally reaching Beirut, Damascus and Palestine. He stayed in the Holy Land for approximately one month, and described the sacred pilgrim sites (Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, etc.). During another of his trips, in 1875, again from Constantinople, he visited Mount Athos.

Contemporary half leather binding, clothed boards, spine heavy worn, boards with slight edge-wear. Light foxing inside and few blue pencil underlines at title page; the rest is clean and tight. Good condition overall.