THEVENOT Jean de, “Relation dun voyage fait au Levant dans laquelle il est curieusement traite des estats sujets au Grand Seigneur... et des singularitez particulieres de lArchipel, Constantinople, Terre Sainte, Egypte... deserts dArabie, la Meque..”,. Paris, Louis Bilaine, 1663.

FIRST EDITION. 4to, pp.[18], 576. Complete, including the engraved frontispiece portrait of Thevenot. Woodcut printer’s device on title page, woodcut engraved initials and chapter ornaments.

The first books by Thevenot describing his travels to Constantinople, the Aegean Archipelago, Asia Minor and Egypt. The second and third parts were published posthumously in 1674 and 1684. Thévenot sailed for the East in in May 1655 and he spent almost a year to Istanbul before visiting Smyrna, Chios and other Greek islands. He then reached Alexandria, Cairo, he Sinai Peninsula, and made the pilgrimage to the Holy Land before his return to Paris in 1659. He was a fluent speaker of Turkish, Arabic and Persian, offering a pioneering text along the life in the Levant (VINGOPOULOU Ioli, “Travelogues”, Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation).

Contemporary full calf, spine ornamented in gilt. Extensive rubbing along edges, corners, spine and joints. Joints partly cracked along edges. Covers with scratches. Small chipped parts on spine top & foot. Water-stain on first and last sheets. Occasional spotting and overall light toning.

Blackmer 1650