Lot 08119

[Venus of Milos / Αφροδίτη της Μήλου] MARCELLUS Comte de, “Souvenirs de l’Orient”, Paris, Debecourt, 1839.

FIRST EDITION. Complete in 2 Volumes. 8vo, pp. 464 + [iv], 558 [1], including a folding map in vol. I and a full-page plate in vol. II.

Comte de Marcellus (1795-1861) was secretary in the French embassy in Constantinople from 1815 to 1820. He was the person, on board the French schooner “Estafette”, who achieved to purchase the famous statue of Venus of Milos for the French state and secure its loading on the “Estafette”. Marcellus travelled extensively in Greece and in the Levant those years and this is his detailed travel account. Many places in Greece had been carefully described just in the eve of the Revolution. A detailed account for the events in Milos in spring 1820 is also included. Not in Atabey or Blackmer.

Bound in contemporary calf, gilt paneled decorations on both covers, gilt tooled spines, marbled edges. External rubbing along joints and extremities, light and just occasional spotting inside, overall a fine set.