Charles Agvent Archives - Rare Book Insider

LES OBSERVATIONS DE PLUSIEURS SINGULARITEZ ET CHOSES MEMORABLES, TROUVEES EN GRECE, ASIE, IUDÉE, EGYPTE, ARABIE, & AUTRES PAYS ESTRANGES

Quarto (5-3/4" x 8-5/8") bound in 18th-century calf leather with a gilt-decorated spine and a gilt-lettered morocco spine label; [24], 4680 [i.e.470], [2] pages + 1 folding plate. Complete with the folding woodcut plate of Mt. Sinai present, but (as often the case) without the folding plan of Lemnos found in some copies. (Note that the 1553 first edition was issued with only the Mt. Sinai folding plate, and this 1588 edition was the first to which a folding Lemnos plan was added.) In addition there are more than 40 woodcut illustrations throughout, depicting plants, animals, Middle-Eastern costumes, a portrait of Belon, and two full-page maps: the city of Alexandria and the Strait of Hellespont (Dardanelles) with the city of Abydos. Also, numerous fine decorative woodcut initials, head- and tail-piece, woodcut Cavellat printer's device on title-page, and Marnef's device on verso of the final leaf. Pierre Belon's influential, richly illustrated account of his extensive travels in the Levant (THE OBSERVATIONS ON MANY SINGULARITIES AND MEMORABLE THINGS FOUND IN GREECE, TURKEY, JUDAEA, EGYPT, ARABIA AND OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES) was first printed in Paris in 1553. Belon, a leading Renaissance naturalist (called by Pavlov "the prophet of comparative anatomy") attracted the patronage of Cardinal François de Tournon, who funded Belon's scientific journey through the Mediterranean and Middle East. This book is an illustrated account of his travels, containing descriptions not only of flora and fauna but the costumes and culture of the Ottoman Turkey and surrounding regions. Belon "spent three years travelling in the Levant, from 1546 to 1549 [.] his travels through Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt and the Holy Land resulted in observations more than merely botanical, in a most remarkable work which discusses the antiquities, customs and manners of the countries Belon visited, as well as the natural history. His was the most documented account of the Levant which had appeared up to that time in French. Of importance is his description of Cairo after 30 years of Turkish occupation." (BLACKMER 115). "OBSERVATIONS is one of the first travel accounts published in France about the Ottoman Empire. [] It seems that one of Belon's aims, apart from the description of the flora and fauna, was to let French readers know about the everyday life of the Ottoman Empire, especially that of the Turks, whose strangeness is constantly compared with that of the ancient Romans, nuanced and made acceptable, despite their religion. Apart from the compendium of the 'superstitions' commonly attributed to Muslims, his account is one of the fairest ever written about the Turks. He shows that Turkish domination had not deeply changed the culture of the conquered nations and was not tyrannical, and he depicts the Turks as a civilised people, giving support to the politics of the French government" (D. Thomas, ?J. A. Chesworth et al. (eds): CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS. A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY, vol. VI, p.709). Unlike many contemporary travel writers, Belon does not elaborate on extraordinary adventures and does not rely on hearsay or previous accounts; instead, his account is based on his own careful observations and meticulous recording of mammals, fish, snakes, birds, plants, and the manners and customs of the peoples he encountered, commenting only on what he himself had witnessed, perhaps except for the illustration of a small dragon-like creature. The fine woodcuts, attributed to Arnold Nicolai and Pierre Goudet (Gourdelle), include a map of the Dardanelles (Hellespont), a folding map of Mount Sinai, a view of Alexandria, coins with Arabic inscriptions, illustrations of Egyptian costumes, a giraffe, chameleon, and surprisingly, a flying dragon and an armadillo, etc. The copy of Joseph Antoine Crozat, marquis de Tugny (1699 - 1750) with his ownership inscription on verso of title-page: "Ex Bibliotheca D. Crozat in Suprema Parisiensi Curia Praesidis." Crozat was a French court official and art collector. Heir to a large fortune, Crozat assembled a magnificent collection of paintings, drawings, and sculptures; the gallery which housed the La Collection Crozat became famous, and he commissioned a catalogue of engravings to be made to illustrate and advertise his artworks (published as a magnificent two-volume set in elephant folio titled RECUEIL D'ESTAMPES D'APRÈS LES PLUS BEAUX TABLEAUX., Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1729-1742). The collection was bought almost in its entirety by Catherine the Great of Russia and formed the nucleus of the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. Crozat was also a bibliophile, and his library was posthumously catalogued to be sold at auction in Paris in August 1751. Very Good antiquarian condition. Title leaf with a closed marginal tear at bottom of the inner margin resulting in a partial separation at gutter, but without any loss, and the leaf is still securely attached to binding. First three preliminary leaves with a small marginal wormhole (to bottom margin, not affecting text). Occasional minor spotting, or light browning; a few pages with small manuscript marginal notes. Top and outer margin cropped somewhat closely in binding, without any loss of text, but slightly cutting into three or four woodcuts (which were printed to extend beyond the regular printed area). An 18th-century ownership inscription to verso of title (see provenance). Binding slightly rubbed, with some surface wear, a minor worming to top of spine, and a neat minor repair to foot of spine. In all, a pleasing, clean and solid example of this richly illustrated and important work, with a fine provenance