Sir John Chardin's Travels in Persia

London: The Argonaut Press, 1927. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Number 628 of 975 copies, quarto size, [318] pp. Sir John Chardin (1643-1712) was a French merchant and traveler; the publication of the first volume of his "Voyages du chevalier Jean Chardin en Perse et autres lieux de l'Orient" simultaneously in French and English in 1686 permitted Chardin to "position himself as one of the most important arbiters of European commercial and colonial expansion. Over the next decade two successive editions of his 'Travels' were published in England, along with reprints of his 1671 'Le Couronnement de Soleiman Troisieme.' In 1711, with the publication of the four-volume edition of his 'Travels,' Chardin provided a full and authoritative account, and abbreviated editions followed in rapid succession, testifying to a nearly insatiable European interest in oriental studies and culture. By the time of his death in 1712 Chardin's chronicles of life and society in Persia had become one of the fundamental texts for this burgeoning field of study, and his meticulous accounts of the country earned him the praise of Gibbon, Montesquieu, and Voltaire" (ODNB).

This edition reprints the edition of 1720, correcting some printer's errors and updating the spelling of some names, and includes facsimiles of the title-pages for the 1724 and 1720 editions, as well as a portrait of the author by David Loggan and several plates. Printed by Walter Lewis, M.A., at the University Press, Cambridge.

___DESCRIPTION: Original quarter vellum and blue cloth covered boards, gilt decoration stamped to upper board, backstrip lettered in gilt, fore- and bottom edges uncut, vintage small booksellers ticket to front free endpaper ("Chas. E. Lauriat Co., Boston"), silk ribbon marker, title page with hand-coloured woodcut vignette, includes two facsimiles and six plates (two of which fold-out); on "Japon Vellum" paper, quarto size (10.5" by 8"), pagination: [i-v] vi-xxx [1] 2-287 [1 colophon], limited edition, this number 628 of 975 copies, the third publication of the Argonaut Press.

___CONDITION: A near fine copy, corners are straight with only a hint of rubbing, text block is tight and square with solid hinges, gilt is bright, internally bright, covers are clean except for some sunning at the top edges and a small light mark to the front board, prior owner name with the date of "May, 1936" with "D.J.M." below on the front free endpaper; overall a near fine copy.

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