Voyage de Paris à Constantinople par bateau à vapeur. Nouvel itinéraire orné d'une carte et de cinquante vues et vignettes sur acier, avec tableau indiquant les lieux desservis par les paquebots à vapeur, sur la Méditerranée, l'Adriatique et le Danube, le prix des places et des marchandises, les distances et la valeur des monnaies.

Paris, chez Arthus Bertrand, chez Amiot et chez l'Auteur, 1839. Large 8vo. XVI. 291 pages. 24 out-of-text engravings and 1 folding map. Green half-calf, smooth ornate back (binding of the time). First Edition. The appearance of steamboats at the beginning of the 19th century revolutionized transport in the Mediterranean by freeing it from weather conditions while speeding up transit times. In 1833 was organized the first experimental cruise to the Levant, with on board about sixty European personalities including Prince Maximilian of Bavaria, brother of King Otto of Greece to whom the book is dedicated, the Duchess of Berry and her husband Prince Lucchesi-Palli, the Prince and Princess of Beaufremont, etc. The journey of the ship, the "François 1er", joined Marseille to Constantinople, including stops in Sicily, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Asia Minor. The author, who had taken part in the expedition, describes not only the stopovers but also the socialites that took place on board, including the indication of distances and crossing times. The illustration consists of a fold-out map retracing the route and twenty-four engraved plates with views of Marseille, Genoa, Messina, Catania, Syracuse, Navarino, Athens, Smyrna, the Dardanelles, the Bosphorus, the island of Tinos, Malta, etc. Precious copy in an exceptional state of preservation, wide-margined and absolutely devoid of the foxing that often affect the copies of this book. It is enriched by an autograph dedciatory of the author to Baron de Hahn, who had embarked with his wife aboard the "François 1er".