BARROW’S VOYAGE TO COCHINCHINA, 1806, WITH FINE HAND-COLORED PLATES

(VIETNAM) BARROW, John. A Voyage to Cochinchina, in the Years 1792 and 1793… London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1806. Large quarto, period-style full diced calf, elaborately gilt- and blind-stamped spine and covers, raised bands, marbled endpapers and edges. $6800.

First edition of Barrow’s account of the Macartney Mission to present-day Vietnam, with 18 hand-colored plates, folding map hand-colored in outline, and two hand-colored folding charts. A lovely copy.

En route to Cochin China, now known as Vietnam, this groundbreaking diplomatic mission traveled to Madeira, Jamaica, Rio de Janeiro, various islands along the coast of South America, and Java and Djakarta. Barrow, whose Travels in China (1804) established him as an early authority on the Orient, comments on the manners and customs of the inhabitants of each place. His extensive notes on Cochin China range from its history to particulars about its art, architecture, and religious ceremonies. The latter part of this narrative describes Barrow’s travels to the Booshuana Nation, the region now known as Botswana in southern Africa. The handsome color plates include views of Rio and Santa Cruz, the plants of Java, and an African woman, while the folding map shows the southern tip of Africa. “The aquatinting is of excellent quality” (Abbey, Travel 514).

Plates vivid and lovely. Small open tear to fold of plate at 135, expert reinforcement to verso of folds of a few plates and map, a few spots of foxing and offsetting to text. Beautifully bound.